My stupid,stupidheart lit like a Christmas tree.
That statement was all too easy to believe.
Pushing inside, I stormed upstairs, giving myself a good talking to. This was the same song and dance I saw my mom perform. She met a guy, she believed him. And ultimately, her heart wound up broken again.
Men—especiallyrich men—didn’t care. Period. And I would be damned if I let Dominico Grimaldi make me a tool.
“So don’t go,” I snapped at myself, fingers paused over the last button on the bodice.
Glancing out the window at the big house, I chewed on the inside of my cheek.
The indecision didn’t last long. I reasoned myself out of the funk.
“I’m going because it sounds exciting.” Because I wanted to experience the world of shadows I was dancing on the edge of. I was a big girl; I could take care of myself.
I was not going because it meant spending time with Nico.
He was forbidden.
My chest tightened, but I pushed through the feeling. I was back outside, opening the garage door moments later.
“You should let me drive.” Luigi extinguished his cigarette. “Then I can rub it in Nico’s face.”
Pausing with the keys in hand, I tried to grapple with the overwhelming surge of…something. While letting Luigi break my rule sounded like fun, and part of me would enjoy the fact rubbed in Nico’s face, I felt oddly protective. Like Nico should be the one breaking my rules.
That’s not happening either.My brain jumped around like a live wire.It’s just your pussy messing with your heart.
“I don’t let men drive her,” I snapped. “Now get in.”
Chapter 20 – Nico
She came.
I wished I could say I knew she would. But there had been a shred of doubt that Luigi wouldn’t be able to convince her. If I didn’t have to work the details out with Joey and his dad, I would have gone for her myself.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the garage and let the blistering sunlight bake me. Today was a milestone. The first hurdle was done. Magnolia Rae was here. If I played my cards right, she would enjoy our little adventure and cravemore.
And I would be the lucky bastard welcoming her with open arms into the underworld.
The beautiful red beast purred as it turned into the drive. The white racing stripes reached over the hood toward the windshield. I forgot the exact name of the color from the one time I read about the history of her car, but who remembered things like that? All I knew was that the color combination was rare—most of the ’69 Yenkos were blue-white or silver-black. But not this one. No, Rae had to pick something unique. I thought it was both aggressive and elegant, the same as the beautiful woman sitting behind the wheel.
I opened the car door, and Luigi jumped out.
Rae peeked through the open passenger door, her gaze met mine briefly, but then it slid past to the garage. I knew the moment she saw my friend’s car. Her hazel eyes lit with a fire. Two seconds later, she cut the engine and was racing around the hood toward the garage.
“No way!” She flew past me. “No freaking way!”
Luigi grinned from where he held the driver’s door open. “See something you like, cara?”
My vision hazed red. He dared to call her darling.
I should put a gun to his head.
My fist clenched at my side on instinct, but Luigi ignored me.
“What do you have under there?” Rae’s voice was filled with awe.
“The 454….” Luigi was smiling like an idiot. He shot a look to me as if to tell me he knew more about my girl. “The LS7. Like what you see, carina?”
