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“I don’t understand. What do you mean he wanted revenge? Revenge on what?”
“My dad.”
“Your dad? But why? Your dad is the sweetest guy. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I don’t know anymore, Imogen. I just…” I pressed my lips together. “I can’t talk about this right now. Let me know if you can come.”
“Okay,” Imogen said. “Honey, you sound awful. I’m your best friend. I’m going to get a flight, no matter what. I’ll text you the details when I get them, okay? And then you can cry on my shoulder.”
“Okay.” I hiccupped, grateful that she was coming to take care of me.
“Don’t do anything silly.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, you know, don’t try and harm yourself or anything.”
“What? I’m not going to harm myself. He broke my heart. He didn’t break my spirit.” I paused. “I mean, just a little bit.”
“We need to figure this shit out, okay? I don’t understand what’s going on, and I want to help you. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay,” I said.
I frowned as Imogen hung up the phone. That had been a weird call. I was grateful she was coming to see me but also confused. Why had she gotten off the phone so quickly?
I shook my head and sat up. I was not going to allow myself to cry anymore or feel sorry for myself. I needed some answers. I needed to speak to my dad. I needed to find out if what Antonio had said was true, and I needed to do it in person. The phone was great for quick conversations. You never really knew where someone stood when you were talking or texting. You had to look into their eyes. You had to see how their hands moved and body shifted to know if they were telling the truth. And I was good at reading body language. I was good at reading people. Granted, I hadn’t been great at reading Antonio, but that was because I’d been attracted to him, and we had chemistry.
I closed my eyes and thought about how passionate that chemistry had been. Making love with Antonio had been unbelievable. My body still ached. I was still sore in places I shouldn’t be, and I knew I should hate that I’d given myself to him. I knew that I should hate that he’d been the one to take my virginity. But a dirty part of me, a dark part of me, didn’t hate him.
On the contrary, I liked it. It had felt magical. Being with him had made me feel like a woman—a desirable, sexy woman, and it had been great. I was pretty sure I’d be hard-pressed to find another man that could touch, tease, and torment me in the way that Antonio had.
And while I hated him for lying to me, I’d known he wasn’t some sweet, harmless man. I’d known it from the first moment I’d set eyes on him in the garden when he’d been arguing with his brother, Alessandro. I’d known that he was dark, sinister, brooding just from his silhouette in the shadows. Not that I forgave him for what he’d done, but I wasn’t going to beat myself up for giving myself to him. I wasn’t going to beat myself up for falling for his lies.
I needed to figure out what was true. I needed to figure out if my dad had cheated on my mom and if he’d killed Antonio’s mother. And if he had, why he’d never said anything. And if he hadn’t, then he needed to live his life once and for all. I was no longer going to be his sweet little Callie. I couldn’t be. I was a woman now. I was not the naive, young, gullible girl I’d been just days before.
Everything in me had changed. My mindset had shifted. I felt like I’d grown and aged twenty years in forty-eight hours. From the horse’s head, to making love, to the deception, I wasn’t the same person, and I was okay with that. Sure, I would no longer believe in true love and soulmates, but maybe that was good. Maybe I needed to figure out that fairy tales weren’t real so that I could move on with my life. Stop reading romance books. Stop living in fantasy lands.
I jumped up and headed toward the door. I needed to have a shower. I wanted to scrub Antonio from every part of me. I headed down the hallway and paused as I saw Josh standing there.
“Hey,” he said, his eyes surveying my face. “You’re back.”
“Hi,” I said, nodding. “I guess I am.”
“How are you? I was worried about you, Callie,” he said. “After that guy was here and then, well…” He frowned as he stepped forward. His boyish good looks made me feel safe compared to Antonio’s manly and wolfish features. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, forcing a smile on my face.
Josh was such a sweet young guy. He was the complete opposite of Antonio. While Antonio was dark, sinister and brooding, Josh was light, cheerful, and friendly.
“I wanted to apologize about sleeping with Valentina,” he said quickly, his face going red.
I blinked at him. “What? What are you talking about?”
“I shouldn’t have slept with her. I mean, you and I were getting to know each other and…”
“We just went on a couple of dates. It’s fine,” I said, shrugging.
“No, it wasn’t, and bringing all those different girls back, that wasn’t cool, either.”
