Chapter 38
HUDSON
“Why did you let her go if you were going to be like this?” Isaac releases a long suffering sigh. I glance at him sharply.
“Like what?”
“Exactly like that!” Crew answers, snapping his fingers at me. “Glaring around and snapping at everyone. The men held you in reverence and respect, but now they’re just terrified of pissing you off.”
I narrow my eyes at Crew. “Somehow I find that hard to believe.”
Isaac scoffs, “Of course, you do. Because they’ve all been avoiding having interactions with you so you can’t see their fear.”
“You’re being ridiculous. I don’t see what you’re doing in this meeting, Isaac.” I direct the question to Crew, the culprit who invited Isaac. They’ve cornered me in my study and brought up this ridiculous line of conversation when we should be conducting business discussions.
“It’s only been a little under three weeks, Massimo, and your wedding was supposed to be last weekend; it’s understandable that you miss her and her absence hurts,” Isaac trails off when I level a cold stare at him.
“See! There you go again, one word about Andrea and you look as if you might bite our heads off. If you want her that badly, then go get her, damn it. You kidnapped her once, and you can certainly do it again.”
My hands form fists as I redirect my glare at Crew. “Is there a point to this ambush other than you two meddling in my love life?”
“What is going on in your head, H?” Crew asks. “Because your head has certainly not been with us since she left. I knew when you asked me how to make her fall in love with you that this would end badly.”
“Wait, what? He tried to make her fall in love with him?” I inhale sharply, stopping my words. What’s the point in trying to explain that I had asked him how to make her stay, not how to make her fall in love with me? Like they would be able to tell the difference, anyway.
“Damn it, Massimo, you fell in love with her, didn’t you?”
I jolt at that, my heart pumping erratically as I meet Isaac’s concerned gaze. I don’t love Andrea. I want to fuck her. Own her. Possess every inch of her body. Her mind. Her heart. Consume her until I’m all she can think about and. I jolt again.
“Fuck.” I love her.
Crew lets out a disbelieving laugh. “Shit, he really does.”
“That’s never been in question. The question is, what is he going to do about it?” Isaac raises a brow at me.
“Nothing,” I grit out. “Now get out of my study, both of you.”
“Now!” I shout, needing a moment alone to gather my thoughts. Thankfully, they get up and leave on their own before I resort to drastic measures.
Love? How is that possible? I don’t know how to love anyone. Hell, I’ve never been in a real relationship until Andrea and even that started with a kidnapping. Does she even consider us to be in a relationship?
Fuck. I tap my mouse to bring my computer to life; it opens immediately into the direct feed I have inside Ezra’s home since that’s where Andrea has been spending most of her time. Sure enough, she’s in the nursery cuddling one of the twins while Charlie feeds the other one.
Should I give her space? Probably. But old habits die hard, and I need to haveeyes on her like I need air to breathe. It’s non-negotiable. For all she knows, I am giving her space. I’m here, she’s…not.
Watching her these past few weeks with the kids reminds me of our first night together in our room, in our bed. What if I hadn’t called Killian in? Would she now be carrying my baby? My gaze drops to her belly, imagining it swollen with my child. She would never leave me if she was pregnant.
Fuck, I love her.
My plan had been to leave her alone and let her come back to me on her own. I hoped my absence in her life would make her miss and even crave me. I’m yet to see evidence of that. Now that I know why I have this obsession to always have her in my sight, it changes everything.
I open my desk drawer and stare at the purple hair band I had confiscated the morning before she left me. I take it out and put it on my wrist: Andrea’s mine. She should be right here, beside me.
I hope she’s enjoying her time with her family because I’m only giving her until the end of the week. If she doesn’t come back on her own, well then, I’ll just have to go remind her who she belongs to.