5. Chloe
CHAPTER 5
CHLOE
“I look absurd.” I glare at my reflection in the full length mirror hanging in the ladies’ lounge at the lodge and do a half-turn. “I’m wearing Dolce & Gabbana for Pete’s sake. And UGGS!”
Lily purses her lips and circles me. “They’re sparkly UGGS. That’s something. Besides, right now, comfort is the most important thing.”
“Comfort. Tell that to the rest of my shoe wardrobe.” I throw my hands into the air. “Please get me some champagne. Getting buzzed is the only way I’m going to be able to walk into the party looking like this.”
We walk into the lobby and make a beeline for the bar set up by the roaring fireplace. I hop onto an empty stool. I’d been waiting for just the perfect occasion to wear this dress and I figured the bachelorette party would be the night. It’s not exactly ski resort attire but I don’t care. I love it, except that the black leather corset-style dress hugs my body so tightly that if I’d have eaten one more French fry at lunch, it’d be on display. And if I’m being completely honest, I really want to make Bruno drool when he sees me.
But nobody drools over someone in UGGS, sparkly or not.
“Is that better?” Lily asks once I’ve drained my crystal flute.
“Hardly. How many bottles do you think they have back there?”
“You look gorgeous. Just a little shorter than normal.” She grins. “Besides, the place is so dark, nobody will notice.”
“It’s not like I’ll be able to move around anyway.” My shoulders slump. “I’ll just be stuck at the table for most of the night.”
Lily strokes my arm. “Is this all because of the outfit? Or is something else bothering you? We didn’t get to talk after Bruno left the cabin.”
I lean forward with my head in my hands and let out a deep sigh. “I tried to prepare myself for this weekend. I figured I could handle seeing him again and be civil.”
“And what happened? Did he say something back at the cabin?”
“He said a lot. And he said nothing at the same time.”
“Chloe,” Lily says, rubbing my arm. “Do you still have feelings for him?”
I hail the bartender and point to my empty glass. He gets the message and comes over with a full bottle. After he pours me another glass, I take a long gulp before answering Lily. “It doesn’t really matter. We’re living different lives in different places. We’re here this weekend to celebrate you and Zeno and after it’s over, we’ll go back to our own worlds because we weren’t meant to be.”
“That’s bullshit,” Lily squeals. “You guys were perfect together. Yin and yang. You had so much chemistry. It was explosive, girl! Don’t give me your sob story about not meant to be.”
“It doesn’t matter now. Too much has happened. We had our little fling, decided to move to California together, and then he left. No calls, no texts. He just disappeared. Got sucked back into his work. I don’t have room in my life for someone who cared so little about my feelings that he couldn’t be honest about what he really wanted.”
“I get that. Did you ever ask him why he went radio silent?”
“Not exactly.” I run my fingers over the wood grain on the top of the bar. I recount the conversation that we never got a chance to finish and let out a groan.
“Let me guess. Guy problems?”
Startled, I turn my head to the right, meeting the knowing gaze of a gorgeous redhead. Her eyes sparkle, and her lips are curled into a smirk.
The guy next to her rolls his eyes and snickers into his beer. “Smooth, Maisy. Real smooth.”
Maisy gives the guy’s arm a playful swat. “They’re American. I couldn’t resist.”
“You’re American, too,” I exclaim.
“Yep, from Maine.”
“I’m Chloe from California and my friend Lily here is from Vegas. Well, originally from New York, but Vegas these days,” I say, the champagne giving me a serious case of motormouth.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Maisy and this is my boyfriend Cain. You guys here on vacation?”
“Actually, Lily is getting married tomorrow,” I gush. “I’m the maid of honor.”
“Yes, and she’s also in love with the best man,” Lily interjects.
Maisy nods and nudges Cain. “Aha. I was right. It is about a guy.” She waves down the bartender. “Can I get another root beer please?”
I eye Maisy as she sips her drink. She’s got tattoos on every exposed part of her body that I can see and plenty of piercings. A total badass. I love this girl already.
“We had a thing a year ago,” I say. “But it ended kind of badly. I’ve been hung up on him since we broke up and seeing him this weekend…” My voice trails off for a second. “I guess we have some unfinished business to deal with.”
“That’s an understatement. Both of them are still completely into each other but they can’t get over themselves enough to admit it and move forward.” Lily grabs my shoulder. “Don’t you think you should get an answer from him? It’s obviously been bothering you for a long time. Put it to bed and move on, if that’s what you want to do.”
I look up and furrow my brow. “What do you mean, ‘if that’s what I want to do’?”
