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“Yep.” She popped the P before her mouth pulled down at the corners.
“And what’s with the nice guy act?”
“That’s new. It might have something to do with Matteo sending someone to watch him.” That was no shock to me. My father and Carmine had been close. It was likely he’d been involved in Carmine’s betrayals.
Zara paused, grabbing my hands as my father and Britney continued down the hall towards the front door. I heard it open but didn’t pay any attention. “Actually, I have to tell you something about the person Matteo sent.”
She chewed on her lower lip. Her palms were sweaty in mine. I could feel the anxiety vibrating from her.
But I had no idea what worried her. Was it just about the marriage or something else?
But whatever she was going to tell me was drowned out by a voice that had lived in my memories for years. One I never thought I’d hear again.
“Are you ready?”
My throat closed. My eyes burned. Just the sound made me want to cry.
“I’m so sorry.” Zara pleaded as I lifted my head. My mind had to be playing tricks on me. He couldn’t be here. “He just showed up yesterday. Matteo—.”
Her words faded to the background as I stared at Adam. My first love.
The man who’d broken me.
6
Ariella
“Adam.” I gasped. His piercing blue eyes connected with mine. They were just as I remembered. Deep and turbulent like the ocean. Full of emotion. Only now, there was more pain than there used to be.
“Ariella.” He looked just as surprised to see me.
I felt like my world was spinning. Like I was in one of my nightmares. But I knew it was real. The tightening in my chest told me it was. This feeling of drowning let me know I wasn’t going to wake up.
He looked the same; no, he felt the same. Still made me want to run to him. But he was different.
He was broader than in my memories and sketches. His red hair was longer, curling on his ears and forehead. Stubble covered his jaw.
He had new scars now. One on his neck slicing almost to the thick Adam’s apple that I’d always found oddly attractive. But they weren’t just on the outside. I could sense them in his gaze. The pain and sorrow.
On instinct, I closed the distance between us. It was like all the years of anger and betrayal had healed the second I saw him again. Like it no longer mattered why he’d left me all alone.
I ignored the stares of Britney and my family as I walked closer. I moved without thought; it was out of my control. But that’s how it always was with Adam. I had no control over the intense feelings inside me.
I didn’t even realize I’d raised my arms to hug him until his fingers grasped my wrists. His grip held me in place as his eyes bore into me. I felt the chill in his expression down to my bones.
“What are you doing here?” His words were like a blade slicing into my heart.
I had no idea why he was acting so cold. Like he didn’t even know who I was. Like he didn’t care.
“Zara asked me to come.” I dropped my hands, but I felt his touch still. A dull ache, like his indifference, had burned my skin. “Why are you here?”
“Working.” He grunted as his lip curled like he was disgusted to see me.
“Oh.” Everything Zara had been trying to say clicked in place. Adam was the person watching my father. It made sense. If Matteo was looking for dirt, there was no one better trained and no one who hated my father more. “You’re back working for Matteo then.”
“I never stopped.” He shoved his hands into his pockets as he stepped away from me. My teeth sank into my cheek as the distance clawed at my chest. I shouldn’t even want to be close to him, but for some reason, I couldn’t help it.
“Right.” My voice sounded hollow as I stared, trying to figure out what had happened to the boy I knew.
