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“Oh, please. He’s in the mafia. Did you think he was going to give ‘em a stern talking to? They fucked with you, so he fucked them up. Sounds like he’s established how much you mean to him.”
“As a possession. Sometimes…sometimes I feel like he doesn’t understand me, Tash. I don’t know if I can be with him after what happened with Giancarlo. It’s broken me down so much, and he walked out when I needed him.”
“To gokillhis uncle and brother. Both responsible for what happened to you.” Tasha sets down her flat iron and turns away from the bathroom mirror with arms folded across her chest. “Look, Falynn, Louis has told me some things. Do you know what Gio did to his brother? He tortured him. For days. He might not’vetoldyou with his words, but he was feeling…very guilty about it. Louis thinks he blames himself for not being there to protect you.”
“But I don’t blame him for that. He was an ocean away. He was almost dead.”
“Doesn’t matter for a man like Gio. Girl, you know how these alpha mafia types are. You’re his woman, so anytime something happens to you, he sees it ashisfailure.”
“I wish he’d just…be with me. That’s all I want. For him to be present.”
“If what Louis says is true, he’s trying. You scared the shit out of him packing your things.”
“When I left the other night, he seemed heartbroken,” I say, my mind traveling backward in time. I plop down on the covered toilet seat and release a sigh of reflection. “In the moment, it felt good to leave him how he left me. It sounds petty, but that’s how I felt. I was so mad at him. I wanted him to know what it was like. But Idomiss him, Tash. I miss him so much already. We’ve been apart for so long these past few weeks…”
“Then fuck this tit-for-tat shit! You know how quick he’ll come get you if you say the word? Do it! Go ride that dick and tell that man you love him.”
A small, pensive smile comes to my face without any effort. The other night when Gio had pulled me into his arms, he’d peered into my eyes, and I’dfelthis heartbeat thundering out of control as I slipped away from him. He was terrified of losing me.
Giovanni Anthony Sorrentino may not be a man who speaks the floweriest words, but my heart tells me he’s just as in love with me as I am with him. Maybe even more so…
The future looms over us, a dark mystery where anything’s possible, but am I willing to walk away from the only man I’ve truly loved out of fear of whatmighthappen?
When I agreed to be with Gio, I agreed to accept him for the man he is. I knew his lifestyle would become my lifestyle, too. I’d fallen for him so hard, I’d decided I’d adapt. I’d mold myself to fit his world. How can I run now that things are hard?
I love him too much to give up, consumed by the mere thought of him.
“I know that look,” Tasha says, shaking her head. “You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?”
“Gio’s going to owe you a big favor. You’ve talked me off the ledge. You’re right…what am I fighting? I still love him.”
“Iknow. I’m just glad I got this free vacation in a luxury suite.” Tasha smirks as she unplugs her flat iron and wraps the cord around the hair tool. “I’m guessing you’re going back tonight. I’m low-key relieved. I was running out of things to say to make you feel better. Plus, one of us deserves to be happy with a man who loves her.”
My lovesick thoughts of Gio vanish for a second as I stand up from the toilet seat. For as much hell as Tasha gives me about Gio, I’m ready to dish some out myself.
“You can have that too. With Louis.”
Tasha’s smirk turns bitter as she scoffs. “Not my thing. When it comes to men, I’d rather get my cash and go.”
“Louis really likes you—”
“When you’ve dealt with as many men as I have, Fal, it’s too late to see them for anything other than their wallet. But you,” she says, glancing at me in the mirror. “You’re still new to the game. You haven’t been totally jaded like me. Get out now while you can.”
A hard knock makes us jump. I recognize the sound at once. Louis has a unique way of pounding his giant fists on doors. We leave the bathroom behind to go answer.
“Ladies,” Louis says, nodding hello as he enters our suite. He carries a bouquet of roses so big, it almost makes him look normal-sized. The accompanying envelope he hands to me. “Boss just wanted to let you know he’s thinking of you.”
I’m not too busy slicing open the envelope to notice Louis’s glance at Tasha. She merely smiles in return, in her usual coy Tasha manner, before he leaves us alone again.
“What’s it say?”
“He misses me and wants to do dinner tonight at the Vittoria.”
Tasha nudges me. “Well? You going or nah?”
My heart flutters as I move over to the fresh red roses and inhale my first whiff. “I don’t think I can make it another night without him.”
In true Gio fashion, he arranges a limo to pick me up. That’safterhe’s sent a beautiful present from Balmain for me to wear—a cocktail dress that sheens like a pearl, its sexy mesh bodice teasing just the right amount of skin. I feel conflicted as Tasha helps me into the expensive piece.
