11. Isa
ISA
I woke up early the next morning in the unfamiliar bedroom.
Dawn was just breaking, letting in enough light for me to look around the room.
I had never been to Elio’s house before. It didn’t matter how many years I had known him, or even the fact that he and Valentino were best friends. There had never been a reason for me to be here.
It wasn’t as if Elio was particularly sociable. None of the De Luca siblings were, now that I thought about it, except for Giulia. But from what I had observed of her before, even when she was surrounded by friends, it felt as if she was still standing slightly outside the circle.
A byproduct of the way they grew up, perhaps, or maybe because of who they were.
I sat up and looked around. It was a standard room. There was nothing personal in here that told me anything about Elio, not that I had expected much from a guest bedroom.
There were so many times throughout the night that I wanted to walk over to his bedroom. My shyness and fear of rejection held me back.
I might have talked a big game last night, and even if what I said was true—that I didn’t accept us just forgetting about it and pretending it didn’t happen, and that it cannot happen again—it didn’t mean I was brave enough to face his rejection again.
I climbed out of the bed and slowly walked over to the door, hesitating just as my hand touched the doorknob.
I looked down at myself. I was in one of Elio’s shirts and a pair of his sweatpants.
They hung over my small frame, and they smelled like him.
I was almost tempted to wear this for the entire day, and I would if there were a good chance I wouldn’t run into anyone.
But the last thing I needed was to answer questions about where I had gotten another man’s clothes.
I let out a small sigh and opened the door.
A huge part of me wanted to see him again. Wanted to see him in the morning light after our kiss. After he had touched me so intimately.
A small part of me was nervous, not knowing how I would react or how I was supposed to react.
I realized soon enough that my worrying had been all for nothing because even though the house was fairly big, it didn’t take me long to realize I was home alone.
Elio left.
A small note on the kitchen island caught my eye. In neat, masculine handwriting, it read:
Tommaso should be here to pick you up soon. Eat breakfast. Leave the plate in the sink.
E.
I blinked before moving my eyes over to the breakfast food on top of a warming tray with a glass cover.
It looked appetizing, but I wasn’t very hungry. I was disappointed.
I walked back to the bedroom and got ready for my day.
Tommaso was silent when I got inside the car, but I didn’t miss the flash of concern in his eyes.
I let out a small sigh and leaned back against my seat. “Nothing happened, Tommaso. I snuck out last night, and Elio followed me. I couldn’t go home after because my dad had held a small party until late, so I spent the night in his guest bedroom.”
It seemed as though he was trying to determine whether I was telling the truth. I thought he was more worried over the fact that Elio might have taken advantage of me than he was of me remaining “pure,” like how so many in our circle were weirdly concerned about.
He nodded and pulled the car away. I shut my eyes, not wanting to say any more, but like every time I closed my eyes, memories of the kiss flashed inside my head. It looked like I might be spending my entire day thinking about that.
I didn’t know if it was a good thing or not. I was supposed to try to get over my crush on Elio. It obviously wasn’t working, and I was afraid I would end up hurt even more when all was said and done.
But the alternative was to do what Elio said and forget it ever happened.
Then I would just be waiting for the day when Dad finally cracked and forced me into an arranged marriage despite Valentino's objection, or worse, wait for the day he finally cracked and killed me.
I let out a small sigh and opened my eyes, meeting Tommaso’s in the rearview mirror. I shot him a small smile that I didn’t exactly feel before looking away from him and out the window.
I didn’t want to think anymore. I had a headache.
I could feel his eyes on me.
I didn’t care. I was nowhere close to being drunk.
Perhaps a few more drinks, and that would be a completely different story. I looked down at my martini glass.
Probably not a good idea to get drunk in public, but he was here, and I knew he would take care of me, no matter what, even if I could feel the anger coming off him in waves.
I knew I wasn’t completely innocent either. I was purposely egging him on.
Two days had passed since that moment in the alley when we shared our first kiss. Elio had been avoiding me. It wasn’t like I had seen much of him before, but these past two days felt as if he was trying hard not to be anywhere I might be.
And while he didn’t want to talk about the kiss, I did.
