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A midsummer day in this city should have a clear sky and tourists walking around as they take in the scenery, enjoying a hot and sunny day.
But of course, not today.
Not on Lucca’s wedding day.
As I waited at the entrance of our condominium, I rushed beneath the carpool, waiting to be picked up. It wasn’t far, but I hoped I would make it to the church in time before the crowd of guests arrived.
Running my fingers over my formal dress, my mind raced through today’s events and how today would seal the deal of the arrangement that had taken motion months ago.
The arrangement that tied trust, families, and the life of Ilias and me.
“Davina!”
My head shot up at the sound of my name, but it wasn’t Ilias’s car that waited for me. It was James’s black SUV.
I don’t think I could ever call him Father or Dad, and James never asked for such a thing. He understood those years were lost. He understood it was hard to build a relationship when we were still strangers in a way, and since I knew it bothered him when I’d referred to him as Chief Pierce or just Pierce, calling him by his first name fit us.
I rushed to his cracked window while remaining dry under the building canopy.
“Where’s Ilias?” I asked.
“He’s fine, but couldn’t make it in time. He called for me to get you, hop in before the seat gets soaked.”
Lately, Ilias has been more careful with my safety, and the only other person he trusted me with, aside from his siblings, was James, even if he wasn't a fan of him.
I slid across the leather seat and turned to my father. His peppered hair was turning gray around his temples since the first time I'd met him. It was awkward, and we never spoke again of the day when we’d sat in the café without anything to say, just a month after I’d found out his secret. Me.
“Do you know anything?” I asked.
“You need to be more specific.” He chuckled as he drove deeper into the heavy rain.
“Do you know why there is always a guard at the door of my place or following me? Or why are you always taking me places when he can’t?”
“Have you asked him?”
“He said safety is important.”
“Isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yeah, but…” I stopped mid-sentence. James may be my father, but I couldn’t just give information that may harm Ilias. So, I kept how Ilias had said it was temporary, for now. “Never mind, I’m just over thinking.”
James nodded. “He just wants you to be safe. Can’t blame him.”
Since I didn’t know what to reply or what I needed to say next, I remained quiet for the rest of the drive. It didn’t upset him, somehow we always fell into a comfortable silence.
“There he is,” James whispered.
Indeed, he was.
Ilias stood over a small tent under the church’s side entrance dressed in a full black suit. When he noticed me inside the car, he smiled under an opened umbrella and walked the distance of those few feet away that kept us apart.
He opened the car door as I tried holding the skirt of my dress higher.
“Thank you, James,” Ilias said once I was out of the car and in his arms.
“Any time.”
Ilias closed the door, and I gave James a wave before he drove off.
