Bambina was barking up a storm, and when her barks turned into growls that followed us, I looked down. She’d latched on to his pants. He was trying to shake her off.
“I’m going to hurt this fucking dog,” he said, “if she doesn’t let me go.”
“That’s because you won’t letmego,” I said, trying to hide the anger in my voice. I didn’t want to piss him off even more and then he hurt my dog. Because then I was going to kill him.
“Why won’t you just talk to me? Fuck!” He shook her even harder, which shook me too.
“Yeah. Okay. Let me go and we’ll talk.”
“You’ll leave with me,” he said. “We’ll have dinner.”
His words were not matching up to the look on his face. He was trying to be casual when his eyes were frantic. His deodorant must have been working overtime too. I could smell him so distinctly in the air. It was almost overpowering.
“Whatever you want,” I said, lying through my teeth.
He took a deep breath and then released my arm. I called Bambina’s name, but she still wouldn’t let him go. I had to bend down and pry her off his pant leg. Her teeth were so small, though, that she’d only broken fabric. I shooed her toward the condo a second later, hoping Cilla would shut the door and keep her in.
I had no idea where Cilla had gone. I didn’t see her at the entrance anymore.
Shit. She wouldn’t have left me alone with this unstable asshole, would she?
I put some space between our bodies by setting my back against the wall. He paced across from me, but close enough that he could catch me if I tried to run.
He kept running a hand over his tie, the movement almost frantic. “What is it about me that you don’t like? You agreed to marry my brother, but not me.”
The words were not said out of kindness, or insecurity. I could tell he was frustrated, and this conversation was one he had with himself before having it with me.
“I can’t remember why I agreed to marry Richie,” I said.IfI even did. My heart told me I didn’t.
He turned on me so fast that I held my hands up. Maybe he didn’t want me saying his brother’s name.
“I really can’t remember,” I said, being honest and hiding the truth. “But whatever the reason, it was a mistake.”
“Because of Aniello Assanti.” He said his name like a curse word.
“He has nothing to do with this,” I said.
“Bullshit!” he roared. “You might have a poker face, darling, but no one in the world would believe that.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, “because I don’t love you.”
“Love has nothing to do with this.” He motioned between the two of us. “Or anything to do with what goes on in our worlds.”
“My world,” I said.
He scoffed. “Same shit, different name.” He stared at me for a minute before he put his hands on his hips. “Even though that shit about my father got leaked, this is still happening between us. It’s a done deal. So you’re either going to have to get used to it or you’ll spend the rest of your life miserable. I’m trying to make this as pleasurable as possible for the both of us.”
“Nice sentiment,” I said. “But still no deal.”
“You don’t have a choice,” he said. “Neither does Assanti.”
In these heels, he was only about three inches taller than me, and I stood a little taller. “What do you think is going to happen after you marry me? Do you think he’s going to let this go?”
“It doesn’t matter what Assanti thinks or not. He’ll be dead. His people are done with him. He’s a loose cannon. Too unpredictable for even them. And that’s saying something.” He fixed me with a look that made my blood turn to ice in my veins. “Whatever reason my brother went tothatplace before marrying you—to prove something, knowing him—is not going to happen with me. I’m not going to give Assanti a chance to kill me before they kill him. They’re not going to find me with a hunk of glass wedged in my fucking heart, darling.”
My hands balled into fists at his words. My nails drew blood when he called me “darling.”
“Come on,” he said, grabbing for my arm. “Let’s go.”
