Mia barely looked up from her phone. She was still searching. Still finding nothing.
“I was going to head back tonight anyway,” I lied. “You can either get in my car now, or you can still be standing here twenty minutes from now, with no driver, wishing you’d come with me.”
That got her attention. Her head jerked up.
I could see the war happening inside her. Her eyes told me she wanted nothing to do with me right now, but she didn’t have a better choice. And she knew it.
Her throat worked around a swallow. Apprehension flickered across her face.
Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER15
MIA
A loud crack of thunder split the sky as I climbed into Romolo’s Mercedes.
I clipped in and yanked the cardigan I'd gotten back from Zo tighter around me. My stepmom had sounded bad on the phone—short of breath, temper frayed, her every word clipped.
She was probably pissed she’d let me leave in the first place.
I should’ve stayed home. I shouldn’t have even entertained the idea of a weekend away without someone else around to keep an eye on her.
A wave of worry curled hot in my stomach. I needed to get a handle on my anxiety before it spiraled into something worse. Vasovagal syncope wasn’t predictable, but over the years, I’d noticed a pattern of it happening when I'm anxious or surprised. The only physical warning I’d get was that telltale flash of heat all over my body. By then, it was usually too late to do anything about it. I’d pass out whether I wanted to or not.
At least I was already seated. But I didn’t want to be even more vulnerable in front of the devil sitting beside me.
Romolo’s expression was hard as he steered us onto the road. It was almost impossible to reconcile that a few minutes ago, I’d been on his lap about to kiss him in exchange for his passcode.
He’d seemed so angry when he asked for that kiss.
If anyone should have been angry, it was me.
He tricked me. Tried to blackmail me. Made me feel lightheaded with his touch. I hated that my heart beat faster whenever he was around, even when he was being an ass.
But what I hated even more was that photo still sitting on his phone.
I had to do something about it.
My fingers tightened around my cardigan. “Romolo, you need to delete the picture.”
He didn’t even blink. “What’s wrong with your stepmother?”
I stared at him. “Did you hear what I just said?”
“If you want me to delete that picture, you’re going to have to answer my questions.”
My God. Of course he’d find a way to twist this in his favor. I’d naïvely thought there might be more to him than met the eye, but it was time to admit I was wrong.
“Is empathy a completely foreign concept to you?” I asked.
The car slowed.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“Showing you what happens when you refuse to do what I tell you. You want me to drive quickly? You better start talking.”
Yep. He was showing me exactly who he was. It was time I believed him. This man had a black hole where most people had a heart. How could someone so beautiful be so heartless?
