When he reached her, she stood up from her warden’s chair and snarled, “I never thought you could be this much of a bastard, but you’ve proven me wrong.” She wanted to say more, but she was so mad, her English failed her and she simply spat the rest in Italian.
When she was done, Angelo only said in a mild voice, “Good night, Julieta.”
Dio, she wanted to kick his balls hard, the way he still acted so cool. “You know, don’t you?” she demanded. “She’s probably halfway to being in love with you—-”
“I’m quite flattered you think so,” Angelo murmured, “considering she’s only been here for two nights—-”
Julieta’s temper exploded, and she stepped on his foot, hard. “Stop being such a jerk! Just stop it, okay?”
His jaw clenched.
“You know it’s possible,” she gritted out. “You know because that’s how it happened for you with Jaike. You took one look at her and—-”
He said evenly, “According to Jaike, I didn’t love her enough.”
“But you respected her,” she snapped, “and that’s a lot more than I can say with how you’ve treated Lane—-” She stopped speaking, aghast to find herself inexplicably close to tears. But goddammit, even now she could remember the way Lane kept telling her she wasn’t sleepy, she wasn’t crying, she wasn’t—-
“I don’t care if you fire me after this, but you’re an ASSHOLE, Angelo Valencia.” Hearing herself choke out words like a horribly girly girl was gross, but she was determined to finish what she had to say. “You respected and cared for your ex despite knowing she loved someone else. Lane only has eyes for you and you LIED to her.” Feeling like she was about to explode again, Julieta stomped on his foot hard once more. “Lane doesn’t deserve your shit, and I hope she makes you pay.”
Angelo watched Julieta leave, listening to her continue to curse him while descending the stairs.
Lane only has eyes for you and you lied to her.
He slowly opened the door, and he flinched when he saw the sunlight streaming from her windows, the golden rays a mockingly beautiful taunt of how long he had made Lane wait for him.
Closing the door behind him, he took another step forward and almost tripped over...
His eyes widened.
Lane.
She was curled up and asleep on the floor, her hair spread out on the carpet like chocolate silk.
Lane only has eyes for you and you lied to her.
But looking at Lane now, he knew the truth was much worse.
She had fallen asleep believing he would still come.
Lane stirred as he lifted her up in his arms, and by the time he gently laid her down on her bed, she was rubbing her eyes groggily.
“Angelo?”
He tucked her in before joining Lane under the covers, aware all the while of the way she was gaping at him. Turning to face her, he murmured, “I’m here to tell you a bedtime story.”
He waited for her to tell him off, to accuse him of standing her up and breaking his promise. He waited for her to treat him the way he deserved to be treated—-
But she did none of those.
Instead, Lane smiled shyly at him. “Thank you.”
Fuck.
She turned to her side, facing him, and she whispered, “I’m ready whenever you are.”
Slowly, he took hold of her hand. “Then here we go.”
Angelo took a deep breath. Several possible scenarios entered his head. He thought about telling her how he first felt when he saw her, or about the time he had the urge to kill the convenience store boy just for being in her life before him.
But when he finally spoke, it was about none of those things.
“Once upon a time, there was a boy who looked up to his uncle. Because he had no father figure in his life, this uncle was the one who taught him everything in life about being a man. But everyone in the family knew that this uncle was not completely right, that there were days when he was too dark. The boy knew this, but despite it, he loved his uncle, and his uncle loved him right back. When his uncle died, the boy was devastated, and the pain became even more unbearable when he learned the truth about his uncle.”
Angelo drew his breath roughly.
“The boy’s uncle turned out to be a monster in disguise, preying on women he knew he could control, and his depraved pleasures eventually caused a young girl to lose her mother and her innocence. She had seen what the boy’s uncle did to her mother, and it had changed her completely.”
“The girl’s name is Jaike, and she’s the other girl in my life who—-”
Suddenly, there didn’t seem to be any words that could describe the woman who had redefined the meaning of pain and loss for him.
When he looked at Lane, she asked seriously, “She’s the other girl in your life who also drinks milkshakes?”