Prologue #2
“You are a little kid. Now get in the fucking car,” I said.
She shook her head. I was this fucking close to helping her in myself.
“I’m not a little kid.” She stubbornly shook her head. “And I don’t want to get in the car. Not before I say what I need to.”
“No—”
“I like you.”
I took in another deep breath. “You’re drunk.”
“Not that drunk. And I’ve had these feelings for a while.”
I grabbed her shoulders and waited for her to look at me.
“Listen to me. You don’t know what you’re saying.
You have these feelings because of proximity.
I’m close by. You go to an all-girls’ school.
You don’t interact with other boys your own age…
” Which was probably a good fucking thing, since I had no doubt Valentino would have killed them all.
“So you decided to put all those feelings onto me. It’s not real. ”
She shook her head and glared at me. “Are you really trying to tell me how I feel?”
“I’m telling the truth. And come morning, you’re going to regret saying this. So let’s just forget you said anything, okay?”
She pulled away from my grasp. “No, not okay. I know how I feel. I’ve had these feelings for a while. Are you really telling me you don’t feel anything for me?”
“I don’t,” I answered truthfully. “I see you as nothing more than a sister. Now get in the car.”
I softened my voice at the last sentence.
Her eyes shimmered a bit, and I looked off to the side, feeling my heart pinch. At this point, I think I would much rather be tortured by the fucking Russians than have this conversation with her.
Wordlessly, she moved inside the car and shut the door quietly behind her. I stayed where I was for a moment, wondering why the hell I was feeling this uneasy pressure sitting on my chest before walking to the driver’s side and getting in.
We drove the rest of the way to her family’s house in awkward silence. The entire time, I felt like I had broken something precious, even if I knew it had to be done.
Fuck.
Isa
Elio, 31
Isa, 23
There was usually nothing happy about my birthday.
I was born in January in Las Vegas. Which meant that while it wasn’t hot, like how it could be from the beginning of spring and well into fall, it wasn’t like the other places that snowed and offered that true winter experience I sometimes wished for growing up.
Plus, it was also the day my mom died.
There was nothing happy about my birthday, even if Valentino was determined to make it happy every single year.
And this year was no exception.
I had spent most of the day with Valentino, and now we were on our way to eat at some fancy restaurant that would have been hard to get into if anyone but Valentino Gambino had made the reservation.
This birthday dinner was something I looked forward to the least all day, if for nothing than the one other guest who would be joining us for dinner.
Valentino pulled up to a stop in front of the restaurant, and a valet came up and opened my car door for me. His smile was gentle as he helped me out of the car, and I was careful getting up, considering the short dress I had on.
Not as short a dress as the one I had on when I snuck out to that party when I was in high school, but short enough that Valentino had frowned when he saw me in it earlier.
Valentino came up between the valet and me, a dark frown on his face.
I rolled my eyes. My brother had spent too much time in this life.
He considered anyone coming within a foot of me as a threat.
The valet got the warning and backed away from us, bowing his head slightly as if to show he didn’t mean any harm to me. I hadn’t thought he did.
“He was just helping me out of the car,” I said quietly so that no one would overhear.
“He didn’t have to fucking linger.”
“Really?” I asked dryly. “You think he was lingering?”
“Yes,” he answered seriously.
I glared at him and would have said something had he not pulled me into the quiet restaurant. And standing by the podium was the one man I didn’t want to see.
Elio was in a black suit and tie that seemed to have been tailor-made for him. It fit him well, showing off his huge frame.
But then, I didn’t think there could ever be anything Elio wore that would look bad on him.
Not with his features.
His dark auburn hair was shaved short on the sides and back, but long enough on the top that he had it tied up in a man bun. The hairstyle showed off his strong, masculine jawline with a hint of stubble that made my hand twitch with the urge to reach out and touch him.
I tried not to react so strongly as I took him in, from his tan complexion, which seemed to bring out his light, honey brown eyes that always made my breath catch, to that strong nose, broad shoulders…
Everything.
It was everything.
He was everything—my most beautiful dream, and painful reality.
And he had only gotten better-looking with age, and I had seen Elio at every stage of his life, considering he and my brother had been friends since they were five.
From the angry, hotheaded sixteen-year-old who walked around like he hated the world to the steady man at twenty-four, when his father died and he became his oldest brother’s right-hand man, to now.
The sting of his rejecting me at eighteen still hurt.
What was worse was that I couldn’t seem to shake off this crush.
It didn’t help that Elio was as much a permanent fixture in my brother’s life as I was. Which meant we saw each other a lot.
I didn’t think Elio had told Valentino about my confession that night, though it was hard to tell.
Valentino wouldn’t have said anything to me if he knew.
And he could probably tell that I had a crush on his friend about the same moment I realized it when I was sixteen, but he didn’t say anything to me, hoping it would go away.
It had been seven years, and it still hadn’t gone anywhere.
Valentino led me to Elio and clasped his shoulder in greeting. “Hey, man. Sorry, there was some traffic. You didn’t wait long, did you?”
Elio shook his head. “Not at all. I just got here.”
Elio turned to me, and even if I told myself to brace for it, the magnetic force of his honey-brown eyes still had enough power to make my heart stall and my breath catch at the same time.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he said softly.
“Thank you,” I said, looking down at the floor.
No one said anything for a moment. Then Valentino broke the silence by calling the hostess over to bring us to our table.
We were quiet as we made our way to the table. Elio and Valentino were well-known in Las Vegas, especially Elio, considering he was a De Luca. The name was synonymous with Las Vegas royalty.
I worked hard not to give away my nervousness as all eyes turned toward us, and whispers started. It was no secret that today was my birthday. It was also very apparent that the only two people I had around to celebrate it were my brother and… his friend.
I looked down at the floor while I walked, feeling my cheeks getting hot from the thought. I never made friends easily, but at least I had some in high school and college.
But after that… I lost contact with all my friends, and I didn’t know how that had happened or how I had become so isolated.
Actually, I did know. I wasn’t allowed out often. Dad would have seen that as me becoming corrupt. I missed that time in my life. At least while I was in school, I had the chance to socialize with people my age.
Now…
I had no friends.
Valentino might be the closest thing I had to a best friend, but it wasn’t the same.
And Elio…
Well, unrequited love sucks.
I tried to put on a happy face through dinner. It was hard to do when I knew both men could see through the front. It sucked that my brother knew, but Valentino was Valentino. If I couldn’t be vulnerable with him, who else could I be that with?
But it was different with Elio.
I hated that he saw me like this. I hated it even more that my heart hurt every time I looked at him.
The time passed by both quickly and slowly, all at once, and I just wanted to find a spot on the ground and just… be.
Before long, the cake came by, a single lit candle on top. I was thankful that both men knew I didn’t want to make a big deal out of this. They were silent as they watched me.
“Make a wish, sweetheart,” Valentino said. The look in his eyes told me he wanted more than anything to help make my wish come true.
But there were things even he couldn’t control.
I smiled sadly at him, my eyes straying to Elio, like they always did whenever he was nearby.
I closed my eyes and thought of my wish over and over again. And for the first time in years, I didn’t wish for the same things. I wished for something different.
I wish to fall out of love with Elio De Luca.
I blew out the candle and opened my eyes to see both Valentino and Elio smiling brightly at me. I took in my brother before turning to Elio and keeping my gaze on him.
Perhaps God would take mercy on me and make this wish come true.