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The second phone rang, and I quickly answered it. “Hey.”
His deep voice was on the other line. “Hey, sweetheart.”
We hadn’t spoken in a couple days, and the second I heard his voice, I melted into a puddle. “I miss you…” I’d turned into one of those clingy women who couldn’t give their man space. But there was so much I couldn’t say during those six weeks apart, so I didn’t hesitate to say it now. It still felt like a dream, having this man walk back into my life and look at me the way he used to.
A long stretch of silence passed, a buildup of tension.
“Are you still there?”
“Yes. Just enjoying your words.”
“I missed you every day…”
“I missed you every night.” My eyes closed, memorizing the sound of his voice, the way it wrapped around me like he was there with me. “How was your day?”
“It hasn’t started.”
“Oh, that’s right. You just woke up.”
“How was yours?”
“Eh.”
“Eh?” he asked, slightly amused.
“I talked to Victor today. Told him I’m getting cold feet about killing my father.”
He turned quiet.
“You were right… He’s playing me.”
“Did he say that?”
“No, but I could tell. The second I expressed my doubt, he encouraged me to drop the vendetta. It’s exactly what he wants. For my father and me to get along, for me to take him back, for us to have the life we had seven years ago.”
“I almost feel bad for him.Almost.”
I didn’t feel bad for him at all. He lied to me, so I didn’t feel any remorse for leading him on. Why did he want a woman he had to manipulate to get in the first place? It didn’t make any sense. “He should be angry for what my father did, but he doesn’t care…he’s never cared.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“I’m disappointed in myself for thinking I could trust him.”
“In his defense, he’s taking the path of least resistance. There’s a very good chance you would end up dead if you really did try to kill your father, so this will keep you alive. It’s better to settle for a good life than strive for a great one.”
“You don’t settle.”
He was quiet for a while. “Because I’m a leader—not a follower like he is.” I heard the sound of the lighter then the breath he took. He must have lit a cigar with his coffee, like people enjoyed a biscotti with their morning kick of caffeine.
I missed the smell of his cigars.
“What’s your plan now?”
“I don’t have a plan—not anymore.” Not after I’d realized my enemies knew exactly what I was doing. “All I can do is lie and pretend I have a change of heart… And then when theopportunity presents itself…go for it. It’s not exactly what I pictured, but I’ll still catch him off guard.”
“True.”
“And then I can come home to you.”
