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“I could grab her, if you prefer.”
“Jimmy…” I paused for a few seconds, and then I nodded. “You’re a genius.”
“You think so?”
“Her dad will be beside himself, thinking she’s run away or something.” I grinned. “Maybe I’ll keep her locked up and…”
“Antonio…” Jimmy’s breath smelled like cheap whiskey and cigarettes. “Maybe put that to the past. You really wanna—”
“Jimmy. Don’t overstep. We’re friends, but I’m still your boss.” I glared at him. “Callie is a means to an end.”
“But, boss, if you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.”
“I played with fire and I got burned.” I pulled out of the parking spot, hit the pedal, and sped off down the street. “I am the fire now.”
“Whoa, Antonio.” Jimmy buckled his seat belt quickly. “You a firework or something?”
“I’m the fucking great balls of fire… and Callie’s about to find out that you don’t mess with a fucking fire-breathing wolf, not unless you wanna experience some wrath.” All of a sudden, the fog that had been clouding my brain was gone and was replaced by something very akin to excitement.
19
Callie
“I hope you don’t mind listening to everything again when Imogen gets here,” I said to Gia as we looked at different art supplies in the art store we’d walked into. Gia liked to watercolor paint, and she said it helped her to destress when she was feeling upset. She’d gotten into it in the last few years, which led me to believe that whatever had gone down with her and Alessandro was explosive. It annoyed me that she hadn’t shared the whole story yet, but I understood that she was a private person. Growing up in her world, she had to be. And while I’d shared with her, Iwas patient about her sharing in response. I had a feeling that whatever had gone down with Alessandro had been deep. Maybe not as deep as the deception my father had been involved in, but maybe it had hurt as much.
“Girl, I’m just happy to be here for you.” She smiled. “Thanks for trusting me with everything. I can’t believe that bitch Valentina set you up like that.”
“I wish I could agree with you and say that I’m shocked she manipulated me, but I’m not, not really. She’s never been nice to me. I was in denial about our relationship. I’d always hoped we could end up as friends, but that was never really in the cards. She never respected me. She never tried to include me. She thought I was a loser.” I made a face. “She always said I had my head in the clouds, and I guess ultimately she was right.”
“Aw, Callie.” Gia touched my shoulder. “You’re an optimist. There’s nothing wrong with looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses.”
“Girl, I was a dreamer.” I was slightly embarrassed to admit how out of touch with reality I’d been sometimes. “When I watched a romance movie or read a romance book, it gave me faith in men. It made me believe that my Prince Charming was out there. But those men are figments of the mind. They don’t exist.”
“You never know,” Gia said half-heartedly. “There are some good guys out there.”
“There are?” I raised an eyebrow. “Name one.”
“Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,” she said with such a serious face that I couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud. The sound jolted my entire body, and I shook my head.
“It’s a pity that more men didn’t want to be like him.”
“Isn’t it indeed?” She nodded. “We shall pray to him to send us the best men possible.”
“If you think it will work, I’m down.” I checked my phone to see the time. I didn’t want to miss Imogen’s text alerting me to her arrival in the Big Apple.
“Wanna grab a latte?” she asked me, yawning slightly. “I need some caffeine.”
“Sure.” I nodded. “I’m always down for a coffee.” I frowned as I noticed a cute blond guy with a buzzcut staring at me for a few seconds. Was he checking me out? I offered him one of my awkward hello smiles, but he just turned around quickly. I flushed slightly, feeling embarrassed. “Do you know where you want to go?”
“No.” Gia shook her head and pulled her phone from her cute black vintage Chanel handbag. “Let me check Google Maps and see what’s around here.”
“Sounds good.” I was grateful to be with Gia. It stopped me thinking of Antonio as much as I would have been if I’d been alone. I was starting to feel less used and angry at him. I hated that I was already softening toward him. “You know what I was thinking about?” I asked Gia as she scrolled through her phone.
“Hmm.” She didn’t look up, and I wondered if she was looking at reviews or checking out something else on her phone.
“Did you know elephants can now fly?” I said softly, waiting to see if she was actually paying attention to me.
“Mm-hmm,” she said again, her forehead wrinkling as she stared at the screen.
