Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) (14 page)

Viola, Cora and Sage plotted their mission to get Dominic to
realize he deserved to be with Viola for well over an hour before Liam walked
up with Dominic at his side.

“So this is where you guys disappeared to. We were getting
worried,” Liam said as he came over and took a seat on the bench next to Cora,
pulling her close.

“We were just talking and must have lost track of time. It’s
so pretty out here,” Cora said, laying her head on his shoulder and melting
into his side.

“I love this place,” Viola said with a sigh and deliberately
avoided any acknowledgement that Dominic was there too. Part of their plan to
get Dominic to wake up was for Viola to ignore his presence, and make him long
to be with her.

Sage put his arm around Viola’s shoulders and gave her a
little squeeze. “It’s a great spot to think,” he said with a wink.

“Yeah it is. I could hang out here all of the time,” Viola
said, inhaling the scent of the roses growing around the gazebo in deep.

Dominic stood off to the side, shifting from foot to foot
feeling awkward and wanting to rip Sage’s arm out of its socket for putting it
across Viola’s shoulders. He did his best to hide the glare he was aiming at
Sage, but couldn’t quite do it. He knew they all had seen it before he’d turned
his head away.

“We should get back. I know we’re supposed to get tomorrow
off before we have to begin training,” Cora said with a sigh.

“So, what shall we do tomorrow?” Sage asked Viola with a
wink and a smile.

“Can you show me around? I’ve been dying to explore the
property,” Viola said looking up at Sage with a smile on her face.

“There are some beautiful spots. I know Liam took me to one
of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to for a picnic,” Cora said,
looking up at Liam with adoration.

“That is my favorite place in the world. Maybe we should go
have another picnic tomorrow there?” Liam asked Cora.

“I would love that!” Cora said with enthusiasm.

Liam smiled and nodded his head, “If that is what your heart
desires my love, then that is what we will do.”

Cora beamed at him. Dominic watched the interaction between
the two and glanced over at Viola to find she was still not paying him any
attention. He couldn’t blame her after how he’d acted at dinner. Sage still had
his arm around Viola, which was making him angrier and angrier the longer it
stayed there.

“I can take you on a tour Vi,” Sage said. “It would be my
honor to show you around.”

“Sounds like a date,” Viola said with a huge smile. “Want to
meet at breakfast and go from there?”

“I can walk you down to breakfast if you’d like,” Sage
offered.

“That sounds wonderful,” Viola grinned, fighting her urge to
glance over and see Dominic’s reaction to her and Sage flirting with each
other. She couldn’t though, not if their plan was going to work.

“Great. We’d better head in and get some rest, otherwise
we’ll be sleepwalking through the tour and there are some things that I really
want to show you,” Sage said and helped Viola stand up. He offered her his arm
and she took it with a grateful smile.

“Yeah, I’m still pretty tired after the last few days. Sleep
sounds fantastic,” she said and covered her mouth as she let out a huge yawn
that wasn’t at all fake.

“Yeah, we’re going to head to bed too,” Liam said, helping
Cora to her feet and wrapping his arm around her waist. “Good night. See you at
breakfast.”

“Night guys,” Cora said before they headed off. As the
couple passed Dominic, Cora looked over and shot him a look, warning him that
if he didn’t wise up, he was going to lose Viola.

Viola and Sage followed Cora and Liam out of the gazebo without
even acknowledging that Dominic was standing there, watching them. They said
their good nights to Cora and Liam as they followed them into the mansion,
leaving him behind.

He stood there for a while feeling like his heart had been
ripped from his chest. He’d known at dinner he’d hurt Viola, but he’d done it
to protect her from who he was. The rest of them had no idea about the things
he’d done in the past. They didn’t understand just how undeserving of Viola he
was, almost losing her had reminded him she deserved better than him as her
mate. If he had been the mate she truly deserved, he would have been there to
protect her and keep what had happened with Anna from occurring in the first
place.

He walked over and sat down where Viola had been sitting on
the bench and closed his eyes. He pretended he was Sage sitting there flirting
with her and making plans to walk around the property the following day. He
pretended he was the one she’d been smiling up at as they talked.

His heart ached thinking he’d never be able to be the mate
Viola deserved. He wanted to be so much that it hurt, but he couldn’t be. She
deserved someone much better than him.

He was so lost in thought he didn’t hear Angelica and Thomas
approach him and enter the gazebo.

“I am very disappointed in you, son,” Thomas said in a gruff
voice.

Dominic’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with surprise as he
looked at Viola’s parents.

“Why?” he asked, not really surprised. He’d been
disappointing people his whole life.

“Our daughter loves you and you are breaking her heart. You
are her mate whether you feel you deserve her or not,” Angelica said, a hard
edge to her voice. “I thought you got my point when we talked in her room in
the medical facility, but I guess you did not.”

