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The man tilted his head, a small smile crossing over his features as he shook his head. "I go where Matteo goes, ma'am. We weren’t introduced last night. I'm Simon, Matteo's head of security."
"Okay, so you're his security. Ignoring the fact that you both broke into my house," I paused to roll my eyes, ignoring the chuckle from both men. "Then who is he?" I gestured to the other man who sat at the island, dutifully drinking his coffee.
"That's Paolo. We call him Scar," Simon said with a polite smile. "He goes where you go." I blinked, stepping back from both men in favor of getting to my front door.
I was in way over my head.
I snatched my keys off the console, striding for the front door with another shake of my head. "Miss Torres?" Simon called, and something in his voice made me turn back to glance at him the moment my hand hit the doorknob. "It won't do you any good."
"What?" I whispered.
"Running. It won't matter. He'll never stop. Do yourself a favor, and just settle into your new life instead of fighting it, yeah?" My blood chilled at his words, and panic flooded my veins.
"Ah, you're scaring my Angel I see," Matteo said from the top of the stairs. His legs made quick work of hurrying down them to meet me at the foot of the stairs. Touching his lips to my cheek briefly, he kissed me goodbye like a husband leaving for work. As if our relationship was normal, and he hadn’t broken into my home while I slept. I turned to face him, and I knew he could see the apprehension in my face. "Don't worry, Simon and I are leaving. I have business to see to." I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Try not to give Scar too much shit, okay?"
"You can't be serious!" I protested. "I'm not letting you put some babysitter on me."
"Bodyguard," Matteo corrected in a deep voice that left no room for argument. "Scar, why don't you take up position outside for the time being? I don't think Ivory is ready to have a house guest just now."
"Yes, boss," Scar grunted, chugging the rest of his coffee and sliding past me to get to the front door quickly.
"Is he just going to stand out there all day?"
"He'll do perimeter checks periodically. Aside from that he has the SUV." I hesitated, feeling horrible that the man would have to just sit out there, but steeled myself against the feeling. I wouldn't let an intruder remain in my home just because it was less comfortable outside.
"See you later, Angel," Matteo said, pressing a quick kiss to my unmoving lips and then he and Simon were gone without another word. Matteo's Aston Martin and what I presumed was Simon's SUV backed out of the driveway, and Scar's voice reached me from the remaining SUV when he rolled the window down.
"Go back inside, Miss Torres," he said, his voice void of any form of inflection. I nodded, stepping back into my house. I went for my phone.
I needed Sadie.
???
Sadie sat at my island again, her customary place. Having had the two unfamiliar asses perched in the seats that my two best friends had claimed so long ago sent another pang of discomfort through me. She was far too quiet, though it was probably to be expected. She hadn't gotten the full story yet, only as far as the fact that I had in fact gone on the date.
She didn't know that I'd woken up to Matteo mostly naked in my bed.
Or that he'd invited two strangers into my home, because he had no boundaries when it came to me or my privacy.
I nabbed the onion from my drawer, setting it down on the cutting board a little too forcefully. "What are you making now?" Sadie asked, and I didn't miss the suspicion in her voice.
"Spring risotto," I said. "The recipe was fantastic, and I want to see if I can replicate it while it's still fresh, you know?"
My front door opened, and Duke's face filled my vision when he crowded into my space quickly. He took my face in his hands, his eyes boring into mine, and then they darted to glance all over my face as if he'd be able to see trauma. "I told you. I'm fine," I hissed.
"You also told me you wouldn't go on the date," he accused, and I winced.
"I didn't have much choice." My voice was a weak whisper. I so didn't want Duke to be present for the conversation I needed to have with Sadie. He would lose his mind.
"What does that mean? And what's with the beefcake screening your visitors? Christ, Ivory," he turned, plopping into his customary bar stool.
"He's her security, apparently," Sadie said, sipping her green smoothie through her straw.
"What the fuck? Why do you need security?"
"That's a really good question," Sadie concurred, and I knew I would not get out of admitting the entire story. Not now that I'd started.
"Can we just talk about this later?" I asked Sadie pointedly as I finished chopping my onion.
