Page 66 of How Not to Mess with a Millionaire

“It’s not your concern,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Not my concern?” She practically spat his words back at him as she hunted for something in her purse. “I’ll tell you what’s my concern. You all but ignored me.”

She threw a coin at him. So that’s what she was searching for. It bounced off his chest and pinged against the cobblestones.

“I’m pretty sure you forgot I was even here.”

A second coin whizzed by his ear.

“And when you finally did remember, you told your friends—or whoever they were, since you didn’t see fit to introduce us—that we barely knew each other.”

The third coin hit him smack in the forehead and landed at his feet.

Her lip quivered, and it looked like she was fighting hard not to cry. “Do you know how that made me feel? Like you were ashamed to be seen with me. Like I was some kind of dirty secret you had to hide.”

Dante’s heart twisted at the obvious pain in her words. Part of him longed to comfort her. To reach out and fold her into his arms, reassure her that that his feelings for her were honest and genuine and that nothing between them had changed.

But that would be a lie. Besides, it was best this way. Painful, yes. But also quick. Better than dragging it out, continuing the pretense that he was capable of a long-term relationship.

He tightened his jaw. “We both knew this would have to end eventually.”

Zoe shook her head, her eyes wild and confused. “I don’t get it. You told me about Nicole, and I know how difficult that was for you. Ten minutes ago, you were talking about fountains and coins and love and marriage. Now you’re treating me like I’m radioactive.”

The tears that were threatening started to spill over. “Please, Dante. Talk to me. Tell me what changed.”

Leave it to Zoe to ask for the one thing he was incapable of giving her.

The truth.

He cupped her cheek, allowing himself that one last luxury. By some miracle, she didn’t pull away. Her pale skin was damp under his palm, and he brushed back a teardrop with his thumb. “I can’t give you what you want. I thought I could, but I can’t. I’m sorry,carina.”

The endearment was like a trigger. She jerked back, her expression stormy. “Don’t call me that. And don’t touch me. You’re no different than my cheating scumbag of an ex-boyfriend. Or my two-faced, design-stealing boss. You lied to me. Made me start to believe this was more than a holiday romance. I was an idiot to let myself fall for you.”

Now it was his turn to reel.She’d fallen for him?

Zoe hitched her purse up on her shoulder. “I’m leaving. Don’t follow me. I’ll have the doorman let me into your apartment, and my stuff will be out by midnight. Except for Houdini. As much as I want to, I can’t take him with me. You’ll have to figure out what do with him. Just make sure he has a good home. Somewhere he won’t be turned intopancetta. That’s the least you can do for him, and for me.”

Dante wanted to ask where she’d go at that hour, but she didn’t give him a chance to respond, turning on her heel and stalking away from him as quickly as she could in four-inch stilettos. She’d only taken a few steps when she wheeled around and tossed one last barb at him.

“You know what? I feel sorry for you, Dante. I get that you’ve been hurt. But guess what? Lots of people get hurt. I’ve been hurt. And yeah, it sucks. Big time. But it’s not a reason to shut yourself off from life. From love. I’m brave enough to put myself out there. To try again. I hope you are someday, too, even if it’s not with me.”

Unable to speak, Dante could only watch Zoe storm off into the pitch-black September night. When the darkness had swallowed her, he bent and retrieved the coins she threw at him, turning them over and over in his palm as the stupid legend echoed in his brain, mocking him.

One coin, return to Rome.

Two coins, fall in love.

Three coins, get married.

He drew his arm back to hurl them into the damn fountain, then stopped. Three euros. They were all he had left of her. Well, that and a pig.

He stuffed the coins into his pocket and stared at the fountain. The cascading water was strangely hypnotic, but not enough to dull the pain of letting Zoe walk away. He was doing the right thing breaking it off with her. Not only for his own protection, but for hers. He was damaged goods. She deserved a man with less baggage than he carried. But that didn’t make losing her any easier. And the thought of her with someone else—

His chest squeezed. She was right about one thing. Getting hurt—how had she put it?

It sucked. Big time.

Chapter Fourteen