A small smile tugs at my lips. “He opened every damn door for me. Carried my bags. Took me on dates.”
“And went down on you?”
“Yes. Really went to town there.”
She wiggles her brows. “Nice. So what went wrong? Why are we not celebrating?”
I draw in a shaky breath. “Because none of it was real. Last night, I woke up, and he wasn’t next to me. I was a little drunk. Anyway, I opened my bedroom door and saw another woman in our penthouse.”
Her mouth falls open. “Drago doesn’t seem the type? He is not a player at all.”
“I wasn’t drunk enough to hallucinate. She kissed him, Bella. And he didn’t stop it.” I flinch as I say it.
The words physically hurt to say out loud.
Her expression tightens. “What were they talking about before the kiss?”
“I don’t know. It sounded heated. Like it was about to be a hate fuck on the couch.”
“Have you asked him?”
My stomach sinks. I feel like a coward. Like I’m letting my insecurities win. I deserve to know the truth, I know that. Every woman does.
But, deep down, something tells me that Drago will have an answer. And that pushing him away keeps him safe. It stops a big fallout with my father. It stops me from getting hurt in the long run.
I’m protecting myself.
“He wanted to explain… I told him not to bother because we were just a fling.”
She gasps. Loudly. “A fling? You called Drago a fling?”
I wince. “Yeah. A vacation fling.”
“Jesus Christ.” She rubs her temples, then looks back at me. “Okay. A year ago, I would have done the same thing. But what I have learned,the fucking hard way, is in this life, you always hear them out. If you don’t like the answer, punch him in the balls and walk away. But men like Drago, men like mine, they don’t cheat.”
I swallow hard.
“I think it’s for the best. What is my dad going to say? Drago is like a son to him. They’re best friends. It just makes it awkward.”
“That’s a good excuse,” she counters gently. “Wouldn’t your dad want you both to be happy?”
“I really don’t know if he’d like Drago being the man to make me happy.”
I don’t know my father that well, but I know he respects Drago. And that knowing about us could shatter that.
“Love is worth the risk.”
It lands heavy in my chest, mirroring words Drago said to me before. “This is a mess. I keep pushing people away, it’s what I do, Bella.”
I take a deep breath, realizing that actually, this isn’t making me weak. That letting my feelings out to someone I trust isn’t a bad thing. Not like my anxious brain told me it would be. It’s a relief.
“You can change your mind,” she says softly. “I bet you never pushed anyone that far away and burned the bridges.”
“I even turned my own mother down the other day. All she wanted was a coffee and to apologize.” I scrub my hands over my face.
“Only you can decide what you want in your life.” She gives a dramatic pause, “Well, actually, you aren’t getting rid of me; there is no choice there. But everyone else?” She shrugs, “For what it’s worth, it sounds like Drago is really into you and willing to risk his relationship with your father for you. That’s kinda a big deal. Maybe hear him out?”
I rest my forehead on the counter. “I don’t know, Bels. This is a mess. I don’t like mess. It makes me run.”
