Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
When I walk into the house after hiding in the pool for another twenty minutes, my dad takes a second look at me.
“Why are you wet?” he asks.
“I was swimming,” I tell him, holding the towel tight around my body.
I spent the last few minutes floating and trying to figure out what the hell just happened. I fucked CJ—okay, technically, he fucked me but you get the point. I let go. I wanted him in that moment and I was selfish enough to take him.
Then again, I’ve always wanted him. I’m not na?ve. I know it had something to do with seeing him with another woman. Even if he says they’re business associates, that ugly jealous devil was sitting on my shoulder telling me to make a claim on what’s mine.
“Swimming? By yourself?” Dad presses.
“Mhmm,” I hum noncommittally.
“Interesting. You got more than one pool in this house, Carlo?” Dad turns to Mr. Bianchi.
“Nope, just the one, Gio. You thinking what I’m thinking?” Mr. Bianchi replies.
“I’m trying real fucking hard not to think about it,” Dad grunts.
“I bet.” Mr. Bianchi laughs. “Daniella, sweetheart, can you pass these to CJ on your way to your room? Tell him I need them signed.” Mr. Bianchi hands me a stack of papers.
“Oh, is he here?” I shrug.
“Pretty sure he just headed up to his room,” Mr. Bianchi tells me.
“Um, okay.” I walk away and take the staircase as slow as humanly possible because I need to come up with a way to hand these papers to CJ, without actually seeing or talking to him.
Shit, how am I in this situation? Oh, I know how! My damn vagina really wanted to feel him fill it.
By the time I reach CJ’s door, I still haven’t come up with a way to hand him these papers without actually seeing him. But then, as if an angel is watching down on me, my sister appears.
“Rosie, thank god,” I whisper.
“Why are we whispering?” she whispers back.
“I need you to give these to CJ. Tell him his dad wants him to sign them.” I hand her the stack of papers.
“What are they?” She looks down at the pile in her hands and starts flicking through them.
“Don’t look. It’s not our business what they are,” I remind her.
“Maybe not, but I’m nosey so I’m gonna look,” she says.
“Your nosiness is going to get you killed, Rosie. Stop reading those.”
My sister’s eyes widen before she peers up at me. “Do you know what this is, Daniella?”
“No, because I’m not nosey. I’m not reading through other people’s personal documents. And you shouldn’t either.” I take the papers back from her, turn the handle of CJ’s door, and walk in without knocking. A mistake I realize the moment my eyes land on a very-naked CJ.
“Dani, come for another round of questioning?”
“Ah… sorry,” I mumble. “These are yours. Your dad wanted me to give them to you. I’m just going to leave them here. Your dad said to tell you they need to be signed.”
I drop the paperwork on the edge of his bed as I do everything in my power to avoid looking at him, because if I get another glimpse of everything that is a naked CJ, I’m going to be telling him: Yes, I do want another round of questioning.
“Are you blushing, darling?”
The gravelly tone of his voice has me squeezing my thighs together. The memory of how he filled me in the pool too fresh in my mind. I can resist CJ. I can resist temptation.
I turn and huff out a breath. “No, I’m not blushing.”
“You sure.” CJ waves a finger at my face. “Because those cheeks look a pretty shade of red.”
“Shut up, CJ!” I growl. “And put some damn clothes on. Not everyone wants to see your junk.”
“No, not everyone, but you do. It’s why your eyes are struggling to reach my face.” He chuckles.
My head snaps upwards. I was purposely trying not to make eye contact with him, because when I do, I get lost in those dark eyes of his and I never want to find a way out. As my gaze moves higher, though, I catch sight of a bandage over his torso and then it hits me.
“You were shot.”
“Better me than you,” he says.
“No, I mean you were shot, CJ. You have a wound and you just jumped in the pool.”
“Come on, Dani. I didn’t just jump in the pool. We both know what happened out there. Unless you’ve forgotten and need a little reminder? I’ll be happy to help you remember, darling.”
“Do you ever think about anything but sex?”
“Yes,” he deadpans.
I shake my head. “You should see a doctor, CJ. That could get infected.” I point at the dressing.
“It’s fine,” he says, folding his arms over his chest.
“Why are you still naked?” I huff again and make my way to his door.
“I was waiting to see if you were going to make the most of the opportunity.” He laughs. “Guess that’s a no? It’s fine. I’ve got places to be anyway.”
“Where are you going?” I turn back around and watch him walk into his closet.
“Why? You want to come?”
“Depends on where you’re going. Actually, it doesn’t matter. I need to get out of this house. I need to get away from everyone,” I tell him.
“You running again, Dani?” CJ asks, and I cringe.
It’s what I do. I run away from everything I want to run towards because it’s the right thing to do. It’s the safe thing to do.
“I’m not running. I’m taking a break from my family,” I correct him.
CJ comes out of his closet wearing dress pants and a black button-down. He has a jacket thrown over his arm and shoes in one hand. “Why?”
“What do you mean why?”
“Why are you taking a break from your family?”
“Because they found something out and now they won’t give me two minutes of peace,” I groan and lean my back against the wall.
CJ stares at me as he sits on the end of his bed and puts his shoes on. God only knows what he’s looking for. “What they find out, Dani?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Fine. Have fun being stuck in this house.” He stands, walking right past me before he opens his bedroom door and continues through it.
“Wait, seriously? You’re just going to leave me here?” I run out after him.
He stops at the top of the stairs and turns to me. “I told you I was done with this. I’m done with letting you fuck with my head. You want to keep shit from me? Fine, that’s your choice. But I have the choice to say I’m done.”
I blink, doing my best not to cry. I will not cry.
“You’re right. And you should be done. I don’t deserve you, CJ.
I know that. This is all my fault. I fucked up.
I never should have gotten involved with you.
Because even back then, I knew we would never have a future.
But I did anyway and now I’ve messed everything up. ”
“Whatever reason has you choosing to be some kind of martyr, I don’t care. Either figure your shit out, tell me what the fuck the problem is, or leave me alone.” With that, he walks down the stairs.
The bang of the front door closing has me flinching.
“That went well.” My sister’s voice comes from behind me.
“Why are you snooping again?” I scowl at her.
“Wanted to see what your reaction was when you realized what papers Mr. Bianchi gave CJ,” she says. “But obviously he wasn’t too happy about them.”
“He didn’t look at the papers,” I tell her. “And you really shouldn’t have either.”
“You should know what they are, Dani,” Rosie insists.
“I don’t care, Rosie. Like I said, it’s none of my business.” I go to walk past her.
“Except it is, because it’s about you. They’re prenup documents. Preparing for the wedding of Daniella De Bellis and Carlo Bianchi Junior.”
I stop in my tracks. “What?”
“There’s more. The paperwork was written up by Alistair,” she says. “Which means Dad had something to do with it.”
Alistair is the husband of one of my mum’s best friends, Dani, also my namesake.
“What? No, Dad would not arrange a marriage for us, Rosie.”
“Maybe not me. But you? Sure, he would.” She laughs. “I mean, at least it’s CJ. He’s hot and, well, you could do worse.”
“Argh, I’m not doing this.” I walk into my assigned guestroom and slam the door closed. I just need to sleep. Maybe I’ll wake up and realize this entire trip has been one big nightmare.