The Italian's proposal

Melody

Melody stayed in the kitchen while she changed her mind about the coffee and poured water to make herself a chamomile tea, it was either that or just drink the hot water. The kitchen was practically empty, in the cupboard there were only a few boxes of colored cereal, which she loathed, and some canned peach juice, one of the many things that made her vomit. Lucy had again forgotten to go to the grocery store a few blocks from the apartment. Her friend could be as good as she wanted, but when it came to organization and shopping, she was awful. It wasn’t the first time she’d been to Lucy’s, only this time she’d definitely lived there, even though things weren’t exactly going well, she’d be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to let her stay at her place for a while, until she knew what to do with her baby and her life in general. She drank the cup of tea slowly, stirring the tea bag with the leaves it contained, it was a combination of chamomile with cinnamon, and she didn’t like to drink this kind of infusions, but on that occasion, she needed to do something, and drinking alcohol had never been part of Melody’s life.

Timothy was watching her from the other end of the room, observing each one of her movements, watching every detail she made. She stood across from him, separated only by the small, short, striped breakfast bar.

“You’ve got to be kidding, I really don’t think you came for that,” she commented uncertainly. He was looking at her so seriously that Melody was beginning to wonder if he was really being serious. “Is there a hidden camera?”

“Why do you find that so hard to believe? You’re quite a beautiful woman.”

Melody let out a nervous laugh. Beautiful?

The man must be blind, she wasn’t amongst the beauty standards at all.

“Beautiful me? You’re wrong. I am common. Passable. I’m not blonde and I don’t have endless legs, not to mention my tiny nose that hardly gives me enough to breathe.”

“Have you seen yourself in the mirror?” he asked approaching her.

“For twenty-two years I have, I’ve always seen the same skinny girl and big eyes, like something permanently scares me, so don’t come getting creative by saying I’m beautiful. You don’t need to say that to make me like you.”

“Wow,” he scratched where his beard should have been, but was perfectly shaved.

“I’m not insecure, I’m quite realistic,” she continued, ignoring his stare “You must know better than that, after all, you have money, I’m sure you’ve been with the most beautiful women in Manhattan, Oh, come on! Don’t look at me like that Timothy, it’s pure reality. You’re a young man, with money, lots of women must throw themselves at you every day.”

“Beauty sometimes is a mask to hide the shit we are.”

Melody looked at him trying to figure out the reason for such an analysis. He must have known someone so terrible that it scarred him for life.

“I’m sorry for what they did to you,” she told him taking his hand and squeezing it.

“Nothing happened to me,” he let go and brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen across her forehead. She had her hair down and bangs on her forehead that made her look younger than she was. “What makes you think someone like me can be hurt?”

“Call it sixth sense.”

“Will you be my wife?” he changed the subject drastically and went back to his wild proposal.

The insecurity returned and this time stronger, Melody stared at him, her gray eyes trying to find a logical reason why he decided to propose to her, the first thing she should do was ask him why he wanted to marry her, because something must be behind that façade, behind a simple question to a stranger.

But the question was not simple, Melody told herself. Not simple at all. To be honest with herself it was quite complex, no one asked a person they didn’t know to marry them unless they had a logical reason to do so, a compelling reason and she suspected that such an intelligent, wealthy, and presumably complicated man would not lightly ask such a question to a person he had met just that morning.

But what bothered her most about the whole situation was that she didn’t let him know that Equilay Thompson was related to her, that he was her brother-in-law, and that bringing him to justice for the theft of the three million, he would be destroying her sister’s life and her nephew’s. She didn’t have the nerve to tell him. She didn’t have the face to tell him, she blushed and turned her eyes away, she didn’t know how to explain the mess she had gotten herself into alone.

“What’s going through your beautiful head, Melody?” he asked grabbing her by the jaw, making she landed her gaze on him, slowly her eyes went to his lips and she blushed even more than she thought possible. “If you accept my proposal, we’ll share more than kisses,” she shuddered at that implied promise.

“I don’t understand why you want to marry someone you don’t know.” His hand was a gentle caress on her face, he didn’t remove it and she didn’t pull away either.

She let out a yawn and Timothy realized she was tired.

“I think you’ve had enough for today. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at Doyle’s coffee shop...”

“Tomorrow I have to clean up at the...”

he asked, frowning, and looking at her as if she’d

our stuff,” she angrily defended herself. “I go and help them with simple things, things that don’t weigh much, clean the house, throw

she would have to deal with for quite some time, she didn’t care anymore about having to clean a house, that wasn’t so important. She didn’t mind having to wipe an old lady’s ass or having to pick up trash on the street, as long as she wasn’t doing anything wrong. Melody knew she would

but I didn’t think your situation was so...delicate and complex. I’m not

truth. I was pretty much the same, well except I didn’t have a driver and my family

Melody didn’t move. She couldn’t, her feet were welded

not being able to be honest with him, to spill right away that she knew Equilay, but she wanted to have one more

already. You look like a

Any other

hard as a rock, crazy to have you under me begging to make you mine.”

impossible for her not to see him and lust after him at the same time,

will finish the little stability I have left,” he murmured before seizing her

was turned to butter. She put her arms

had kissed and that included Richard. She felt

pulled away from her and looked at her

do something wrong?”

kisses with two boys in college, and with Richard who was the one she lost her virginity to, she hadn’t even been able to feel the pleasure she read so much about in

done anything wrong, quite the contrary, if we go on like this, we’ll end up in bed and that’s

know where to stick

her like that if he

at her as if

were undoubtedly more complicated

and went straight to

she was going to

him see her like this, as heated as she felt, so wet between her legs, eager for him to fulfill what her eyes

“See you tomorrow.”

sharp on the top and the bottom. She forced herself to put her foot down and flashed him her best fake smile.

you to bed either,” he moved closer

not what I felt when you were kissing me a moment ago.”

You kissed me.”

see you put up a fight, or hit me, or pull away. I think you like me and don’t want to admit it. But relax...” he took his tailored jacket and pulled down his shirt sleeves, groomed himself perfectly

him, the Italian must have a pact with the devil himself, no one could have the privilege of God to look the way he did, nor to kiss with such lust.

are insufferable,” she opened the door and pointed

you up and we’ll go to lunch, wear something with

go out with you, Timothy? It’s one thing for me to listen to you and another to do whatever you want,” she crossed her arms over her chest, she was annoyed at how he smiled, as if nothing mattered to him, while she melted by just having him around, “and I’ll let you know one thing Timothy Giannato, I don’t know what kind

didn’t know how to dress properly, maybe not in silk clothes, not with diamonds or pearls around her neck, but she could manage when she put her mind to it. His comment

want to put you in a position you’re not comfortable with and that’s precisely what I’m trying to avoid, by telling you to dress in a proper manner. Because I don’t want when you walk

going

suits both of us. It’s the right

six months I’m going to give birth to a child, one that’s not yours. Doesn’t it even bother you

her face, making a prison that Melody couldn’t get out of, she raised her eyes to him, because Timothy was several inches taller than her. “I need a wife; you need

“Not your money.”

to it. Think of

not my friend Timothy. You’re just a millionaire who thinks he can solve everything by buying people.”

going to deny that I want you, but this thing we’re going to do will be a contract sort of

it,”