“Destiny has chosen for the two of you to be together, do
not fight it. If you continue to do so, you will be the cause of the twins not
fulfilling their destiny. Viola cannot do this without her mate,” Thomas
informed him.

“I suggest you stop wallowing in this self-pity you have immersed
yourself in and do what it takes to do your part. This is about more than just
you,” Angelica said, her eyes boring into him.

Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but didn’t say a word
when Thomas held his hand up to silence him.

“Unless you’re getting ready to tell us you are going to
make things right with our daughter, I suggest you save your words. We know
your past and have accepted you regardless. Viola has her own past and doesn’t
care about yours. Wise up young man,” Thomas said with a stern look on his
face.

Without saying anything else, Angelica and Thomas turned and
left the gazebo without having let him speak another word. He stared after them
stunned, even after they’d disappeared from his line of sight.

Viola sat on her bed in her room, with her knees pulled up
to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them, crying.

It had been so hard to pretend to be flirting with Sage
right in front of Dominic. She’d wanted to reach out to him and try to talk
some sense into him,
but so far that hadn’t
worked for any of them. His stubbornness was driving her insane.

She remembered how it had felt to kiss him. How tender and
gentle he’d been with her. She thought of how it had felt waking up in medical
with him lying across her chest, being so careful not to put too much weight on
her so he wouldn’t hurt her.

She thought of how his head had felt in her lap when he was
unconscious from the tranq Sage had shot him with, to fake his death and free
him from Anna’s clutches. All she wanted to do was to be able to hold him in
her arms in that moment and never let him go.

All she could do was to put faith in the plan they’d come up
with, because if they all failed, she had no idea what she would do. She now
understood, with absolute clarity, how Cora had become consumed by Liam while
she’d been kidnapped, and so torn apart by the distance between them when she’d
gone on the mission without him to rescue her from Anna.

After everything with Dominic, Viola now knew the terror
Cora had felt when Liam had been taken and tortured by Anna.

With a huge sigh, she decided she owed Cora an apology like
she’d never owed her before. It might even take more than that to show her
sister how much she regretted tearing into her the way she had when she’d found
out it had been Liam that distracted her from coming to her aid.

More than anything, she was happy for her sister. To find
happiness with such a great guy, who loved her with everything he was,
was a great gift. She knew her sister was in the best
hands and didn’t worry about her at all.

She knew Cora, Liam and Sage were all deeply worried about
her, considering the situation with Dominic as it was. Heck, she was terrified
he would choose to walk away from her, leaving her with nothing but a gaping
hole in her heart that nobody else in the world could fill but him.

It was funny that she didn’t know crap about the little
things like his favorite color, hobby or anything else, but she knew what was
in his heart without even trying. Despite what he thought, he had a kind and
loving heart. He was passionate about what he believed to be right and wrong.
He had the kind of strength that allowed him to become a mole inside of Anna’s
operation so their race would not be decimated if her side won. She just wished
he could see all of those things about himself.

She went back to thinking about the plan they’d come up with
and already put into effect with the scene in the gazebo.

They were going to use the instincts of mates against him,
by introducing the possibility of Viola moving on with Sage. Their flirting and
scheduled “date” for the next day were just the beginning. She just prayed they
didn’t have to go as far as kissing in front of Dominic, because she wasn’t
sure she could handle that. In her mind and heart Sage was family through Liam
and Cora, an older brother.

It was funny how her life had gone from Cora and her against
the world to the two of them being surrounded by people who seemed to love and
adore them. There were only two missing from the complete family picture,
Dominic and whoever was destined to be Sage’s mate. She prayed he’d find
happiness with a mate of his own very soon. He was too great of a guy not to
find happiness with someone special.

There were too many thoughts swirling around in her mind to
get any kind of quality rest so she got up, slipped on her robe and slippers
over her pajamas and headed out of the room towards the kitchen. She figured
maybe some chocolate chip cookies or ice cream, whichever she could find, would
help, since she hadn’t been able to stomach finishing dinner because of the
wall between herself and Dominic.

She walked into the kitchen and looked around to see if
there were any cookies. Those were what she really wanted. Ice cream was the
next best thing. As she hunted through the cupboards, she noticed several of
her favorite snacks were stocked. She smiled realizing Angelica had been paying
close attention and made sure stuff like that had been bought just for them.
She was curious as to whether their parents enjoyed some of the same snacks too
as she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the bag of soft baked
chocolate chip cookies and closed the cabinet door. Then she went over and got
a glass for some milk.

Once she’d settled down at the island in the dim lighting
from over the stove, she dug into the cookies, dipping them into the milk and
moaning with delight as she ate over half of the package. Normally she wouldn’t
indulge in so many in one sitting, but this was a special circumstance.

