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“Well, I can still talk to him. Remind him to be good to you. I’ll call him right now.” She digs through her purse, pulling out her phone. “He doesn’t get to make my sister sad.”
“Emilia, it’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.” She dials Leo’s number, and I watch in horror as she talks to him after he picks up. “Leo, it’s Emilia.” She puts the phone on speaker and sets it down.
“Oh? What do I owe for this surprise?” he asks. His warm voice, normally so soothing, makes me cringe at the memory of his rejection.
“You made my sister sad. Fix it.”
He’s quiet on the other end.
“Leo?” Emilia picks up the phone, speaking directly into it. “Answer me.”
“What goes on between my wife and me is none of your concern,” he finally says.
“When it comes to my sister, it does. You’ve made her unhappy, and I don’t know exactly why, but one piece of advice I can give is that a good relationship requires good communication. So, work on it.” She hangs up before he can answer.
“Wow,” I say after a beat.
She smiles sheepishly, putting her phone away. “What? I can get protective when it comes to my siblings. You know that.”
“Did you mean that? About good communication?”
“Of course.” She squeezes my hands. Two people enter the café, the bell above the door ringing, and their chattering makes us pause until they continue past us. “You need to talk to Leo again, and hopefully, next time, he’ll talk to you. He needs to get his head out of his ass so he can see you for what you really are.”
“And what am I really?”
“Worth it, Fran. You are worth more than any man combined in this world. Never forget it. All of our sisters are. Don’t let him walk all over you. Get answers. You’ll be much happier, trust me.”
“I tried standing up for myself, but Leo didn’t give me much to work with.”
“Then you try again,” she says, sitting back in her seat and rubbing her stomach. “I had to keep trying with Marco until he finally opened up with me. It wasn’t easy, but it was so worth it, trust me. Now, Marco and I have never been happier. I don’t like Leo. That’s not a secret. But he is your husband, and you need to try with him. Tell him he has to talk with you; otherwise, your relationship is doomed.”
I wince. “Wow. Isn’t that a little dramatic.”
“Not at all. You don’t want to be miserable for the rest of your life. Get to the bottom of this. Stand up for yourself.”
I take a deep breath and nod, realizing she’s right. I can’t keep sulking all day over Leo. That’s not who I am.
I need to go after my husband and get answers.
I give Emilia a half-hug and head out, determined to talk to Leo, even if it takes everything out of me.
CHAPTER15
Leo
Ican’t believe I didn’t have sex with Francesca. She was ready to finally go there, and I backed out, all because I felt guilty.
Fucking guilty.
The bet I made with Henry weighs on my shoulders now that I’m married to Fran. Now that Icarefor her.
She’s the only person I’ve told about my abusive father. She’s the only person who has made me truly, genuinely smile in a long time. She’s the only person I can see myself falling in love with.
And I desperately want to have sex with her, but I also feel like an utter jackass about it. She deserves more than a man like me, yet she’s stuck with me. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed her away, but I couldn’t look into her innocent eyes and know I was taking her virginity all because this started with a bet.
I’ve been working up to talk to her again when she comes back home, interrupting my thought process. I stop pacing around the living room. “Fran?”
