He shrugs, like it’s business as usual. “I have trusted people close to me. I learned not to.”
I can’t help the wave of sympathy that comes over me. I can’t imagine being betrayed in such grand fashion by the people closest to me. He’s different here, alone, without everyone around to posture for. “That sounds really lonely,” I tell him.
“That’s life,” he says simply.
“It doesn’t have to be,” I say, softly, since I don’t really know how to argue that. I’m sure in my convictions though, so I attempt to come up with evidence to base that claim on. “There are people here you can trust. I mean, Adrian seems like a good friend.”
“Adrian despises me,” Mateo states, smiling.
I rear back a little at that. “I thought he was your bodyguard?”
“He is,” he says, simply.
That… doesn’t make sense, but I move along. “Francesca—your sister is great.”
“So was my other sister—the throwing star one,” he reminds me.
Grimacing slightly, I say, “Damn, two for two. Well, you can trust me,” I decide. “I mean, I know I’m not powerful or connected and I couldn’t protect you from a bullet or a throwing star, but if you ever feel lonely, you can count on me as a friend.”
He’s looking at me in a way I can’t quite pin down, but I see traces of amusement there. “You always try to befriend people who’ve threatened to kill you?”
“Exclusively,” I say, not missing a beat. “How else will I know they care?”
Shaking his head, he states, “I’m not sure if you’re terribly idealistic or a little bit dim.”
Lightly whacking him in the arm, I say, “Hey, that’s not friendly!”
“I’m not a friendly guy,” he states.
“Oh,” I say, with a dismissive wave. “I think you’re friendlier than you want to admit. You don’t have to intimidate me into not wanting to kill you, so you don’t have to keep up the front.”
“Front, huh?” he repeats, still amused.
I nod. “There’s good in you. There’s good in everyone, and you’re no exception.”
With a disbelieving headshake, he says, “I think I’m starting to see why Vince is so fond of you.”
That draws a frown out of me. “Eh, he’s not so fond of me tonight.”
His eyebrows rise, like he’s surprised. “No? Well, his loss.”
My frown turns to a slight smile at that. A second passes, then Mateo takes a step away. “Well, I’ll leave you to your books. Turn the light off on your way out, would you?”
“Of course. Thanks for keeping me company.”
“Anytime,” he says, offering a slow smile before departing the room.
Chapter Twenty
After I left the library, I retired to my room for the night to wait for Vince. My pleasant exchange with Mateo got me thinking, and I realized I need to be kinder to Vince. Maybe he is being paranoid and crazy, but fighting will make that worse, not better. Regardless, Mateo isn’t an actual threat outside of Vince’s mind, and I don’t want to harm our relationship by letting things get out of hand.
I sent him a text to ask him when he was coming home, but he didn’t answer me. Before I got in the shower, I sent him one more text, telling him I was sorry for snapping and that I didn’t want to fight with him.
The shower I took was too hot, but it felt so good to stand under the hot spray, I lost all track of time.
Tucking the edge of the towel into the front near my breasts, I step out of the bathroom. The coolness of the bedroom by comparison feels nice.
Approaching the desk, I check my phone to see if he’s responded. Nothing. I was in the shower forever, so he had to have read the message by now.
I sigh and flip open my history book. I probably could study tonight and get it out of the way, but right now I’m too tired. I decide to lie down in bed for a few minutes first and just rest my eyes.
Only I fall asleep. I don’t realize it until the bed dips beside me, Vince crawling in and wrapping an arm around me in the dark. I stir, but I’m not ready to wake up. I’m relieved he’s home safe. I know he had been drinking at dinner, and I wasn’t sure if he was driving to Joey’s or not. I would’ve asked, but he slammed the door in my face.
“Hey, you,” I murmur, reaching back to caress whatever my hand lands on. It’s his hip, and he’s still wearing dress pants, not pajamas.
His arm snakes around my waist, finding the edge of the towel and tugging.
Without opening my eyes, I smile. I don’t have the physical stamina to have sex right now, but that he wants to makes me think he doesn’t want to fight anymore either. “I’m really sleepy. Can I get a rain check?”