70. Anson
SEVENTY
ANSON
“ T ake it back to the bridge,” I said, frowning as Rosalie groaned. Her head fell back, cascading her red curls behind her.
I smirked at her irritation but pressed on.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” she called out.
“Well…”
“Ani, don’t lie to me. It’s bad. Just tell me it’s bad.”
“It’s not good,” I said. “We can fix it, though. It’s just getting hung up here a bit.”
I scribbled on the music sheet for a few minutes, noting that she’d lain on the stage, her feet dangling as she stared at the ceiling.
I smiled at her, even though she couldn’t see me. I put the paper down, went to the stage, and lay beside her.
“Tell me what you’re thinking about,” I murmured, desperate to know everything I could about her.
“Did you sleep with that girl last night?” she asked softly.
Out of all the things I thought she’d say, that wasn’t one of them.
“No,” I answered back just as softly. “Ryder liked her friend. I was being decent and helping him out.”
She was quiet.
I looked over at her and squeezed her hand. “I promise I didn’t.”
“You don’t have to promise me anything,” she said, her voice thick. “We’re just friends.”
“Rosalie, you know that’s a damn lie.”
She said nothing as she continued to stare up at the ceiling.
“We’re more than friends. You just don’t realize it yet,” I finished.
“Don’t say that stuff.”
“Why can’t I?” I looked at her again. This time, she looked back at me. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
She visibly swallowed and looked away. I reached out and cradled her face, forcing her to focus on me again. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
“Tell me, LeeLee. Tell me you don’t secretly belong to me.”
“Ani,” she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Don’t.”
“Why?” I whispered, my gaze sweeping over her pretty face.
“Because I don’t know how much longer I can… not.”
“Then just fucking do it, Rosalie.” I moved closer to her. “Take what you want.”
Another tear slipped down her cheek. She closed her eyes. I rolled onto my side so I could be closer to her.
“LeeLee. Look at me,” I murmured.
She opened her eyes and stared at me.
“You belong to me. I knew it the moment I met you that you’d someday be mine. Someday, we’ll be on the front porch. We’ll remember this moment.”
“What happens in this moment?” she whispered.
I thumbed her bottom lip. “I wish I’d have kissed you so I had that many more moments with you.”
She closed her eyes again. She breathed out and finally opened them to look at me.
“I have to stop doing this with you. I-I care about you, but I’m getting married. I have four guys at home—four guys I love and who love me. I’d be heartbroken if they were doing what I’m doing behind my back. I-I can’t do that to them.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “I understand.”
“Just friends, Ani. I-I think that’s all we can ever be. I mean that.”
Her words were a knife through my heart.
“If that’s what you truly want, it’s yours,” I said, my voice shaking. It was a blow, but I didn’t think she’d kiss me and tell me she loved me anyway.
“I-I’m so sorry.” She wiped at her eyes and sat up.
My phone buzzed. It was a good time as any. Sighing, I pulled it out to see my father’s name on the screen.
I cleared my throat and answered. “Father.”
“Alessandro, I require your presence. Are you able to come to me?”
“Uh,” I looked at Rosalie. She glanced back at me.
“Bring her with you. I did enjoy my time with her,” he said, clearly knowing I was with Rosalie.
“One second.” I put the phone on mute and breathed out. “My father needs me. He says you’re welcome to come. Do you want to come with me?”
I wasn’t even sure what she’d say to that. Matteo was a danger to her as far as the guys were concerned. I didn’t have any fear regarding him. He was my father, and he knew I cared about her. I trusted him, despite all the shit I’d heard about him and Dom with Bianca.
“Do you want me to?” She searched me with her green eyes.
“I do,” I admitted. “We can go shopping after. Get a pretty dress for dinner so you don’t have to return to the house and deal with all the questions.”
She considered my words for a moment. She told me she’d let Enzo know about the dinner but hadn’t said anything to the others.
Wanting to see how it went, she’d kept quiet about it, saying she’d tell the other guys once she made a decision.
It was a good way to handle things as far as I was concerned.
“OK,” she agreed. “I’ll go with you.”
I raised my brows, surprised at her answer but eager to have her know my father.
I unmuted the phone. “Father? I’ll be there soon.”
“Excellent.” He disconnected the call. I stood, wondering what the hell he could want.
I moved off the stage and grabbed Rosalie’s bags. Going to Matteo’s would be an issue if the guys looked at her location.
“Turn your phone off,” I said to her as she moved to join me by the piano.
