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His reaction was subtle, but it was there. A quick grimace of hurt, his eyes closing to mask the pain of my words.
“I hope we never see each other again.”
10
AXEL
I looked into my glass as I swirled the amber liquid, watching it spin around the square cubes of ice. The blocks tapped against the glass, music to my ears. I took a drink then repeated the process, swirling and staring. “She fucking hates me.”
“Make her come and she won’t.”
I ignored Theo’s comment. “Dante ruined my fucking life.” I was tempted to throw the glass at the wall, but that would cause a scene, and the girls next to us would probably get scared.
“We can still kill him,” he said. “If she hates you anyway, you might as well.” He took a drink as he looked over his glass, eyeing the women across the bar.
I took another drink.
“Trust me, she’s not over you.”
“It seemed like she was.”
“Whenever she talked about you, she became a different person.”
“Because she was pissed off, Theo.”
He took his eyes off the women and looked at me. “Trust me, I know this.”
“Really?”
“I’ve pissed off a woman or two. Always got them back.”
My glass was empty, and I tapped the counter so the bartender would make me another. I watched him grab the bottle and refill my glass, not needing to add more cubes since I downed it so quickly. He slid it back to me. “Were you caught with another woman?”
He hesitated. “No.”
“Then it’s not the same thing.”
Theo’s eyes drifted back to the women across the room. “Let’s drink and fuck our troubles away. I know that works every time.” He looked at me again. “We’ve got two admirers as we speak.”
I kept my eyes on the contents of my glass. “She said she’s slept around.”
“What did you expect her to do?”
“I don’t know. Tried not to think about it.”
“You’ve been with other people.”
“It was to scratch an itch, nothing more than that.”
“It was probably the same for her,” Theo said.
I swirled the glass.
“She’ll come around. Her father wants his piece more than anything.”
I took a drink. “Her decision seemed pretty ironclad.”
“It was the first time you’d spoken since she saw you in that restaurant. Of course it’s going to be a heated exchange. She needs to air out her grievances and let them stick before she can do anything else. Let her anger abate.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket with a text, so I pulled it out to check. “Dante just texted me.”
“What does that bitch want?”
I read the message before I said it out loud. “‘I’ll get her to change her mind. Just give me some time.’”
11
SCARLETT
I carried the bag of groceries to the counter and kicked the door shut behind me. The market was just a few blocks away, so it was convenient to grab what I needed on a daily basis since I could only carry so much at a time.
Now that I had a lot of free time, I focused on my cooking more. Tonight, I was making chicken, and I couldn’t help but think of the first dinner I’d made Axel and how much he’d loved it. I hadn’t cooked for anyone else since, except when I’d made those cannoli for Theo. I was irritated when he’d rejected me, but now that I knew he and Axel were close, it made sense.
The door opened, and my father entered. “Is it alright if I come in? I saw you walk into the building when I pulled up.”
“Sure. I was just making dinner. Want to join?”
He shut the door then entered the kitchen, that warm smile on his face. “I can’t say no to that. Do you need help?”
“Wash those vegetables. I’ll take care of the chicken.”
He washed his hands then got to work, washing the onion, carrots, and potatoes I’d left on the counter and then chopping and slicing on the cutting board. We fell into comfortable silence, the oven warming the room, the cold winter air pressing against the windows.
“What did you do today?” I asked after I rubbed the lemon marinade across the chicken.
“Worked out…read a book…took a nap.”
“Took a nap?” I asked incredulously. “Wow, you’re a whole different person.”
“Yes, you could say that…” When he finished, he separated the veggies into different bowls so they would be prepared for when I needed them.
I transferred the chicken into a deep baking dish and then arranged the veggies around. It was the same meal I’d made for Axel. I hadn’t made it in over six months, and I thought it was time to move on. I placed it in the oven and set the timer. “Want some wine?”
“I’d love some.”
I uncorked a bottle and poured two glasses.
He took a seat at the table, and I joined him.
We sat there together for a while, neither of us addressing what we were both thinking.
