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I rarely felt guilty unless it involved Greta or Mom, but now an uncomfortable sensation filled my chest. I didn’t want to hurt Aurora, even if I got off on hurting people. The right people, not my people. And Aurora was my people.
“You think she’s on her way to get over me?” I asked, mulling over my sister’s words from the car.
Greta turned her head to me, her eyes searching mine. “Not yet but soon.”
I pulled down her sunglasses perched on her head and covered her piercing gaze with them.
Greta didn’t comment but her lips tightened.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked out over New York’s skyline. I didn’t like the idea of Aurora getting over me. If that didn’t make me an asshole after everything that had happened, I didn’t know. “Then whatever she thought she felt for me can’t be that serious.”
“How would you know?” Greta asked curiously. “Have you ever been in love?”
I grimaced, and in the reflection of Greta’s glasses my face took on a grotesquely monstrous appearance, which was very fitting I supposed. I didn’t think Aurora was in love with me. She saw something in me and was attracted to the projection. “You know the answer.”
“I didn’t think I could fall in love before I met Amo.”
I stifled a snide comment about him. Every time Greta mentioned her feelings for Amo, her fucking husband, I wanted to scrub my body with a steel brush. “There’s a difference. I’ve known Aurora forever.”
“Not every love is love at first sight.”
“I’m not in love and won’t be. It’s not in my nature.”
“Then you should allow Aurora to get over you. Return home and give her a chance to move on, to find that love you don’t believe in. It’s the right thing to do.”
I stared up at the sky. If I tilted my head all the way back, it appeared as if not a single skyscraper surrounded us. “The right thing to do…”
It was typically Greta to think doing the right thing was something that was part of my program.
A small part of me wanted to do the right thing, for Aurora, but the far bigger and darker part couldn’t let go of Aurora yet.
Stalking Aurora was a full-time job and required far more stealth than I’d anticipated because Valerio had taken up the job of her personal bodyguard. I followed their car to a coffee shop and watched them enter. To get a better view, I got out of my car and approached the shop until I spotted Rory behind the counter. Her face lit up with a smile, but it wasn’t a joke from Valerio that made her face glow like Christmas decor. What the fuck?
The guy behind the counter smiled broadly at her and leaned toward her as if he wanted to jump over the counter to get even closer to her.
My chest constricted, and I curled my hands to fists. I wasn’t sure why the sight made me so livid. Fuck, I’d never felt so much rage come up so quickly, and that meant a lot coming fromme.I’d felt murderous for plenty of reasons in my life, but this time, a feeling I was entirely unfamiliar with had been the trigger. It took me several heartbeats before I could define the sensation and then even longer to really come to terms with it:
I was jealous.
“Let’s grab a coffee first.” Valerio parked in front of a small coffee shop at the corner. “This is my favorite place to grab caffeine on the go. Isa loves to write here too.”
“Cool,” I said as I followed him inside the cozy place. Potted plants hung from the ceilings, and fluffy, colorful cushions lay on the low windowsills, which could be used to sit. The furniture was of the mix-and-match type. It gave off a very boho/hippie vibe, which definitely fit Isa, yet not Valerio. However, I supposed he didn’t care as much about the design.
Valerio nodded at a pretty brunette who waved at him from her place at one of the high tables. “Can you order an Americano for me?”
“Sure,” I said curiously, but Valerio didn’t elaborate as he made his way over to the girl.
It wasn’t my business really. I wasn’t even sure if Valerio was promised to anyone. I waited patiently in line for my turn, trying not to pay attention to Valerio and the girl.
“When I saw you enter with Valerio, I thought you two were an item, but I suppose I was wrong,” the male barista said before I could say anything.
I laughed, a little startled. “He’s my cousin.”
“Ahhh,” he said, smiling. “I’m Marcos. Nice to meet you, cousin of Valerio.”
He was kind of cute in a normal guy way. Kind brown eyes, wavy brown hair, no visible scars or tattoos. “I’m Aurora. I’m here to visit family. I’m from Las Vegas.”
He made a shocked face. “You don’t look like a girl from Vegas.”