“Why?”
“Do you think the guys would be happy to find you at Matteo De Santis’s place?”
She pulled her phone out and turned it off. “I can’t imagine they’ll be happy not to be able to reach me.”
“Jewelry?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t put it on today. Just my earrings.”
I glanced at the diamonds in her ears. She said Cole had gotten them for her. I grunted, satisfied with her answer. I was going to get her bigger diamonds someday, though.
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
Today, it seemed like I may be barking up the wrong tree. I tried not to focus on that. It would only turn the day into shit.
I nodded for Rosalie to follow me. We went to my car in the lot. I opened her door, and she slid onto the seat. I closed her in and went to my side, looking around. Enzo hadn’t sent men, thankfully. He typically didn’t when I took her. It helped to know he trusted me.
Although if he knew I was taking her to Matteo’s, I was sure that trust would be revoked without a second thought.
We drove in silence for a long time before I spoke.
“I’m sorry about earlier.”
“Me too,” she answered. “It’s just really hard, Ani. I want you in my life?—”
“I’m never leaving you,” I cut in. “Ever. If you only want friendship, then I’m your friend. Mind you, I will try to convince you for more now and then. Keep you on your toes,” I teased her.
She gave me a genuine smile before visibly relaxing.
I breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank god. I was worried I’d fucked things up with her. I understood I came off as pushy, but I knew she would be happy if free. And it might even save Fox. The wild idea of telling her what he was planning plagued me.
Of course, it could also cause her tremendous worry and stress.
It was an ugly situation to traverse. I needed to speak to Fox about it again.
I was hopeful he’d changed his mind, but I noticed he seemed to be slipping into a dark hole.
He wasn’t his typical vibrant self these days.
It was almost like he’d sunk into a depression and was just out of reach. It was freaking me out.
We pulled into Matteo’s estate. I helped Rosalie out of the car before she walked with me to the door.
His men nodded their heads at me without checking for weapons.
One guy reached out as I made to step through the doorway.
He wrapped his hand around Rosalie’s wrist, making her gasp as he roughly tugged her to a stop.
I pulled my gun out and pressed it to his head without a second thought.
“You don’t fucking touch her,” I snarled at him. “Unless you want your brains running down the fucking back of your neck.”
He immediately dropped his hand and backed away, his eyes wide and Adam’s apple bobbing.
“I’m sorry, Archangel.”
“Ani,” Rosalie’s voice shook.
I slowly put my gun away and took her hand in mine. I pulled her close and stepped into the foyer to find Matteo walking toward me, Klaus and Alessio flanking him as usual, the three moving like a well-oiled unit.
I was pissed. The men outside the door should have known well enough that Rosalie was off-limits. I didn’t care who the fuck they were. No one touched her.
“Alessandro. Is there a problem?” Matteo asked, stopping in front of us.
“One of your men touched Rosalie,” I said. “I gave him a gentle reminder on why that was a bad idea.”
Matteo smirked at me. Klaus stepped around us and walked outside. There was a scuffle for a moment before a loud crack and shriek, then silence. If I had to guess, someone had gotten their arm broken, and it wasn’t Klaus.
“ Bel fiore.” Matteo took Rosalie’s hands in his, a smile on his face. He didn’t even bat an eyelash at the violence. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss on her cheek. Her face was stained pink with her embarrassment, making him chuckle softly.
“She is a sweet one, Alessandro. Come. Let’s enjoy the weather.” He gestured for us to follow him outside. Alessio kept at his side, silently walking. They had an interesting dynamic.
We went outside to a beautiful stone patio and sat at a table. One of his servants came out and poured wine into goblets. Matteo’s eyes sparkled when a silver platter was placed before Rosalie.
She looked at me with wide-eyed innocence as the lid was removed and a thick peanut butter and jelly sandwich was revealed.
“For you, bel fiore. It is late in the day. I wanted to make sure you had your favorite,” Matteo said.
“Thank you,” she murmured as a servant poured us glasses of ice water. Alessio stood off to the side, watching everything with a straight face. Klaus joined him a moment later and whispered something to him, which made him chuckle softly.
“They’re funny,” Matteo said, gesturing to his men.
I smiled, knowing things were probably different when they were alone. They probably had a normal friend relationship, told jokes, and relaxed. I’d spent a short amount of time with Alessio when I’d rescued him from Drake and Fallon several weeks prior. He was an interesting man.
Rosalie nibbled at her sandwich, Matteo watching her with a smile.