Page 71 of Safe Word

Paula gave me a look – amused, maybe. Grateful, possibly.

But then Vinnie set his elbows on the table, a smile curling devilishly.

‘Ah, she knows she’s got that nice-girl little thing going for her. Don’t you, amore?’ he said, voice just low enough to cross a line he didn’t know existed. ‘Bet you’ve broken hearts you didn’t even mean to.’

Her smile faltered. Just slightly.

It was in the shoulders. The way they drew in. The twitch in her jaw. The way her fingers tightened just once around the glass that was suddenly placed in front of her. I saw it all.

My stomach knotted.

I’d seen that kind of recoil before.

It had lived in my mother for years. A learnt stillness. The one developed when someone would make you feel like the ground might vanish beneath your feet.

Like you weren’t safe in your own skin.

Vinnie chuckled, oblivious. He was a good guy, I had to remind myself. Despite all of this, he couldn’t have caught the telltale signs of abuse.

She didn’t laugh at his next words, and I no longer heard them.

My ears were beginning to ring.

I cleared my throat and sat forward slightly, voice casual. ‘She’s got a sharp tongue and better boundaries than we do, Vinnie. Let’s not test either.’

He blinked at me. We’d known each other long enough for him to know I spoke when I had to. And though I wasn’t the jealous kind, he could recognise the line when I drew it.

‘Relax, man,’ he said with a smirk. ‘It’s just friendly banter. Just playing.’

‘I know,’ I said, smiling thinly. ‘But play smarter.’

A pause. Just enough silence to feel like a weight shifted.

‘It’s okay,’ she said in a breath disguised as a laugh.

Vinnie sprawled back, letting it go. He reached for his drink, studying me with unnerving stillness all of a sudden.

He had a way with women, but he also didn’t know what to do with them. He teetered on the precipice of awkward and charming, always pushing the boundaries. Once they were hooked, they didn’t last long. And something told me that Paula wasn’t up for that.

I was still watching her with the corner of my eye.

She faced the other way, her mouth relaxed – the mask back on. Yet, her shoulders hadn’t softened.

A few minutes later, she checked her phone.

Something cold coursed through me for whatever reason.

Had someone been waiting for her?

‘I think I’ll call it. I’m tired,’ she said quietly.

Vinnie nodded. ‘Of us or the day?’

She smiled, winking. ‘Both.’

And I knew she meant it.

She stood, said a few soft goodbyes, and turned towards the lift.