AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He covers his mouth and pretends to cough. "Me? Nothing."
"It’s over before it even started. Whatever we had was a lie. She was in love with someone else when she slept with me. Clearly, I was too overcome by lust to notice it."
I kick out my leg, and lean my weight into my hamstrings. The muscles give and the tension slowly drains out of my limb.
"You can’t blame yourself, Massimo. Haven’t you heard the saying?"
I turn to him. "Which one?"
"Love is blind."
"In my case, it was also hard of hearing.”Which is why I didn’t listen to the clues in what she was trying to tell me—that she would never be mine.
17
Two weeks later
Olivia
Fuck them. Fuck all of them.Bet they’re surprised I’m crashing the gathering. And honestly, I wouldn’t give a damn about being here, or about any of them except, it’s Solene’s engagement day.
Since the day she was born, Solene has had my heart. I remember when Mamma placed her in my arms. A little bundle, wrapped up in baby clothes, with a shock of blonde hair peeking over the top. She opened her blue eyes and looked at me, and my heart stuttered. Something like love and a fierce need to protect wound its way around my heart. I rocked her to sleep that day, and swore I’d never let anyone, or anything harm her.
And she’s getting engaged today... She texted me the address and begged me to come. She’s excited about her upcoming nuptials, but she also wants me there to support her. She needs me, and I’m not going to let her down. I’ll even face the ire of the rest of my family for her.
I spent the last two weeks recuperating and coming to terms with the fact that I’m going to wear the scar from my injury on my face for the foreseeable future. It’s going to fade with time, but the shadow of it will always be there on my cheek. The first time I saw my naked face in the mirror, I burst out crying.
I was alone by choice. I didn’t want Jeanne or Penny with me. Jeanne would have felt guilty because I was shot instead of her. Penny would have felt obliged to spend time with me. And both of them are still starring inBeauty and the Beast,which just successfully completed its two-week run, and is now going to be extended for another two weeks. They need to focus on that, and I? I need to get my head back in the game and focus on rebuilding my career. But first, I have to get through Solene’s engagement and this impromptu family reunion.
The scent of jasmine and roses surrounds me. I draw it into my lungs. Why is my heart beating so fast? They are only my family. So what if they hate me? I should be used to it by now, right? I take in the crowd in front of me. My uncle and cousins are dressed in black suits and ties. So, what’s new? At least none of them are wearing their sunglasses indoors which, I shit you not, they have been known to do. The women have turned up in designer dresses, shoes, and bags. All bearing the labels of the most expensive couture, no doubt. That’s one thing we in theCamorrado well—act as if every scene in our life is lifted from a Hollywood movie.
I plant my hand on my thrust-out hip and strike a pose at the entrance. Sooner or later, someone is going to notice me, and I can’t wait to see the look on their face. One of my aunts turns in my direction. Her gaze passes over me, then swings back to rest on my face. Her features twist into an expression of dismay. It’s comical, really. Ladies and gents, meet my dear blood family. More blood than family, really. My aunt nudges the woman next to her, and my mother turns her head. When she sees me, her mouth opens and shuts before she firms her lips. She takes a step in my direction.
Shit, best to make my presence known to the gathering before she marches over and tells me to leave. Not that I’m going to obey her. I just prefer to be the one taking the lead. Nothing like going on the offensive where my family is concerned. I toss my hair back, shove my leg, clad in sheer tights with nine-inchLouboutin'son my feet, through the slit in my dress, then paste a big-ass smile on my face. "Not happy to see me,famiglia?"
My mother takes another step in my direction. And I step toward her. And promptly stumble.Fuck, fuck, fuck.It has to be the heels. It has nothing to do with the shot of tequila. Okay, two… no, three shots I threw back to shore up my courage before I got here. My heart ricochets in my rib cage, and my pulse shoots through the roof. I squeeze my eyes shut, shoot my hands out in front of me, and brace myself to hit the floor, when my shoulders are gripped.
I hit something hard—not the floor—something wide and tall, clothed in a soft cashmere. Eyes still shut, I dig my fingers into the fabric, lean in until my nose connects with the wall… Not a wall—something steely, and ripped, and warm. So warm. Heat pours over me. Static electricity whips through my veins. The hair on my forearms stands on end. I drag in a deep breath, this one laced with darkness and musk and testosterone. An unmistakably male scent. One that I know.
Hot breath, hard fingers that had gripped my hips, the friction of his beard as he’d dragged it across my core. Goosebumps sprinkle my skin. My thighs clench.No, no, no. It can’t be. Not him. Please, not him. Not here. Not now.
It’s him. Here. Now.
"Open your eyes." His voice rumbles up his chest, sinks into my skin, and warms my blood. My nipples pebble. My scalp tingles and I shake my head.
"Open. Your. Eyes." He lowers his tone to a hush, and my nerve endings spark.
Only when his gray eyes hold mine, do I realize I’ve raised my eyelids. I take in those elevated cheekbones, so sharp they could, surely, cut my skin, those hollows under his eyes, more pronounced than I’ve seen them before, the thin, mean upper lip that hints at his sadistic streak, the one that speaks to the darkness inside me. That pouty lower lip, which I dug my teeth into and tasted blood. His jaw hardens. That square jaw, dusted with a five o’clock shadow, that I teased him about and which he confessed he made no effort to cultivate. That gorgeous neck, which I fell in love with even before I’d seen his features. Broad shoulders, so wide they block out the rest of the room, and for the moment, I’m grateful for that.
I need a second, a few seconds, to digest what’s happening here. His grip on my shoulders tightens and I feel his touch all the way to my toes. My entire body is one mass of wanting, my stomach in knots, my chest so tight I can barely draw in a breath.
Massimo. Oh, Massimo. Where art thou, Massimo?Stop it, he’s not your Romeo.
A trembling grips me, and my knees threaten to give out from under me again. His hold on me tightens.
"Via?" He frowns, calling me by the name that only he uses.
My heart aches for what he could have been to me. For what we once had. My guts twist, and my stomach churns. Darkness flickers around the corners of my vision, and I taste bile on my tongue.
