Page 22 of Unlock My Heart

“Michele riesce a superarlo,” Fabien says dismissively.

“Whatsup.” The guy addresses me with a smile. “I’m Nic. Fabien’s cousin.”

“Hello,” I say politely. I’m Si—” I almost give my real name, catching myself. “I’m Cherry.”

“It’s Sienna from now on,” Fabien corrects me.

I give him a look. “My name’s Cherry.”

“Sienna,” Fabien says.

“Cherry,” I correct him.

“Sienna,” he corrects me.

“Um, I’ll let you two work out this little disagreement. See you later, cugino. And Cherry-Sienna, so nice to meet you.”

I rise, hands on my hips, but Fabien sits, jerking me down beside him. “We’ll have plenty of time for our first fight. For now, let’s eat.”

My stomach betrays me, releasing the loudest growl in human history. “So maybe I am hungry,” I grumble, accepting the sandwich. There is no refined way to eat a shrimp po’ boy, and so I dig right in. “This is really good.”

“Isn’t it? My family’s seafood company is the supplier,” he boasts, taking a bite of his sandwich.

“Not a humble guy, I take it.” I lift an eyebrow.

“Never had a reason to be,” he says without apology. “What’s the food like in Utah?”

My mouth hangs open mid-bite. “How do you know⁠—”

“Sienna, I wouldn’t have brought you here without doing my research,” he tells me in a serious tone.

“Do you bring women here often?” I ask, even though a part of me knows I won’t like the answer.

“No,” he says, and I hate how my face lights up. “Don’t misunderstand me. I have slept with women in the past.”

“How many?” I want to know, and yet I don’t want to know.

“Two,” he tells me, and my chest burns with an unusual feeling. Heartburn, I lie to myself. “Three, counting you.”

My lips purse. “But I thought you didn’t plan on fucking me during our time?”

“That’s right. Because when you do give me this beautiful body, Sienna, it won’t be because I bought it. You’ll give yourself to me because you choose to. Because you choose me,” he says smugly, as if the choice has already been made.

“You seem awfully confident,” I tell him with pursed lips, all the while my heart’s beating out of my chest.

“I do.” He grins, handing me a drink.

With an eye roll, I wrap my lips around the straw and take a sip. “This is the best cherry soda I’ve ever had,” I decide.

Fabien smiles smugly. “It’s the ice.”

“Lemmie guess: your family owns the ice company,” I drawl before taking another sip of the crisp, fizzy soda.

“Not my family; my own personal venture.”

“Sounds like a smart complementary business,” I comment, taking another sip.

“You know business-speak. Makes sense, being your dad’s a businessman himself,” he comments, watching me intently.