It’s ridiculous the back-and-forth that’s going on in my head, but I have to stay true to what I’ve always told myself. I cannotopen my heart to someone who can easily break it, and from where I’m sitting, Massimo Bonetti could be my downfall.
He finally speaks when we get back to his place. “Are you going to continue ignoring me?” he asks as I walk down the hallway toward his room.
“I’m not ignoring you.”
When I get inside, I go straight to the closet and grab my pajamas. I avoid eye contact with him as I go to leave the room and use the shower down the hall.
“You call this not ignoring?” he says before I’m able to step out of the room.
I pause, glancing over my shoulder to look at him. He’s wearing the clothes he wore to the club, but he didn’t bother fully buttoning his shirt or tucking it into his pants. It’s messy and annoyingly sexy.
“I’m tired and have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.”
He narrows his gaze on me, and just when I think he’s going to argue, he nods and says, “Fine,” then walks into the closet.
I let out a relieved breath that this didn’t turn into another one of our arguments, but I do find it a little suspicious how well he took that. After what happened, I assumed he’d expect more once we got home, and while I’m grateful he’s not pushing anything, it still has me wondering why.
Internally, I shake my head as I make my way to the bathroom; this isn’t something that should bother me. It’s exactly what I want.
After taking a shower, I head back to the room. A dimmed light escapes through the crack in the door, and when I open it, I’m surprised to see Massimo lying in bed with his back facing me, the light coming from my nightstand.
Is he awake?
I want to call out his name and see, but if I can get away without talking about what happened tonight, then I’m going to do that.
Turning off the light, I slip into bed and close my eyes, praying he won’t say anything.
When a few minutes go by and he hasn’t, I take that as a sign, then roll over so my back is facing him and close my eyes, willing my mind to shut off and get some rest.
After tonight, I’ve come to the conclusion that things have gotten too comfortable between Massimo and me. If I’m already willing to open up and explore things sexually with him, it’s only a matter of time before he’s barreling through the wall I have around my heart. I need to get away from Massimo Bonetti.
31
MASSIMO
Falling asleep is going to be nearly impossible tonight. As I lay in bed, only a few feet separating me from Liana, all I can focus on is what the hell happened between us at the club.
Just when I thought I had finally knocked down the wall she had set up, she surprised me by putting that mask back on and shutting me out.
I wanted to force her to speak to me, shake her until she finally broke down and came to her senses about the two of us, but if I’ve learned anything about my scared little wife, it’s that forcing her to do anything will only result in more pushback from her.
Thankfully, I already have her. She’ll be stuck with me until the end of time. And after the way her body responded to me tonight, I know she’ll give up this resistance she has to me sooner rather than later.
I just need to be fucking patient.
When I wake up the next morning, I’m annoyed—but not surprised—to find I’m in an empty bed. I knew she’d sneak out this morning. I even prepared for it.
Instead of letting my temper control me, forcing me to go to Liana’s boutique and demand she speak to me, I head into the office and throw myself into work. Before I have time to realize it, the sun is setting.
Glancing at my phone, I realize I’ve gone the entire day without speaking with her.
I dial her number, and as expected, she lets it go to voicemail, so I send her a text.
Me: Dinner tonight?
I take a deep breath and set my phone down. I wanted to send her something snarky about sneaking out of our bed and then ignoring me all day, but I’m trying to be the bigger fucking person here.
The message says it was delivered, but she doesn’t respond, so I decide to head home. When an hour has passed and she still hasn’t responded, I text her again.
