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“Lied about what?” she asked.
“Bosco.”
Both of her eyes widened.
“I’m still seeing him.”
“Oh my god…so he wouldn’t let you go.”
“No, not exactly. I told him I wanted to break it off, but he convinced me to stay.” That was putting it mildly. I glanced around the café, wondering who was working for Bosco. They all looked like regular customers who were living their lives. “We agreed to three months. Then we’ll go our separate ways for good.”
Vanessa stared at me in disbelief. “Wow…are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Of course it’s not,” I said bluntly. “But we’ve agreed to it. When it’s over, it’s over.”
“And you think he’ll really honor it?”
I nodded. “I know he will. We signed a contract, and his brother witnessed it. And he told me so.”
Vanessa shook her head slightly. “I’m not judging you, Carmen. I mean, I ended up falling in love with a man who kidnapped me and almost killed me. He’s a natural-born enemy to our family. But if this guy isn’t the man you want to love, I would get out now. Three months is a long time. You might feel differently about him at the end than you do right now. You saw everything I went through with our family to keep Griffin. It was totally worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat…but it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to live through. There’s no way your father will ever like Bosco. My father won’t either. Griffin hates him.”
“Griffin hates everyone.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s not a good example. But you know what I mean. If you get too involved with a man so dangerous, who knows where you might end up? When you get in too deep in a relationship, it’s nearly impossible to get out. And Bosco might change his mind at any time.”
“He won’t,” I said firmly.
Vanessa didn’t challenge me again. “If this is what you want, I won’t try to talk you out of it anymore. I hope everything works out in the end. I don’t want you to get your heart broken—and it seems like that’s the only way this ends.”
“I can’t get my heart broken if I never fall in love with him.”
“Carmen…” She sighed, giving me a look of pity she’d never given me before. “I know you better than you know yourself. You treat men like business transactions, something I’ve always admired you for. When something isn’t working, you don’t hesitate before you ditch them. You’re so smart and pragmatic. But with this guy…you aren’t being smart or pragmatic. You continue to stay even though it’s not working. That can only mean one thing…that you’ve already started to fall for him.”
4
Bosco
I was on the couch when Carmen came home from work.
Drake had already told me about her conversation with Vanessa, that Carmen decided to tell her about our relationship even though we’d agreed to keep it a secret. But that didn’t upset me, not after Vanessa accused her of falling for me.
That information shouldn’t make me happy, not when it didn’t change the course of this relationship. Carmen didn’t confirm it either, so there was no proof she felt that way anyway.
Carmen set her purse on the table in the entryway then pulled off her black pea coat and hung it by the door. Over the course of our time together, she’d made herself at home, leaving her coats on the rack and her favorite boots by the door.
She walked into the living room and stared at me, her guard up as she crossed her arms over her chest.
I rose to my feet and looked at her, standing in my black sweatpants that hung low on my hips. I gave her a look that confirmed her suspicion—that I knew everything.
“I understand you have your men trail me everywhere, but it’s unacceptable that you eavesdrop on my private conversations.” She flashed me a fiery look that made her look angry, but also beautiful. “I don’t overhear your intimate conversations with your brother, so it’s unfair that you listen to mine.”
I didn’t deny her allegation. “I thought we agreed to keep this private.”
“I know, but I couldn’t lie to Vanessa. She’s my best friend. And she’s gonna keep trying to set me up with different men. It’s a lot easier to tell her I’m seeing you instead of making up a bunch of excuses all the time. She would get suspicious after a while anyway and probably would have figured it out on her own.”
“You trust her?”
She didn’t flinch. “With my life. She would never say a word to anyone.”
“I hope you’re right. Because I would hate to hurt the people you care about.”
Her eyes flashed like an atomic bomb had just dropped. “That shit ends now. Make another threat against my family, and I’ll walk out and not come back. I don’t give a damn about that stupid contract.” She pressed her finger into my chest and poked me hard. “I will put you in the ground, asshole. I’m not kidding.” She smacked her palm against my chest, hitting me with barely enough force to even register the sensation.
