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“Oh.”
Silence fell between them.
“I can get a cab home. That’s not a problem. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“It’s not about the cab. I don’t mind leaving you here. I just don’t want you to be hurt.”
“Diego, don’t worry about it. If you’re not here, I’d rather head home.”
“I’ll take you home.”
She stepped toward the sound of him. Taking hold of his hands, she smiled. “Please, stop worrying so much about me.”
He grabbed her ass, holding her close. “I’ll always worry about you.”
She kissed his lips, stepping back.
“I’m going to drop you off home, and no, I’m not going to hear any complaints about it either. You’re too important to me to just abandon.”
“I could come with you.”
“Not tonight.”
“You’re not going to the club?”
“No. It’s something else. Family stuff.”
He rarely talked about his family.
“Whatever it is, I hope you get it sorted out.”
“I will.”
He helped her into her jacket. His impatience showed through, and she tried to rush. He didn’t lose his temper with her or anything. She just knew he wanted to be somewhere else, and immediately. This was another one of those moments that pissed her off and where she wished she wasn’t blind.
They made it to his car, and she quickly strapped in without taking her time.
Diego drove fast, and she realized she didn’t know all that much about him. For a man who owned a club, something really important had come up.
When he came to a stop outside of her apartment, she jerked forward in her seat from the force.
Diego was already out of the car and opening her door.
It’s fine. Everything is fine.
“You’d tell me if it was anything serious, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, of course. It’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?” She hated to pry, especially when he didn’t want to tell her anything.
“It’s nothing.”
They went to her elevator, and she stayed tense at his side, wishing to be at home. He took the key from her, opening her door. He nudged her into her apartment, cupped her face, and kissed her hard.
“I would rather finish our bet than do this.”
She held his arms. “It’s fine. Honestly, it’s fine.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I’m done.”
Another kiss and then he was gone.
She went to the door, flicking the lock into place. The scent of his cologne still hung heavy in the air.
Reaching out for the door, she counted the steps as she took them toward her sitting room. Collapsing onto her sofa, she flung her head back, running a hand down her face.
Diego confused her.
Right now, she knew she should ask him more about his life and what he did, but at the same time, when she was with him, she felt so safe, so protected.
She’d given him her virginity.
“Get a grip, Belle. You’re fine. This is fine.”
She was just worrying for no reason at all. Her cell phone buzzed, alerting her to her father calling.
She instructed it to accept the call. “Hey, Dad,” she said.
“Sweetheart. It has been too long since I heard from you.”
She chuckled. “It has been a couple of days. Not that long.”
“I miss you. Can I convince you to come home?”
“Not yet. Nothing bad has happened. I’m happy.”
“You’re still working in that restaurant?”
“Yes, and tutoring. Don’t forget that.” She loved teaching kids the piano. Hearing them improve and their true talent was precious to her.
“I don’t like you working in a restaurant.”
“Well, I don’t like you eating lots of steak, but you still do it.”
“Steak won’t kill me,” he said.
“Lots of steak will. I’m perfectly safe.”
“I don’t like it. I’m actually thinking of coming out for a visit soon.”
“Has Melanie said something?” she asked.
She had confided to Melanie she’d met someone. She hadn’t told her friend who it was because she was still a little pissed at her friend. Not once but twice now Melanie had left her. If it wasn’t for Diego, she could have really hurt herself, but then, without Melanie, she wouldn’t have met Diego.
No, she couldn’t justify Melanie’s abandonment.
“Why? What should she have told me?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Belle, you know I can see through your lies, right? You answer too quickly and your voice goes really high-pitched.”
She groaned. “Okay, I may have met someone.”
“Someone?”
“A guy? He owns a club. One Melanie abandoned me in.” There, her father could focus on that.
“Hold on, abandoned? Met a guy? What the hell is going on?”
“It’s nothing. You don’t have to worry. I’ve got to go.”
“Belle, if you hang up this phone, I will be there tomorrow morning and you will not be able to run away, remember that.”
Taking a deep breath, she ran a hand down her face. “Okay, okay, fine.” She told him everything. Her father was overprotective, and she loved that about him. Only, she didn’t want her dad turning up.
This thing with Diego, it was new, so very new. A week kind of new. Meeting parents was strictly for stable relationships where people knew what was going to happen in the future. She didn’t even know if she and Diego would last the month. He was her first boyfriend, and she didn’t know what the whole protocol was.
