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He shrugged. “They wanted it so much. More than we did, which was the problem, right? We need to follow our hearts, not theirs.” He pulled the ring back out from his pocket. “Soleil, I’ve known you since we were little. And even though you never complained, I know it hurt a lot when you lost all those big dreams you had growing up. Keep the ring.”
When I protested, he shook his head. “I want you to sell it. Use the money to pay for whatever scheme you and Rain have cooked up—yeah, of course I knew you had something going on,” he said with a laugh. “Come on. You can’t lie to save yourself. But this ring might help your dream come true as well. That illegal underground fighting ring you and Rain are running, or whatever it is.”
I punched him in the arm lightly, then held the ring up to the light. It sparkled like a thousand possibilities. We could rent office space with this. Advertise. Get the apartment for Rain and me…
But not with his money. We needed to do this on our own. So we could show the world someday that itcouldbe done. That omegas could run a company, be their own bosses.
“Oh, Tarq, you are the sweetest alpha,” I muttered into his shoulder, holding my breath and hugging him as hard as I could. He threw an arm around my shoulder as I slipped the ring back on my finger, just for the moment. I held it out, admiring it, then slipped it back off, pressing it into his hand. “You keep it. You may need it on your date.”
He grinned. “An engagement on our first date? That’s moving a little fast, Soleil.”
I shrugged. “When you know, you know.”
“And you… you knew, didn’t you? You’ve met someone, too.” He lifted my chin and peered into my face. “Aw, Sol. I can’t stand seeing you cry. Who do I need to beat up?”
I laughed at the mental picture of Tarquin trying to fight Grumpy. “No one. Just… why couldn’t I loveyourscent?” I stuck out my lip in a pout.
“Must be a you thing, Sol. I’ve heard I smell amazing. Wine and cheese and yeast bread? I’m every omega’s dream. Now, let me go smooth things over with your dad.”
Laughing, we went back inside.
Chapter20
Grumpy
The paparazzi that hung around Georgetown Mercy Hospital were sleeping on the job when my chauffeur pulled up that day. “Or maybe they’ve decided they hate me, too,” I muttered as only one pap snapped a quick photo, then went back to scrolling on his phone.
I took the elevator up to my family’s private level, trying to ignore the way my joints and bones ached. I was only forty-two, but in the two weeks since I’d returned to my home city, I had aged twenty years. I had what felt like arthritis, the flu, and hives. My heart ached. My skin burned. Everything hurt, and itched, and it was only getting worse by the day.
Of course, I knew what was wrong with me. But it would never be right. And I’d have to learn to live with it, so she could have the life she wanted.
Aunt Marguerite greeted me at the door, her face screwed up like I’d stepped in dog shit on my way in. “What are you doing here?” I asked her. “I made an appointment with Rimbolt.”
“I’m here to see another patient,” she spat back, visibly angry. “You need to leave.”
“What the hell?” I stepped back. “What is it with the women in this family?”
“The women are fine. It’s the idiot men who need to have some sense knocked into them.” She squared her shoulders and pasted a broad smile on her face. “Let’s try again. Hello, little Gio. How are you today? Have you destroyed any young omegas’ lives this week, or are you turning over a new leaf?”
I rolled my eyes. “Have you been gossiping with Sylvia and Lorelei?” Sylvia had taken to texting me the most bizarre insults—most of which I had to look up to understand—since we’d gotten back. She’d addressed me as “Carbuncle G” the last few times I’d seen her, ranted for a while about the perfidy of men, then gone silent, glaring daggers at me.
Lorelei, when she wasn’t fluttering her eyelashes over Anne-Marie and rebuilding her relationship with Sylvia, just gave meI’m not mad, I’m disappointedlooks and sighed. She and Anne-Marie had tried to talk to me about Soleil two days after our return, ambushing me in my home office, but I’d shut them down.
“Gio, you can’t give up on that girl,” Lorelei implored, pacing on the Aubusson rug as I drank another glass of Balvenie DCS, my third that afternoon. “She loves you; anyone could see it. And you felt something for her, too. Why won’t you give it a chance?”
Anne-Marie watched from the chaise longue by the window. When I didn’t answer, she mused aloud, “You know, I was there on the yacht, when you heard her saying she’d gotten rid of an alpha. I already told you, she wasn’t referring to you, Giovanni. She had just broken up with her fiancé. He was the one she didn’t want.”
I poured another three fingers of whiskey, then hesitated before adding a fourth. Not five, though. Five would be far too…
My blood went hot for a second as I flashed back to the first time I’d touched her, felt her inside. Watched her dissolve into a whimpering ball of ecstasy and need, felt her squirting around my fingers.
Fuck, even drinking was reminding me of her.
Lorelei whirled around, her eyes shining with tears. “Why can’t you get over your pride, and go after her? Go to her house, knock on the door, find out if there’s any hope. She’s your true mate, Giovanni.” Her gaze flew to Anne-Marie, and the sparks between them were almost visible. “I can’t imagine a life without mine, now that she’s here. Please don’t throw this gift away.”
I set down my glass gingerly. It felt like if I moved suddenly, I might fly apart. “I did go to her house,” I admitted softly. I ignored their gasps. “I had my driver, Lewis, take me not long after we were home. She was outside, on her front porch. With her fiancé.”I took another drink. “I asked Lewis to slow down, so I could be sure of what I was witnessing. Maybe she was breaking up with him, I thought. Maybe she was giving back his things, I don't know. But I watched…”
My breathing hitched, remembering. The way she’d smiled like he’d lit up her entire world when he pulled the ring out of his pocket. How she’d slid it on, her affection palpable even from a distance.
