“Wrong.” His head tipped to the side, and he smirked. “Told you, I know people.”
“Well, CJ, you’ve been misinformed,” Gina said, and crossing her arms, she smirked right back. “Matt and I aren’thooking up; we love each other.”
What have you got to say now, asshole?
“I’ve known him a helluva long time, Buttercup, and trust me, fucking is all he’s good for.” He leaned in closer, taking her palm in his. “Chicks. Dudes. He doesn’t care. A hole is a hole to him.”
As if his touch burned her skin, she pulled her hand away. “You’re lying.”
“But I’m not.” Undeterred, CJ invaded her personal space, his face mere inches from hers. “I’ve had to endure watching him—hell, all of them, and their depraved sexual escapades for years. And let me tell you this, that selfish motherfucker isn’t capable of loving anyone. He doesn’t know how.”
“Matt is anything but selfish,” Gina shot back, her finger poking his chest with every insistent word. “He’s loving and generous and kind and…”
… perfect.
Well, to her he was, anyway.
“Sweetheart, that’s what he wants you to think. He’s just playing you.” CJ patted her arm, looking upon her with something akin to pity. “You’re a beautiful girl, and you’re convenient while Matt’s bored here at home, but I know him. Once they cut their next album and go back out on tour, he’s gonna forget all about you. I heard a big label is looking to sign them, and if that’s true, he’ll be gone sooner rather than later.”
“Sounds like sour grapes on your part to me.” Gina schooled her expression to one of indifference. She knew the boys were working on a new album, and that meant eventually they’d leave home again. Matt never mentioned a record deal, but then why would he? The business side of Venery wasn’t a topic they typically discussed.
“Nah, see, I’ve already picked up some new bands. I don’t need them; they needme.” His tongue slowly swiped across his too-thick bottom lip. “If you weren’t Tony’s sister, I wouldn’t even waste my breath. But I don’t want to see you get hurt, and if you keep messing around with him, you’re going to be.”
“I tried to tell her, but all I did was piss her off.” Her brother placed a Rossi’s bag filled with enough food to feed ten people on the table in front of her and reclaimed his seat. Then, he pulled her hand into his lap and squeezed it. “I’m not the villain here, Gina.”
She glanced over at Teo, who looked on from behind the counter, shaking his head. “And Matt is? He’s one of your best friends, Tony.”
“You don’t know him like me and CJ do.” His fingertips traced the skin between her knuckles. “Look, he’s a good guy, but he’s not the guy for you.”
“Rock stars are a different breed.” Nodding, those shifty gray eyes looked into hers. “Even before they’re famous, they’ve got girls willing to go down on their knees for them and… well, I don’t have to tell you the rest. Fuck’s sake, just google him.”
Gina closed her eyes. Hadn’t she had those very thoughts once?
“I’d love to see you down on your knees. It isn’t what I want, though.”
“What do you want, then?”
“To earn the privilege to worship you at yours.”
But she’d been wrong, and so were they.
“You know what the Red Door is, don’t you?” CJ asked.
She walked past it nearly every day. “A bougie private club.”
“It’s a sex club, Gina,” Tony informed her with a sigh. “And your boyfriend is a charter member.”
“Matt’s into some nasty shit. He’ll turn you into his pretty little whore, ruin your life and everything you’ve worked so hardfor.” Then, he dropped his phone in front of her. “I didn’t want to show you this, but…”
Photos of her and Matt taken at the festival a few weeks ago.
Gina swiped through them. “How’d you get these?”
“That doesn’t matter.” CJ took his phone back and passed it to her brother. “I want you to think about what would happen if these photos were plastered all over the internet. I don’t think the hospital would be at all happy to see one of their nurses depicted like this on the pages of some supermarket tabloid, do you?”
“Cazzo!You’d lose your job, Gina, and with that kind of publicity, who would hire you?” Tony was getting angry. She could tell. His cheeks turned the color of ripe tomatoes. “Think of what it would do to Mom if these photos were to get out.”
“I’m kissing my boyfriend,” she hissed through her teeth. “So what?”
