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Chapter Seventeen
-Noemi-
INEEDED TO BE SLEEPINGbut I laid there with a heavy ache in my chest, weeping and crying one minute, then punching my pillow and pissed off the next.
I knew my relationship with Dante wasn’t going to be permanent. He never led me on or pretended that our trip to Barbados was anything more than a means to fulfill our contract.
At least, not in the beginning.
But once we arrived at Smuggler’s Island, I got to know a different side of him. I got to see the Dante of my dreams, still dark and demanding, but not as distant, not as remote as the man I’d known in Connecticut.
I got to know his gentle half and with that knowledge came hope. I wanted desperately to believe that what we had, what we experienced together, could be more than a one week stand.
But the way he treated me with such disdain once we boarded theMary Theresato return home shattered all those hopes. I realized he didn’t want anything to last beyond our trip, but to abandon me in the airport? To put me on a plane and walk away? He didn’t even put me on the plane. He just handed me my boarding pass then left.
When I first came home, I thought I’d be okay, but as the hours and days passed, my anger grew along with the overwhelming ache that took up residence in my heart. When did I become such a crier? Yes, I was an introvert, but I had never been the overly emotional sort who cried at the drop of a hat. Not until Dante came back into my life. I was getting nauseous from bouncing back and forth between fits of tears and fits of fury.
As much as I wanted to hate Dante, I couldn’t. My predicament, along with being my torture, was also completely my fault. I set myself up for the fall. Dante had warned me, long ago, about opening myself up to more pain than I could handle. It may have taken five years, but his prophecy came true.
I bargained with the devil and he won. He got my virginity and I got a broken heart. He was off doing God knew what while I tried to put the memory of the best week of my life behind me.
I tried to move past it, but that wasn’t easy when I found myself in his home as early as the next morning after I arrived back in Connecticut.
True to his word, one of Gabriel’s employees had met me at the airport with one of those cheesy “Noemi Petrafuso” signs.
“That’s me,” I said to the tall, heavy set man who held the sign with as much enthusiasm as one would when sent to run an errand that was the equivalent of babysitting.
“Right this way.”
No greetings, no conversation. He did, however, take my bags for me as he led me to a dark SUV. The drive from New York to Connecticut was longer than it should have been. I guess most things would be when you spend the time replaying one five-minute conversation over and over again.
When we were about ten minutes from home, I received a text from Lilly. We never managed to connect during my travels with Dante so this time, I answered her right away.
Lilly: Gabriel said you’re on your way home. OMG! WTH is going on?
Me: Long story.
Lilly: Dinner tonight. I need to know everything!
Me: I’m tired. Rain check for tomorrow?
Lilly: OK. Breakfast?
Me: Sounds good.
Lilly: 9. See ya then.
––––––––
ITIPPED MY HEAD BACKand turned to watch the scenery pass by in a blur of green and blue. I was not ready for Lilly’s inquisition. She’d want to hear all the gory details, but this was her brother we would be talking about. This was Dante. His privacy meant a lot to him and no matter how irritated I was, I couldn’t betray his trust. Lilly would understand. She’d have to.
But when I arrived for breakfast the next morning, Lilly was nowhere to be found.
I knocked on the door and was allowed in by another one of Gabriel’s employees. It wasn’t any of my business, but it seemed as though there were more of them hanging around the house than usual. Even a few sitting out in a car in front of the street. I didn’t know Gabriel employed so many people, but I didn’t recognize any of them except Jacko who was sitting in the kitchen with Gabriel when I walked in.
As soon as I walked into the room, Gabriel jerked his head toward the door. Jacko gave me a smile but immediately left the kitchen through the back door.
“The weary traveler returns,” Gabriel said as he spread his arms wide.
