Page 16 of Complications

“One of Matteo’s employees was being shitty.”

Michel went still in a way that made the air feel heavier, like the words had settled into the room and refused to move. I had never discussed my uncle’s business with anyone outside the family, but Michel was the one who stitched everyone up when things went wrong, so he obviously had more than an inkling of what actually went on.

“What did you say?”

The shock in his voice made sense, but I didn’t like it. I wasn’t a child, and I wasn’t helpless, and I wasn’t as useless as the family treated me.

“You heard me. He was going too far, and I stepped in.”

“Does your uncle know?”

“Pretty sure Sam isn’t going to mention it to him,” I snorted.

Michel looked at me the way the rest of them did when they thought I’d overstepped, like I was some wayward kid who didn’t understand the rules of a game I’d grown up studying my entire life. They all acted like I didn’t know what they were doing, like I was too soft or too naive to understand it. But it pissed me off more when Michel did it because I didn’t fucking deserve that look from him.

A real job with the family wasn’t an option because Matteo refused to let me join. Instead, I got pushed to the fringes, expected to stay out of the way, completely useless within my own family, while everyone around me alternated between pity and disgust. Then, when someone was clearly stepping out of line, I was expected to step back and let it happen. A Ricci wasn’t a Leone, and every damn day, I got a reminder of it.

But seeing Michel look at me the same way as the rest of them was too fucking much. Between pity and disgust, I’d take the second option every time. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I forced myself to meet his eyes. Abject pity stared back at me.

“Never mind. I’m fine.”

I tried to force myself around him and let myself out the door. The crushing ache in my chest made it hard to breathe. If I could run away and never see a damn one of them again, I would. Even as the thought crossed my mind, I knew I was lying to myself. The family might not want me, but I’d never walk away from them.

“Stop!”

Michel’s voice thundered in the tight room, and I stopped instantly.

“You’re not going anywhere except my study. Follow me.”

He locked the door behind him before grabbing my uninjured hand and dragging me into one of the rooms toward the back. Once I was inside, he slammed the door shut and barred it with his body.

“If you wanted me alone, all you had to do was say so,” I drawled.

He narrowed his eyes but stayed quiet. I saw the gears turning behind them. Normally, they were calm, but today, they flashed with a fury that was wholly directed at me.

“What the fuck did you do to yourself tonight?” He paused and added, “Knock off the flirting, or I’ll call your uncle right now.”

Well, shit. I wasn’t ready for the conversation I knew I couldn’t avoid with Matteo, so I might as well answer and delay it a little while longer.

“You mean, besides the split eyebrow?”

The look of shock on his face almost made me chuckle. Almost. The dawning realization of horror that overtook his expression forced the laugh out of me anyway.

“Oh my God, did you not even notice?”

“Shut up.”

“I’m gonna take that as a yes,” I drawled.

At some point in the last sixty seconds, we’d orbited closer to each other. I found myself standing directly in front of Michel, his back to the door because he hadn’t moved an inch since we’d come into the room. My eyebrow was fine. Medical care wasn’t needed beyond some antiseptic, and we both knew it.

What I needed and wanted was him.

I needed his steadiness, his calmness, maybe even a little of his judgment because it always came wrapped in enough concern that I willingly overlooked that he thought I was an idiot most of the time. I just wanted to be near him, and I didn’t know how else to say that. Even admitting it to myself made me feel foolish.

There was no goddamn way this was going anywhere, even if I wanted it to. Even if he wanted it to. Michel and Matteo had been friends for years, and I doubted he was going to jeopardize that friendship or their business arrangements over the family non-entity. But right now, he was a breath away from me. His chest heaved inches away from mine, and the effort not to touch him was monumental.

I wasn’t entirely sure if I was grateful or not when I heard the persistent vibration of his phone in his pocket.