Chapter Twenty-Four
Dominic
It was late. Too fucking late to be leaving Jeff’s office if you asked me, but he’d left me little choice in the matter.
He’d called me down there to bust my balls because I had to make a decision about Italy. Luckily for me, he gave me more time to think on it. The only trouble was that I knew I wouldn’t have forever. It was only six weeks, but it just felt like a big decision, and something was holding me back, I just didn’t know what it was.
All right, fine. That was a lie. Fuck me. I knew what was holding me back. You knew what was holding me back. We all goddamn knew what it was. Except it wasn’t a what , but rather a who . Her name was Maria Morelli, and she was all I ever thought about.
There was a very good chance she was home and Isabella was already asleep, so I called her. When she didn’t answer right away, I texted her.
Dominic: You home?
Maria: Yeah, sorry I missed your call. I was in the shower.
Shit. Maria in the shower. That meant she was wet. I could just picture taking her in the shower. My body grew tense at the prospect. We’d never had sex in the shower, but I’d be damned if I didn’t want to now.
Maria: What’d you need?
I shook my head, needing to clear my rogue thoughts.
Dominic: I’m on my way out of the city. Was hoping I could stop by.
Far too many minutes went by before she answered. So many, in fact, I was practically home when she finally did.
Maria: We should talk.
I officially understood how women felt when they said they hated those three little words. There was something about them that when strung together, especially coming from Maria, had my gut clenching.
Not two seconds later, my phone rang. It was Maria. “Hey, Dom.”
“Hang on a second,” I answered as I connected the call to my car. “Okay, I’m here. What’d you want to talk about?”
Maria inhaled, almost like she was taking a steadying breath. “I’m not sure you should stop by. Not if it’s for what I think it’s for.”
I paused because I wasn’t sure she was correct. “Okay. Everything all right?”
Silence. More silence and heavy breathing. “Yeah. It’s just that I went out with Paolo last night and—”
My heart felt like it was in an elevator and it just dropped thirty floors. This was it. I’d lost any and all chance I had. Marco had called it. My dad had called it. Everyone had. They had all been right. “You’re not single anymore?” I finished her thought for her. “Got it.” It was easier if I just said it myself so that when she finally answered—if she answered—it wouldn’t feel like a punch straight in the gut.
Maria was quick to stop me, though. “No, no. It’s not that. It was only one dinner, but we’re going out again, so I’m not sure if that makes me single or what, and I’d rather not blur the lines, you know?”
Oh, I knew. I knew all too well what she was saying, and the more I thought about her and. . . and Paolo. Why the hell was he pursuing Maria now anyway? Didn’t he have his chance when they’d worked together? Or better yet, didn’t he have to go back to Italy soon? He couldn’t honestly think it could work between them. Although, we all knew it could, and that’s what’s pissing me off.
Through gritted teeth I nodded even knowing she couldn’t see me. This was all because of those stupid rules she loved so fucking much. Heaven forbid she broke a rule. Well, she should only know that I had. A long damn time ago. “Of course,” I said, sounding understanding when—and I knew this was going to make me sound like a bad guy—I felt anything but. “Listen, I’m about to pull into my driveway, so I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.”
Damn it. If I could’ve punched out my airbag in the steering wheel, I would have. But this wasn’t Spitfire’s fault. And it wouldn’t do any good.