I didn’t know what that would help, but it had to be better than going back to the way things were.
I didn’t want to go back to the way things were.
I looked around the bar, my eyes stopping on the man standing in the corner, his arms crossed, and giving off intensely dark vibes.
No one wanted to get close to him. I didn’t blame them.
I waved at him.
I could see his jaw tighten. I must have a death wish if I was enjoying messing with Elio this much. I grinned and turned away from him, my eyes clashing with another man from the opposite side of the room.
He was tall.
Not as tall as Elio.
And he looked fit.
Obviously not as fit as Elio.
Handsome enough.
Not as handsome as Elio.
I let out a small sigh. There really was no comparing, was there? No man had ever matched up to Elio.
And it wasn’t like I had lived most of my life as a recluse and hadn’t seen that many men out there.
Quite the opposite. Dad liked to parade Valentino and me around when we were younger to show off to his men.
It stopped when Valentino became his “disappointment,” but there had been other functions I’d been to.
The man smiled at me. I might not have much experience, but I knew when a man was interested in me, even if it was just one shallow thing they were interested in.
I downed the rest of my drink and placed the glass back on the bar top before smiling over at the man. He took that as his sign and made his way toward me.
“Hey,” he greeted loudly to be heard over the music.
“Hi.”
“I’ve been watching you all night.”
One of my eyebrows raised at that. “Yeah?”
He nodded. “Yes. And I have to say, you are absolutely stunning. The most beautiful woman here.”
What a fucking line.
“You don’t say.”
“I do. Would you like to dance?”
I peeked back at Elio. His glare had turned more intense. I quickly looked away from him and back at the man. I didn’t even know his name, but that didn't matter.
I held out my hand to him and let him pull me over to the small, makeshift dance floor in the bar. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. I pushed down the panic and wrongness of feeling another man’s arms around me and forced myself to put my arms around his neck.
He obviously liked that because he pulled me in closer to him and started to grind himself against me. I didn’t even think what we were doing was considered dancing.
And the closer he pulled me into him, the more wrong it felt.
Hell.
I might have made a mistake. How was I going to get out of this?
I moved my hands down and placed them on his chest, pushing at the man slightly until he looked at me. He shot me a predatory smile, making my heart race.
I opened my mouth to tell him I didn’t want to dance anymore. But I didn’t need to. One moment, the man was pulling me in tighter to him, and the next, he was sprawled out on the floor, and I was being held against a strong body that I instantly recognized.
My racing, panicked heart quickly calmed, and I looked up to see Elio standing next to me, wearing a murderous expression on his face.
He looked down at the man with disgust as a small crowd began to form. The last thing we needed was to draw any attention to us.
It might have been a bad idea to sneak out tonight.
The man had already pushed himself up to a sitting position at this point, and he was watching Elio as if trying to debate whether he could take him.
He couldn’t.
I knew that, and he must have known it, too, because he stood up and took a few steps back from us. He looked at me, then at Elio, and back at me before spitting out the word, “Bitch.”
Elio made a move forward, and I pressed my hand against his chest, halting him.
The man quickly turned and ran away, disappearing into the crowd.
“It’s not worth it,” I said.
Elio looked like he wanted to argue with that, but if he chased after the man, he would be leaving me here alone, and I knew that was the last thing he wanted.
“Thank you for stepping in when you did.”
“Why did you agree to dance with him?” he asked. He didn’t yell it. He didn’t need to. A calm Elio was just as scary as an exploding Elio.
But tonight, I found myself immune to it. Or perhaps the martini was finally taking effect. I scowled and pushed away from him. “I was thanking you. I don’t need a lecture.”
He muttered something under his breath.
“If you’re going to say something about me, speak up so I can hear too,” I said.
“You are one infuriating woman,” he said louder, his eyes moving around the room, as if he were expecting some threat to come for us.
I gasped at the insult.
He turned back and looked at me. We stood there for a moment, neither of us saying anything, our faces close to each other.
I licked my lips, and Elio’s eyes homed in on it, making my breath catch.
I swallowed, my eyes moving down to his lips on their own. How badly I wanted him to kiss me again.
God, I was in trouble.