I think we’re annoying him.
Sims
Matty, wait.
Shaw
I think he’s gone already.
Cross
He’s done with us.
Sims
Dammit.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
JADE
“I wanted to paint him like this, with his gaze latched onto mine. With a fire burning in the depths of his green eyes” - Clara Foss, Painted Inferno
My eyebrows tug together as I double check the directions on the screen in my car and then look back up at the house in front of me. This is not the house I would have expected Matteo to live in. I was expecting him to live in a gate community or in some swanky bachelor pad, not a place like this.
It’s a gray, stone house that looks as if it could be a manor straight out of the Scottish Highlands. Instead, it’s tucked in the historic part of Hillford, just outside the main part of the city.
I pull into the driveway and to the right of the house, where the detached garage sits on the other side of the cobblestone drive. There are at least half a dozen cars parked in the grass and I find an empty space beside a white Porsche.
My phone chimes and I open up the email that came through, seeing it’s a message from my cardiologist. Relief washes over me as I read over his words. My results all look normal—for my heart—and I’m supposed to keep an eye out for worseningsymptoms. They’re not concerned with the palpitations, so long as it doesn’t bother me.
I tuck my phone into my bag and sling it over my shoulder. I grab the reusable grocery bag filled with buffalo dip and chips, and slip out of my car before turning to the house. I’m not sure which door I’m supposed to use. It looks like there’s one on the back of the house, one at the front, and there’s an entrance on the side, facing the driveway.
I should have asked Matteo before I came.
Stop overthinking, Jade.
Shaking away the anxious thoughts, I opt for the side door. I head up the four short steps and the door pops open. A younger woman, who can’t be but a few years younger steps out, not noticing me at first.
Her head whips to the side, her dark hair shifting across her back. “Oh! I didn’t see you there.” She pauses, her dark gray eyes widening for a second. “Oh my gosh, you must be Jade!”
“Yes, hi,” I smile, nodding my head eagerly. My heart races and my palms are clammy.
“I’m Elena, Matty’s sister.” She holds open the door, stepping to the side. “Come in! I’m so glad to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.”
I step into Matteo’s home and am in awe of the elegant interior. Light pours through tall windows, settling across dark polished wooden floors. The walls are subtle tones of ivory and gray with various oil paintings hanging on the walls. I take a moment to drink it all in. There’s nothing superfluous in the decor. It’s as if every piece and every touch is deliberate, calculated.
I glance at the chandelier hanging above before looking at Elena again.
“Come on,” Elena waves me through the mudroom and into the kitchen. A massive skylight lets light spill in. “You can putyour stuff in here. Everyone’s in the basement playing pool and hanging out right now.”
Elena shows me where to put the dip so it stays warm, and leads me down to the basement. Voices drift up the stairwell and Elena smiles, shaking her head with a soft laugh.
“Be prepared… the guys can be a bit of a handful, but the girls are the best ever.”
A nervousness washes over me as we reach the bottom of the steps. I’m about to meet some of the people who are closest to Matteo. I think it’s only normal for my stomach to be in knots. We turn left into the open space and there’s a bar in the corner with a television hanging on the wall, a pool table, and an air hockey table.
