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“Griffin is an honorable man. I don’t think it’s right to compare Bosco to him…just yet.”
“Then let’s take baby steps. Can you do that for me…?”
Father stared at my hand as he considered it, noticeably quiet and tense.
I waited patiently.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally agreed. “Okay…I’ll try.”
When I came home, my eyes were puffy and red. I tried to fix my makeup in the rearview mirror in the car so Bosco’s men wouldn’t see my tear-stained face, but there wasn’t much I could without my concealer.
I took the elevator up to the top, and the second the doors opened, he was standing there. With his head several inches higher than mine and with a concerned look on his face, it was obvious he’d been thinking about me the entire time I was gone. His eyes narrowed slightly when he took in my pained expression. “Beautiful.”
“I’m pissed at you right now.” I lacked any conviction whatsoever as I walked around him and stepped into the apartment. I tossed my bag on the table, and just like the other day, I left my boots and coat on the floor because I didn’t care. “But I’m so worked up right now that I don’t want to fight. I need you more than I want to push you away.” When I got all the heavy layers off my body, I moved into his chest and closed my eyes. His body was hard as concrete, not soft like the pillows on his bed. My arms wrapped around him, and I took comfort in the man that I loved, even though he’d lied to me.
Bosco wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. “Didn’t go well, I take it?”
He was so warm, searing hot against my cheek. “It went as well as I expected it to go.”
His hand moved under the fall of my hair and to the back of my neck. He gently massaged the area as his other arm circled my waist and held me close. He didn’t address why I was pissed off at him, probably because he’d figured it out on his own.
I pulled away and looked into his pretty eyes. He was the most powerful man I knew, but even he didn’t have the power to fix this.
“Are you going to let me explain myself?” He slid his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants as he tilted his head slightly to look at me.
I felt betrayed that he’d kept this secret from me for over a month. The entire time I was stressing about my father’s reaction, Bosco knew exactly what that reaction would be. He kept quiet, hiding it as a dirty secret. Nearly every person involved had all the facts, but I didn’t know anything. “No.”
He maintained the same stoic expression.
“I just want to go to bed and forget about this until morning.” I was emotionally drained from the intense conversation with my father. None of it had unfolded the way I wanted. I couldn’t even anticipate the conversation because he dropped a bomb on me the second I walked inside. Bosco could have at least told me the truth before I faced my father for the discussion.
“Will I be joining you?”
“Yes.” I walked into his bedroom and shucked the rest of my clothes, leaving my panties on and fishing a t-shirt out of his drawer. I pulled it on then got into bed.
Bosco joined me a moment later, lying beside me in his boxers. He cradled me to his chest, and we lay there in the darkness, even though it was barely five.
I’d skipped lunch and dinner, but I still wasn’t hungry. I just wanted to lie there and think about nothing.
He dragged his fingers lightly down my back and pressed a kiss to my hairline. “I love you, Beautiful.”
I wasn’t ready to be angry with him, so I put my feelings on hold and let him comfort me. “I love you too…”
When I woke up the next morning, my fury was at the forefront.
Bosco noticed my anger in my movements, the way I quickly got ready for work without looking at him twice. He watched me hurry to do my hair and makeup and pull on my clothes before I marched for the door. “So…now, you’re officially mad?” He followed behind me, his hands moving into the pockets of his sweatpants.
“Very.” I hit the code on the elevator, and the doors opened. “We’ll talk about this when I get home.”
“Why don’t we talk about it now?” He grabbed me by the elbow and gently tugged me back toward him.
“Because I have to work. I already closed the shop enough times trying to talk to my father. I can’t miss any more time.” I looked at him, the fire smoldering in my eyes. “And it would have been helpful to know he was avoiding me on purpose. Wouldn’t have wasted so much of my time.” I yanked my arm out of his grasp and stepped into the elevator.