Lily smiles, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Because putting it to bed isn’t what you really want. Putting him to bed next to you is.”
I gasp. “Lil!”
She shrugs. “Tell me it’s not true and I’ll drop it.”
“Sounds like you’re getting a little defensive, Chloe,” Maisy says in a singsong voice. “Listen to Lily and take him to bed!”
“Maisy—"
Maisy turns toward Cain and holds up a hand. “I’ve got this, babe. There is definitely a love connection to be made and I’m here for it.”
Cain groans. “You can’t ever just sit at a bar and have a drink, can you?”
“Never,” she says sweetly, leaning in to give him a PG-13-rated kiss. It’s obvious he’s crazy about her. My heart flutters.
My lips part but no words come out for a long minute. I cover my face with my hands. “I…I can’t deny it. I’m still in love with him.” I peek through my fingers to see Lily’s smile turn into a shit-eating grin.
“Knew it.”
“No way did you?—”
“Of course I did. I’m your best friend. Yes, we have had a few bumps in the road and I know I wasn’t honest with you either. But I saw everything. I just needed you to finally admit it to yourself.”
I give my head a good shake. The barstool spins, and I slap my hands onto the bar to steady myself before I fall onto my ass. “I knew it when I saw him with that girl earlier today. I hated that he was talking to someone else, smiling at someone else. I wanted him to look at me that way.”
“He did, babe. Just like he always had. You need to tell him how you feel.”
“Lily’s right,” Maisy says. “Be honest. You have nothing to lose.”
“I know how I feel about him but everything else…” My voice trails off. “He’s got family responsibilities. His work. I would never ask him to give any of that up for me. It’s complicated.”
“Can you handle it? His work? Because you had a hard time swallowing it before,” Lily says.
“It was a shock, yes. It’s not a life I know anything about. But the thing that made me the angriest was that he lied and dipped out of my life like he didn’t care.”
“Then tell him that. Get his side,” Maisy says. “And then…” She waggles her eyebrows.
“Okay, babe. I think you’ve had enough root beer tonight,” Cain says with a grin. “Let’s go find a hot tub.”
“Oohh, yes, please!” Maisy jumps off her barstool and gives me a quick hug. “Good luck. You look incredible. Show him what he’s missing and then make that love connection. Maybe you’ll find your own hot tub later.”
She grabs onto Cain’s arm and he drops a kiss on the top of her head. “Good luck,” he says to me with a wink.
Lily pulls me in for a big hug once they walk away. “I want you to be happy. And this is the perfect weekend to rekindle things. Maisy said it, I’m saying it. How much more convincing do you need? Just go for it. In your beautiful, sparkly UGGS!”
A giggle-hiccup escapes my lips. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Hey, bitches!”
We both look over at a group of women rushing toward us in short dresses and super-high high heels. Thank goodness the resort has a transport that picks people up from their cabins and drives them around so that they don’t need to trudge in snow boots.
I gingerly step down from the stool, wincing slightly when my foot hits the floor. I’m suddenly captured in a perfumed embrace by Heaven, Zeno’s cousin by marriage. She’s here with her in-laws – Chella, Jaelyn, and Anya. And a few seconds later, Lily’s sister-in-law, Shaye, runs toward us with her friends Katarina and Sloane.
I guess while the gangsters are away, the mob wives will play.
“It’s a good thing they have that lodge transport because there’s no way I’d wear boots with this dre?—”
Shaye’s eyes drop to my feet and bright pink spots color her cheeks. “Oh, shit, Chloe. I didn’t mean anything by that.”
I shake my head, teetering against the bar, a little tipsy from all the champagne. “I twisted my ankle this afternoon. I’d never be caught dead in these things otherwise.”
Shaye links arms with me. “Don’t worry, you look gorgeous.”
“Thanks.”
Heaven opens a bag and pulls out a set of white feather wings and a veil with a flourish. “Happy bachelorette, love! Let’s get this party started!”
We walk into the bar like we own the place. Heaven and Shaye lead the way to our table in the VIP lounge. As wives of the bosses, they’re used to getting what they want, when they want it. We didn’t have a reservation for the table but just hearing their names gave us access to the best table in the place. For free.
The life.
I try to shield my feet from the people grinding and writhing on the dance floor, taking small steps so I don’t stumble into someone and twist my good ankle. A hand smacks my ass as I pass. I stop short then whip around. Someone wants my attention. And someone is about to get it.
“Was that you, asshole?” I hiss at a smirking guy standing behind me. He’s surrounded by a group of leering guys. He lifts the beer bottle to his lips and gulps it down before answering. “I saw something I liked, so yeah. I want a piece.”
