“Cinnamon toast with maple syrup,” she said when she caught sight of me. “I remember. It’s good to see you again, Sophia. You stayed away too long.”
“It’s good to see you as well, Milly.” I beamed a genuine smile at her because it was good to see her. “I’ve missed you.”
“Take a seat, Matteo.” She winked at him. “Told you she would come back to you.”
“Come back to you?” I whisper-asked as we took our seats in the corner by the window.
He shrugged. “She might have realized we were together back in the day. She kept telling me you would be back.”
“Well, she was right, wasn’t she?” Leaning across the table, I brushed my thumb across the back of his hand. “I am back.”
“Yeah, because I made you come back.” Leaning back on his chair, he pulled his hands away from me.
“Matteo?”
He watched as a man, followed by a tiny slip of a blonde woman, sidled up to the table. In fact, he leaned further back in his chair, a smile flickering across his face as he watched my reaction.
“Mr Kotti.” Tearing his eyes away from me, he finally stood. Drawing himself to his full six-foot-two inches, he greeted the old man with a handshake.
“Now now, we are almost family. You should call me by…”
My eyes widened. Family. They were almost family.
Before my eyes, Matteo greeted the woman, who couldn’t have been more than twenty. Cupping the tops of her arms, he brushed his lips against her cheek in a soft, gentle kiss.
“Francesca. You are as beautiful as ever.”
She looked up at him like the stars shone out of his eyes and thesun shone from his ass. It was a look I knew well. Because I had worn it for most of my teenage years.
She was in love with him.
And her father had said so.
I swallowed around the lump of vomit in my throat. He had said they were going to be family. So that meant…
I heaved. Clamping a hand over my mouth, I swallowed it down.
She was the girl Matteo planned to marry. All of the sweetness and kindness he had shown me this morning was all an act.
My instincts had been right. He wasn’t done playing games.
“This is my dear old friend Sophia. She’s visiting for…”
His eyes darted to me. “A little while.”
“Oh, it’s lovely to meet you.” Almost skipping forward, Francesca went to kiss my cheek. I stood up so suddenly my chair fell back with a clatter. I side-stepped her kiss.
Matteo had brought me here because he knew she would be here. With him, it was the same old shit every single day.
He took my body, he told me he loved me, and in the next breath, humiliated me over and over again.
And I’d had enough of it.
If Matteo wanted a scene, then I would oblige. I would give him the scene he dreamed of.
“You son of a bitch,” I hissed quietly, but the clattering chair had everyone turning toward us anyway.
“Not now, Sophia.” Matteo sounded bored. But the smile stayed on his face.