When she’d gotten her fill, she closed the bag and as she
was putting it away when the back door opened and Dominic came into the kitchen,
returning from the gazebo. She didn’t need to look to know who it was, she
could sense him with every fiber of her being. She closed her eyes as she
gathered strength for the confrontation between them, before turning around and
walking back to the island to move her empty glass over to the sink and wash
it.

Dominic stood there watching her movements and wondering if
she would say anything to him as she moved around the kitchen. He could see the
tension in the set of her shoulders and her pride in the upward tilt to her
chin. He watched her take great care not to look in his direction, even though
he knew she was aware of his presence.

When there was nothing left for her to do to keep herself
busy and avoid him, she slowly turned toward him, nodded her head in
acknowledgement and started to walk out of the kitchen without a word to him.

He saw the anguish she was feeling in her eyes, as she did
her best to avoid his on her way out of the room. He felt the same anguish
tearing him apart from the inside out, clawing at him with relentless
persistence.

Wishing he could reach out to her and smooth her hair back
from her face and dry the silent tears that had been running down her face, he
just watched her go without trying to stop her. It was the hardest thing he’d
ever done in his life.

To keep himself from following her, he sank down onto one of
the stools at the island and put his head in his hands. He was beginning to
understand what he’d always been told about mates being kept apart from each
other going insane.

He reminded himself of all the reasons why he wasn’t good
enough for her once again, to help him steel himself to stay his course. A
little voice popped up in the back of his mind that told him he could make
himself worthy of her somehow. He didn’t know how, but a tiny sliver of hope
began to form in his heart.

He sat there and wondered if it was even possible to make
himself worthy of her, but he sure hoped he could. He spent the rest of the
night sitting at the island, wracking his brain for how to go about doing just
that.

After tossing and turning all night long, Viola was
surprised to find she was actually looking forward to spending the day relaxing
in Sage’s company. He was like an older brother to her so he was safe
territory, unlike Dominic who just played with her emotions and drove her
insane.

She showered and dressed with a huge smile on her face and
used makeup to cover the dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep the
night before. She brushed her hair out and decided to let it air dry hanging
loose. Throwing on some comfy shoes, she opened her bedroom door to find Sage
waiting outside of her room with a grin on his face.

“Are you ready?” Sage asked as he offered her his elbow.

“Yeah, have you been waiting long?” Viola asked, her brow
wrinkled in mild concern.

“Nah, just got here actually. I was surprised that I didn’t
have to wait longer to be honest,” Sage said with a wink. “I mean, didn’t you
have to get all dolled up for our big date?”

“Yup, I had all night to get ready because I didn’t get much
sleep with all of the anticipation, you know?” Viola teased him.

They went back and forth with the banter as they walked down
the stairs and entered the dining room together arm in arm. Thomas and
Angelica’s eyebrows rose in surprise to see the pair, but didn’t say a word as
Sage pulled out a chair next to him for Viola and she sat down with a smile and
thank you.

He’d seated her next to Dominic and taken the chair on the
other side of her, which was awkward, but she put her acting skills to good use
and ignored her mate, turning all of her attention on Sage and discussing their
plans for the day with great animation.

Liam and Cora joined in on the conversation with smiles and
laughter, which lead Viola to believe Cora and/or Sage had filled Liam in on
the plan.

After listening to the chatter for half of the meal,
Angelica turned and gave Dominic a pointed look asking him, “So what are your
plans for this beautiful day?”

Everyone fell silent as they waited for his reply. They all
hoped he’d say something that included trying to win Viola back from Sage, but
no such luck. “Nothing much, just going down to the training center to get in a
good workout and start working on the girls’ training schedule.”

Viola wanted to strangle the last breath out of that
infuriating man. Sage caught her reaction and was able to divert her reaction
away from Dominic and onto their plans for the day.

“Maybe we could get a workout in after our tour Vi? What do
you think?” Sage said with a wink of his eye.

“That sounds great. It has been a few days since I’ve gotten
one in. Don’t want to slack off too much with the big battle looming ahead of
us now do I?” Viola responded with a laugh. Cora and Liam agreed and decided
they’d join them later for a workout as well.

*****

As Dominic picked at his food and watched the rest of the
group, they talked and laughed as if they’d been together their whole lives. He
watched them finish their meals and take off in pairs, his mate leaving with a
man that was not him, stabbing a knife deep into his heart and making him want
to rip the other man to shreds. Forcing himself to remain passive, he sat back
and watched the two leave, reminding himself, once again, that he was not yet
worthy of her. Once he was, there would be no way he’d allow Sage to stand
between himself and his mate.

*****

Laughing, Sage and Viola burst through the front doors and
bounced down the stairs to the paved walkway.

“Did you see the look on his face as we made our plans?”
Sage asked her. “He looked like he wanted to jump over you and murder me all in
the same move.”

