AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Eighteen
-Dante-
AFUCKING CHRISTMAStree. First crossword puzzles and now a Christmas tree. I slammed the car door shut and watched from the driveway as Gabriel and Noemi tried to get the small tree untangled from the ropes that tied the Douglas fir to the top of Gabriel’s Lexus.
It should have been me. While I was flying around the country trying to figure out who was playing puppet master with our lives, the woman I’d been losing sleep over was being protected by my brother. She was eating dinner with him, according to what Ma told me when I arrived home. The two were scouring the lots like a married couple looking for the perfect Christmas tree.
My gut had tightened when my mother told me where Gabriel was and who he was with as soon as I walked in the door and found no one home but her and some of Gabriel’s henchmen.
I should have stayed in the fucking house. Instead, I went to my car to get the jewelry I’d brought home for Ma and Lilly. When I flipped open the lockbox in the trunk, two black velvet boxes looked up at me, but the small, generic, white cardboard box next to them had all my attention.
I picked up the nondescript square and steeled myself against the memories of sand and surf, of briny salt water and endless walks along the beaches of Smuggler’s Island. Of dances in the moonlight and nights of unspent passion.
I never got my fill of her. No matter how many times I had loved her during that week, I was never satisfied.
I never would be.
I tossed the box back into my lockbox and shoved the two high-end velvet cases into my coat pocket. When I looked up, Gabriel’s car had pulled up in front of Noemi’s house. Noemi and Gabriel got out and proceeded to laugh with each other as they struggled to release the tree.
Slamming the trunk lid got their attention. They both turned my way. Gabriel waved at me with a goofy-ass grin that I wanted to punch off his face. Noemi’s eyes widened and she gave me a weak smile before turning away.
I thought we were over that shit. I knew she wouldn’t be excited to see me, but I thought she had at least learned to face me. In less than a week, we were back to square one? Her, finding comfort with my family, and me standing alone out in the cold.
Fuck that.
I ignored them and went back inside.
I went straight to my office and poured a shot of scotch.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the week we spent together didn’t have as much significance as I thought it did. Maybe I was the only one questioning my very being, wondering who the fuck I really was and guessing about what would be left of the man I am when I moved on without her.
I took a chance. I played with fire and I was still burning. For her.
For the first time in my life, I wanted to be wrong. I wanted everything I did to keep her safe to be a mistake so I could throw open the door, march through the snow and sweep her up in my arms. I wanted to sit in front of the fireplace with her then help her decorate that damn tree.
I reached for the Dalmor and poured another shot. I downed it and moved on to a third as I sat down at my computer and pulled up video footage of Noemi’s house. The tree was still laying against the side of the car. When I couldn’t find Noemi or Gabriel, I switched cameras, checking every perimeter shot that gave me a glimpse of the Petrafuso home. Finally, I found them.
Noemi stomped through the snow with Gabriel beside her as she approached the walkway to our front door.
Fuck. What now? A cozy hot chocolate in front of the fire? I’d kill him. I didn’t need to explain shit to him. He knew how I felt about her. He evensaid so. What the hell was up with him bringing her home to throw their friendship in my face?
All I saw was red. I fucking lost it. I slammed my laptop shut. My blood pounded so hard I barely heard the commotion in the kitchen as I approached. I slammed the swinging door with the palm of my hand and welcomed the pain that reminded me who I was.
“Watch out!” Gabriel yelled, pulling Noemi out of the way of the door as I stormed into the kitchen.
“What the fuck is going on?” I demanded.
Gabriel tried to push Noemi behind him. “Nothing. Stay there,” he ordered her as she tried to get around him.
“No,” she hissed back.
“Stop fucking telling her what to do,” I seethed. Who the hell did he think he was to command her like that?
“I was trying to - You know what. Never mind.” He jabbed his finger in my direction. “I was trying to keep her from barging into your office but now, I don’t care. Have at it. Apparently, the two of you need to talk through some shit. Or maybe talking isn’t what you need at all, but I’m too much of a gentleman to say what you really need.”
“Get the fuck out of here,” I growled at his suggestion.
Gabriel crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. It’d been a long time since I knocked my kid brother on his ass, but his smug expression begged for it.
