I shake my head, “He was gone when I woke up.” Something I was both pleased and annoyed about. I woke upwith a hangover and a crystal-clear memory of everything that happened the night before. How I'd nuzzled the man's neck like a touch-starved kitten and kissed his throat, body aching with need for him--kissing him and hoping he'd put out the fire burning inside of me.
My first kiss.
The memory of it all was enough to tempt me into living out the rest of my life in his guest room, but when I gathered enough courage to face him, he’d already left for work. My bodyguard was waiting in the living room with a note from Dante reminding me that I’d agreed to move in with him. He’d send movers to pick up my boxes from my apartment at noon.
I was pissed and embarrassed and had every intention of calling him to retract the bet, but when I dug into my purse to grab my phone, my fingers brushed against something else. An envelope. And then whatever thoughts I had of calling Dante flew out of the window.
Christ, even now, thinking about that envelope is enough to send my mood plummeting to the depths of hell.
“Gia, are you okay?”
Sofia must sense a shift in my mood because the smile on her face disappears as she kneels next to me, worry knitting her brows. "Hey, if you don't want to live with Dante, you don't have to. No one cares about some stupid bet," she whispers, cupping both of my cheeks when I try to look away. "Come live with me and Matteo. You know the house is big and has tons of room. He won't mind."
“It’s not… I don’t mind living with Dante,” I say and realize that I don’t. I may be attracted to the man in ways I never have with anyone else in my life, but other than my sisters, there is no one I trust more. “His place is spacious and close to work.”
“Then what is it? Why do you suddenly look scared?”
I consider telling Sofia the thing that has been bothering me for a while now, but Christ, how do I tell my sister, who was kidnapped a few months ago, that I may or may not be in a similar kind of danger?
That I have a stalker!
For months now, I've been receiving letters. It started when I traveled to Europe for a ballet tour. I would find flowers and white envelopes in my dressing room, each letter signed with a hand-drawn rose rather than a name. The letters were lengthy and filled with admiration from a fan. They appeared right after every show, and at first, I was flattered. But then something started to change, and the letters got intense and a little terrifying. I didn't report them and decided I'd wait until I was back in New York and didn't have to deal with a crazed fan in a foreign country.
But the letters didn’t stop when I came back.
After every show, I would find flowers in my dressing room along with the letters in white envelopes, as intense as ever. I considered reporting it to the police, but the letters weren't threatening, just over the top.
A part of me thought I could ignore it. The crazed fan clearly knew where I worked, but that didn’t make him dangerous.
But then I received another letter and flowers at my apartment yesterday, right as I was leaving to attend Elena’s wedding party. I knew right away who the flowers were from when the delivery guy handed them to me, along with another envelope. I didn’t want to think much about it, so I just shoved the envelope into my purse and did my best to forget about it.
Still, it scares me that this person knows where I live.
I stare at Sofia’s wide eyes and consider telling her all this, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Sofia has worked so hard to keep us all safe and happy. After everything she’s been through—the arranged marriage, the danger, fighting our parents to protect us—she finally has peace with Matteo. She deserves her hard-won happiness, and I won’t be the one to shatter it with my problems.
When someone raps on the open door, I look up to find my little sister, Bella, and our twin cousins standing just outside since the room is too tiny to hold us all.
“Everything is packed, and the van is ready to leave… Hey, why are you two kneeling on the floor?” Arianna asks, her brows knitting with concern as her eyes shift from Sofia to me. “Is everything okay? Gia?”
I nod, pushing down my own issues. I can't tell them about my stalker. Everyone is still on edge after Sofia's then Elena's kidnapping. There is so much that has happened lately, and for the first time in a while, it feels like everything’s calming down. I don’t want to disturb this period of peace with news of my stalker.
Besides, he’ll probably leave me alone when he finds out I’m living with Dante Rossi. Everyone knows the Rossis are not to be toyed with. Plus, he’ll have a harder time sending me letters and flowers at Dante’s place.
Everything’s fine.
The stalker thing will disappear on its own. No need to worry about it.
“I’m just nervous,” I say, giving the girls what I hope comes off as a genuine smile. “Living with a guy I have a crush on makes me nervous. I’m not sure I’ll know how to act.”
Sofia doesn’t seem completely convinced as she doesn’t return my smile but the other girls bite on that little tidbit, as I knew they would.
“So, you admit you have a crush on Dante?”
“I knew it!”
“You were clearly lying when you said you were just friends.”
“Does he know?”