“I didn’t look to be honest,” Viola said with a depressed
shrug.

“Relax Vi. We’ll get him right where we want him,” Sage
said. “I don’t know how to lead an unsuccessful mission.”

Viola rolled her eyes and gave him a playful jab.

“Hey, watch it!” Sage feigned being hurt as they both burst
out laughing.

“Where to first?” Viola asked, looking around.

“This way,” he said, grabbing her hand and taking off at a
run, pulling her along behind him.

They ended up in a garden with all sorts of beautiful
flowers and statues. There were huge flowing water fountains made of marble
throwing a fine mist up into the air. The garden itself was a bit of heaven in
their chaotic world.

“Wow,” Viola said as she spun in a circle trying to take it
all in.

“Yeah, this is your mother’s favorite place of all of their
properties. They spend the most time here, just because of this garden,” Sage
said, walking over and picking a daisy. He walked back over to Viola and tucked
it into her hair, behind her right ear.

“I can see why it’s her favorite place,” Viola said, her
voice breathless. “Thank you for the flower.”

“A pretty flower for a pretty girl,” Sage said with a wink.

“Aw, you flatter me too much,” Viola said and batted her
eyelashes at him in fake flirtation.

“Get used to it,” Sage said and grabbed her hand, pulling
her along.

They strolled through the garden and Sage pointed out
different flowers and statues to her as they walked. Viola was surprised there
were so many she didn’t know by the time they’d reached the other side of the
garden and the exit route Sage had planned for them.

“That was wonderful Sage. Where to next?” she asked, looking
up at him.

He checked his watch and then tugged her hand, making her
follow him without saying anything. She raised her eyebrows and took off with
him, without questioning him. For the first time in the whole time she’d known
her true family, she was relaxed and enjoying herself. She felt a twinge in her
heart that it wasn’t Dominic with her, but she brushed that aside for now.
There was time for her to beat herself up about it later, when she was alone in
her room.

They ran across a stretch of grass and then through a thin
line of trees before bursting out along the beach of a lake that was so
gorgeous Viola had no words to describe it. The ripples of the water reflected
the sunlight that hit it, like little mirrors, and the pristine color made her
want to jump into the water and go for a swim, clothes and all.

“Hey Vi,” Cora called, breaking Viola from the trance she’d
been in while staring at the peaceful lake.

“Hey Sis,” Viola called back and headed over. Sage caught up
to her and put his arm around her shoulders as they headed over.

“How’s the day going so far?” Cora asked with a wink and a
grin.

“Great. Sage showed me this fabulous garden that’s our mom’s
favorite place in the world and then we came here,” she said, dropping down to
sit on the gigantic blanket stretched out on the beach.

“Care to join us for a picnic lunch?” Liam asked, opening
the basket.

“Is it that late already?” Viola asked, surprised.

“Yup, we spent quite a bit of time in the garden. More than
I’d planned on actually, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself so much I
didn’t want to rush you at all,” Sage said and grabbed a turkey sandwich,
handing it to her.

She took it, thanked him and unwrapped it, sinking her teeth
into the delicious food. He handed her a glass of apple juice that she accepted
with gratitude as well. As the day progressed, she almost wished Sage was meant
to be her mate, but then pushed the thought out of her mind. Dominic was just
the right person for her, if she could get him to realize that.

“What’s wrong Little Sis?” Sage asked as he caught the
shadow that crossed her face when the thought of Dominic passed through her
mind.

“Nothing. Just a thought that crossed my mind. Nothing
important,” she said, pushing away his probing questions. Cora quirked an
eyebrow, but didn’t say anything as they continued to eat and enjoy themselves.

When they were done eating, Cora began packing up the food
and Viola pitched in. The guys wandered off down the beach a bit as they
cleaned up.

“So, how are you really doing?” Cora asked in a hushed
voice.

“I’m having fun, but I keep wishing it was Dominic with me
instead of Sage,” Viola said, wistfulness in her voice.

“I can imagine. I think we’ve stirred up something in him
though,” Cora said with a wink and a smile.

“Really? What makes you think that?” Viola asked, her
interest definitely was peeked.

“He was up to something when we left. We’re not sure what,
but he was discussing something with Dad and it was a pretty heated discussion,”
Cora said with a serious expression.

“Hmm, I wonder what it could be,” Viola said, her mind
wandering.

“I don’t know, but our next stop is to try and find out,
while you continue your day with Sage,” Cora said with a nod. “Don’t worry Sis,
I’ve got your back.”

“I know you do. I also know you’re good at playing Nancy
Drew. I look forward to learning what you find out,” Viola said with a
conspiratory smile.

Just then Sage and Liam returned from their trip down the
beach and back. The pairs split and went their different ways, after agreeing
to meet up later for their workout.