Page 79 of Revenge on the Mafia

He cocked his head, taking me in, and then let out an uncomfortable laugh, smoothing his hand through his gel-slicked hair. A nervous gesture he still had. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.”

“Not really.” The numbness started to fade. Emotion seeped in.

He was too shallow to take the hint. “Well… I’ve come all this way to see you. Aren’t you going to offer me a seat?”

I clenched my back teeth. The nerve of this man. I should have just shown him to the front door. But instead, I fell into a pattern and walked toward the armchairs. Hesitated and moved away to the sofa set against the wall. It somehow didn’t feel right to sit anywhere near where Nico had taken me. The thought alone sent my body into a heated flush. He chuckled. “I can still affect you.”

I grimaced. Yeah right.

I gestured toward the sofa and sat on the one opposite it. He ignored it and sat next to me. I glared at him. “Why did you come so far?”

He leaned forward, his knees touching mine. I jerked away. “I’m here for some investment work.” He shifted closer. Pushed me against the arm of the sofa and him. His knee against mine felt like acid on my skin. “Some big people want to talk to me. I thought, why not? Might as well give them the opportunity.” He reached for my hand.

“Dios mío, Joel,” I burst out. “Why are you here? In this house.”

He frowned. “I thought you’d be happy to see me. Someone from home.”

I thought I wouldn’t care anymore. But I did. My laugh was bitter. “Someone who dumped me? Why would I be happy to see you?”

He spread his legs wide and crossed one over his knee, giving me the view of the sole of his dirty shoe. “You still pissed about that? That’s a long time ago, Anna. Besides…” He eyed me like I was an item on the menu. “We could give it a try again. You’ve changed. Prettier. Filled out nicely…” He let out a slow whistle. “All those curves in the right places. Remember our first time?”

“Can’t say that I do.”

His lips thinned. “How about all the times after? Remember—”

“Me das asco.” He disgusted me. I couldn’t believe I’d used the same words with Nico some time ago. He was heaven compared to the garbage beside me.

“Oh, come on.”

“You know what I remember?” He leaned forward eagerly. “I remember you not being there for me when I lost Papá. I remember you not showing up for the funeral or the days leading up to it. In fact, I remember someone telling me you’d gone to Valencia. A weekend getaway with one of the expat girls. All while your steady girlfriend lost everything. I didn’t just lose my father, Joel. He was murdered. In front of my eyes. I needed someone to be there for me while I tried to look after Mamá and Mara.”

He winced.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“It wasn’t an easy time for me, Anna.” He accused.

Was this guy serious? “For you?”

“I was twenty-one. I didn’t know how to comfort you. I was ill-equipped.”

“You did prove that.”

“Let me make it up to you.”

“No.”

“Come on. What I did wasn’t that bad.”

“I would rather dine with my father’s killer than with you.” Well, I was. “You know why? Because he was a stranger. I’d never trusted him. I trusted you. Gave you my heart and expected you to be there for me. You weren’t, Joel. I’ll never forgive you for that.”

“You know my dad wants us to be together, right? So did your father.”

“Well, he wouldn’t have if he knew your true nature.”

He stared at me like I’d turned into some vile thing. I had. I wasn’t a doormat. Least of all to him. He was taking up my oxygen and fucking with my memories. I sighed. “How did you even find me?”

He shrugged. “I thought I saw you yesterday at the party and asked one of the Martello brothers.”