Dan sniggers.
I picture his smug face on the other end of the call. “How are you and my brother even in the same room without attempting to kill each other?”
“He tried.” Dan huffs down the handset. “Where are you?”
I roll my eyes. “Living it up in Bora Bora. Where do you think I am?”
“You’re still at the airport?” He exhales as if I just saved his life. “Stay there. I’ll meet you in the business class departure lounge.”
“I have four hours before I’m back at work. You want me to sit in the departure lounge for four hours?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there to keep you company.” Now the bastard is smiling.
I can tell by the way he speaks. “Put my brother back on, please.”
“Yeah?” Elio says.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Don’t blame me. This was all Mamma’s idea.”
“Put her on.”
“I’m not feeling too good. Take me back to my room, Elio.” Mamma coughs down the phone. “Ti amo, mia bella rosa.”
“Love you, Mamma.” The line goes dead. I shove the phone into my bag and exhale hard through my nose.
Four hours. I make my way to the departure lounge. May as well get a decent breakfast if I’m going to be stuck babysat by a Bianchi.
A shadow covers my plate.I look up, mid-bite, a mouthful of tomato bursting on my tongue, juice trailing down my chin.
“Hello, Grace.” Dan slides into the seat opposite, grinning like he’s just won a bet. Bastard.
I wipe my chin with a napkin, rolling the food around my tongue before swallowing. “Fancy seeing you here.”
The waitress smiles with her notepad and pen in hand. “Can I get you anything, sir?”
“I’ll have what she’s having. Full English brunch is it?” His grin widens. “And a black coffee, please.”
“Yes, sir.” She nods at me and walks towards the bar.
Dan steals a slice of bacon from my plate. “I’m famished.” He brings it to his mouth and bites into it, chewing slowly as if savouring the saltiness.
I hate that I’m watching him and screw my face in disgust, but it’s myself I’m annoyed with the most. I hate that I still find this man attractive. He’s exactly as I remember—perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect teeth with the kind of smile that once made me feel like I was the only girl in the world. Meanwhile, I’m spending a third of my wage on every beauty product available in the duty-free.
He swallows the bacon, still grinning. A few lines around his eyes are the only telltale signs that he’s aged at all. “Your mother and brother send their love.”
“This was all your idea, wasn’t it?” I glare at him as I tear the sausage from my fork, then point the metal prongs at his shit-eating grin. “There’s a reason I moved to the UK.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“So I don’t have to take orders from my family or anyone else. And I certainly won’t be taking orders from you.”
He raises an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that, little bird.”
My brows pinch. “What is it with you and nicknames?”
He holds his hands up with a laugh, his nose scrunching in a way that makes me want to bust it. “Hey, you chose the name. I’d have gone with something more fierce myself. Maybe something sexy.”
