And he didn’t know she was in love with me. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
11
Carmen
Now that the storm had passed, I opened the shop again. I got a new shipment of flowers and put together arrangements so they could sit in the window. Thankfully, the customers started to flock inside now that the sun was out again. A lot of my clients were restaurant owners, buying fresh arrangements to put on their tables and into their pots outside. They already ordered wine from my father, so naturally, they came to me for their floral needs.
Around lunchtime, things started to slow down. Instead of working the register constantly, I trimmed the flowers and made new arrangements at the island in the middle of the shop. My shop was a workplace as well as a store. When people passed on the sidewalk, they saw me working inside, and that gave the place more character.
The door opened, and someone stepped inside.
I looked up, expecting to see a stranger’s face. “It’s nice that the rain finally stopped, huh?”
Griffin stared me down, his blue eyes so cold they looked hot. Smoke was practically erupting from his nostrils, and he looked like a wild bull about to charge me. He was still as he stared at me for a while, and then he finally crossed the tile floor to my table.
He didn’t need to say a single word to tell me what was on his mind.
He knew everything.
His hands gripped the edge of the table, his powerful shoulders shaking with ferocity.
I was still, actually afraid of him. “You’re scaring me.”
“Good.” He spoke with a tense jaw, his softness no longer present like it was when Vanessa was around. “You should be scared because you’re in the most dangerous situation of your life.”
Yes. He definitely knew.
I set down the flowers and the shears and removed my gloves. He’d called me a few days ago to check on me. That must have been when he’d figured everything out. He must have dug a little deeper and finally discovered the secret I tried to keep hidden.
Shit.
He kept staring at me with that terrifying expression, reminding me of my father when he was disappointed in me.
I didn’t know where to begin. It seemed like anything I might say would piss him off even more.
When Griffin realized I wasn’t going to say anything, he did. “I warned you about him. I told you to stay away from him. I specifically told you to tell me if he bothered you ever again. So what the hell happened? You just ignored everything I said?”
Thankfully, there was no one else in the flower shop to witness this conversation. I knew Bosco’s men were posted everywhere, probably watching us through the windows. But they would never hurt Griffin, not when he was my family. “It didn’t happen like that.”
“Then how did it happen?”
“It’s a long story…”
“I’ve got all day.” He slammed his fist down. “Tell me how my favorite Barsetti made the worst mistake of her life.”
The word mistake didn’t resonate with me at all because that wasn’t how I felt about Bosco. My life had changed so much, and as bad it sounded, I was actually happy. “He asked me to dinner, and that’s where it all started.”
“And you didn’t say no?”
“I did in the beginning…”
“And then he made you?”
I shrugged. “Not exactly. It was supposed to be purely physical. That’s how it was for a while, but when I realized how deep I was getting, I tried to end it.”
“Tried?”
“He wouldn’t let me,” I whispered. “Said he wouldn’t let me go.”
“Fucking piece of shit—”
“But then he changed. He agreed to three months and promised he would let me go when that time came.”
“And you believe him?” he asked incredulously.
As hard as it was to admit, I trusted that man deeply. “Yes. He’s a man of his word.”
Griffin stared at the counter as he gripped the edge. “This is a fucking nightmare.”
“Griffin, I know you don’t like him—”
“Don’t sit there and list off his qualities. The man is dangerous, lethal, and not good enough for you. You really want to be involved with a psychopath like that? That man only cares about one thing—power. He exploits it, abuses it, and gets off on it. I realize I’m not the perfect man Vanessa dreamed about, but I’m a dramatic improvement over him.”
I’d never seen Griffin act this way, raise his voice to shake the windows with his baritone. I felt bad for Vanessa anytime they had a fight. “He’s not the same man that he was before. He’s different now. At least, he’s different with me.”
Griffin rolled his eyes. “You’re smarter than this.”
“I know him better than you do, Griffin. I’m not saying you’re wrong about everything you just said. But there’s a lot more to him than you realize. He’s kind, generous, protective, and—”