“Well, fuck you. It’s not up for grabs.”
“Oh yeah? I think you’re begging for someone to notice. Otherwise you’d be wearing something that covered your ass.” He inches toward me. “But you’re not. Your outfit screams ‘tear me off and fuck me hard.’”
“You’re a disgusting pig,” I scream. “Fuck off.”
I twist away from him but he grabs my arm. “Not so fast. I’m still listening to the dress,” he hisses into my face. The stale smell of beer makes my stomach roil.
I give him an elbow to the sternum and he groans. But before I can run off, he pulls me back by my hair. “You’re not going anywhere, bitch. You think you’re a little cocktease, don’t you? Well, I don’t like being teased.”
Struggling in his grip, I try to protect my bad ankle from people pushing past us. “Let me go, dick.”
“I’m not letting you go anywhere.” His eyes flash with anger, his friends nudging each other and snickering. “You’re with me tonight.”
“The fuck she is,” a deep voice growls from behind me. “She’s with me.”
Bruno pushes me against a nearby wall and smashes a fist into the guy’s jaw. He doubles over, his hand covering the blood pouring from his mouth. But like a glutton for punishment, he staggers and straightens up.
“I don’t see a sign on her saying she’s your prize fucking cow,” the guy grunts, spitting at Bruno’s feet. Then he lunges for him, his eyes glowing with malice.
Bruno easily sidesteps him with a smirk. “Stupid fuck,” he mutters, grabbing the guy by the hair as he comes in for the kill. “You touched my girl and now I’m gonna kick your ass.”
He smashes the guy into the floor then pulls him up by the back of his neck before sending a fist into the guy’s throat. He flounders around on the hardwood floor, choking and sputtering, his hand clutching his neck.
His friends back away and lose themselves in the crowd. Zeno appears with the rest of his groomsmen – the gangsters – Matteo, Nico, Max, Rocco, Sergio, Roman, and Dante.
They circle the guy like he’s prey and judging by the way he looks up at them, he knows he’s severely fucked.
Bruno hovers over the guy. “Looks like all your punk-ass bitch friends scattered like cockroaches. Now you’re on your own. Are you dumb enough to come after me again? Do I need to cut off your hand and gouge out your eyes?”
My jaw hits the floor. He’s so…vicious. And it’s hot as fuck, if I’m being honest. Sick as it is, my core tingles at the mention of me being “his girl.”
Was he just trying to save me?
Or is it something more?
The guy doesn’t respond to Bruno’s threat. Instead, he begs like a little bitch when he stares up into the dark and dangerous eyes of Bruno’s posse. “Look, I’ll leave her alone, okay? Just let me go.”
“Don’t ever let me see you again or those won’t just be threats. Consider them promises.”
With one quick tug, Bruno pulls the guy off the floor and pushes him away. The rest of the gangster groomsmen follow the handsy asshole out of the club where they will no doubt pummel his ass into the snow.
Bruno walks toward me, his jaw tense. My heart leaps into my throat, pent-up lust flooding my veins.
“Thank you.” I swallow hard, my eyes raking over his god-like body. My fingers tingle at the thought of tearing off his shirt, my tongue itches to lick every cut of hard muscle. “What are you even doing here? I thought you had the bachelor party tonight.”
He flashes his signature half-smirk. “We’re in the middle of nowhere at a ski resort. Didn’t have many options. Besides…” He trails a finger down the side of my arm. “I needed to answer your question from before.”
“My question.” A thick haze of desire fogs my brain.
“When you told me I should have been honest about not coming to California and I said I’ve regretted it for the past year and a half, you asked what part I regretted.”
“Right,” I say, my voice tight. “Letting me go or sticking with your new job.”
He reaches around to the back of my head. “I’ve regretted letting you go every single fucking day, Chloe. I think about what I let slip through my fingers because of my own family bullshit. And I wish to God I hadn’t because I’m in love with you. I have been since the day we met.”
“You mean the day when we were being hunted by killers and had to save Zeno from his death?”
Bruno nods. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
“You lied. That was what crushed me the most. Your life was a shock but I would have been able to deal with it because…” My lips lift. “Because you and I just fit .”
“Fuck, yeah, we do,” he says in a husky voice, pulling me close. “We always did.”
“Is that really why you iced me out? Because I couldn’t handle your work?”
He shakes his head. “No. My dad threatened me. Told me if I didn’t get the idea of moving to California out of my head, he’d ship me back to Sicily. Permanently. He’s not the kind of guy to take no for an answer. But he’s not in control anymore. I am. And I know what I want. You .”