“Mia! Mia!” I yelled and ran towards it, but it pulled away and all I could do was watch as she left me.
Chapter Twenty Four
Mia
My chest ached with the cold finality that Luc had called me business. Amber had stood there with a smirk on her face and I had wanted the world to swallow me whole. After everything, I was certain something had been growing between us but in the end, I was still just a business arrangement between Luc and Dad. That was the reality that shattered whatever fantasy I had built us to be.
I had no interest in anything else he needed to say to Marco, and needed to get away. His voice came behind me and I had never run so fast in my life. Driven by the misery that had clouded my soul, I returned to the hotel, leaving Luc a pinprick in the distance. The thunderous knocking on my door had pushed me up against the far wall of my room as Luc demanded to be let in but I stayed silent, refusing to sway to his demands. Eventually, the silence filled the room and I crawled into bed before sleep stole me away from pain.
Blindingly bright rays of sun hit my face the next morning, forcing my eyes to open. They were sticky with leftover mascara and the ache in the center of my chest had reappeared with consciousness. Gathering up the little will I had, I walked into the shower in hopes that I could scrub some enthusiasm for the trip back into myself. The water did well to wash away the remnants of makeup but the heartache stubbornly remained.
As I finished getting dressed there was a knock on the door. "Go away!" I called. I was still not prepared to deal with Lucas.
"It's Dante," came the voice from the other side. "Please open the door."
I walked over and placed a hand on the doorknob, not quite turning it. "Are you alone?"
"Yes,” he answered, too quickly for my liking.
"Swear it to me."
"I swear to you, Mia, it's only me outside this door," Dante told me.
I opened the door hesitantly to see Dante standing there alone as he had said. I sighed, "What do you want, D?"
"I was thinking maybe I could take you to breakfast."
I narrowed my eyes, not willing to trust that this wasn't a setup. Dante and Luc were like two halves of the same brain and neither did much without the other knowing.
"Mia, this is me," Dante reminded me gently. "I'm not going to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."
"Okay,” I said, inclined to believe him. Dante had been nothing but sweet since I had turned up in their life. Blunt at times, but his truth was never as sharp as everyone else’s.
We walked through the streets quietly before stopping at a café, where we took a table outside. Dante ordered a small feast but anxiety had swallowed my appetite, so a large, black coffee constituted my breakfast. When our order arrived at the table, Dante tucked in without encouragement.
"Are you sure you have enough?" I asked with a laugh.
"Hangovers make me hungry," he explained, tapping the side of his head tenderly.
"You enjoyed the rest of the night then?" I asked, hoping it came across nonchalant.
Dante swallowed the bite and shook his head. "I wouldn't exactly say enjoy. I was just trying to keep up with Luc."
My heart gave an uncomfortable lurch against my breastbone and I wished it would stop. It needed to read off the same hymn sheet as my brain for once.
"What happened after you left?" Dante asked me.
"Nothing."
"Mia." Dante looked up at me and I was reminded why Luc kept him close. On more than one occasion, I questioned how Dante had walked into this life but the darkness that inched across his features told me that it was no accident. "He was in a mess when he called me."
"Nothing happened, D,” I repeated. “I left. I went back to the hotel. I didn't want to speak to him," I explained and took a sip from my mug. The liquid burned my tongue and made me wince.
"Why did you leave?" Dante asked, and took another bite of his breakfast. "You sure you don't want any of this?"
"No thanks," I told him. "Knock yourself out." I took another sip and thought about whether I should tell Dante, or if it would be better to keep it to myself. His loyalty would always lie with Luc.
"You know, it's something you guys can probably fix if you talk about it."
