“Drunken drama? It was … kind of. I was drunk, but not as brain dead as I made out. I don’t know, I thought he would stop at the hotel we were about to pass. I could pretend to be so out of it, we would need a hotel room, but it worked out much better when we ended up in his place.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe you.”
“What? You can’t believe me? You should be thanking me. I woke up to you screaming like someone was batting you with a pole.”
I couldn't help the smile that slipped onto my face at her expression.
She leaned back on her chair, her gaze assessing. “Was it seriously that good? Tell me, but dial it down, so I don’t feel too jealous.”
My smile turned into a grin.
Charlotte then shouted, “Son of a bitch!”
“Keep your voice down,” I whispered, looking around the empty breakfast room. True, no one was within earshot, but that wonderful girly moment of sharing with Charlotte was replaced with sadness. He would always have to be a secret. On our way out of Angelo’s apartment, he had grabbed me and kissed me. Hard.
I didn’t need to ask what the kiss was for.
It was goodbye.
I’d nearly choked on the bile rising up to my throat. I had to quickly pull my thin coat over my torn blouse and hurried away before he could see how hurt I was.
Because I was hurt. So hurt. I resented him for not fighting for me, but I decided on the drive back to the house I wasn’t going to give up. No matter what, I wanted to keep him in my life. Even if he didn’t want anything beyond the explosive physical connection we had … I would accept it. Perhaps it was better for him to quit, that way he would be under no obligation to my father. Perhaps, then we would have a chance.
“Stop being so paranoid. There’s no one else here?” Charlotte asked.
I had to be paranoid. I knew what kind of security existed in our home. Very little could remain hidden. I took a bite out of my bagel and lifted my fruit tea to my lips before returning my attention to her.
“Seriously,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone have sex the way you two did last night. I swear, I was this close …” She held her finger and her thumb an inch apart. “… to barging in and demanding to join the party.”
My expression was probably part horror, part shock. “Doesn't what you just said creep you out?”
“It does, but no one’s ever made me lose my shit like that. I was drunk and I wanted that for myself too.” She sighed as she pushed what was left of her scrambled eggs around the plate. “But I wasn’t drunk enough to know there would be no point in trying to join. You were the only one he wanted to be with.”
Poor Charlotte was just looking for love. Real love. Not that I had found it yet, but I’d always been too busy with my fashion classes to bother looking, so I’d never felt the disappointment of not finding it. But she looked for it every weekend, and every Monday she put on a brave face and went out into the world again. But it clearly was her secret sadness. I felt so bad for Charlotte I wanted to hug her, but I also knew she wouldn’t want pity from me. I reached out a hand and touched hers. “Remember that inspirational video we both used to watch all the time.”
She nodded. Then we both yelled in unison, the way the guy in the video used to shout, “I will never give up … until I win.”
“You’re beautiful, Charlotte, and you will find the right man.”
“Maybe, but you never even tried and you’ve already found the right man. It seems almost unfair.”
I dropped my voice to a whisper. “Charlotte, have you heard anything I’ve said to you? My father will kill him if he even suspects we’re together. My father is a smiling sociopath with an army of psychopaths to do his dirty work for him, and Angelo is just a bodyguard. He has no chance against my father. Unless I find a magic genie that can slip me into a parallel universe, I can see no way I could ever have a future with him. Worse, if I don’t fight really hard, I will find myself married to a man I detest.”
Now it was her turn to look at me with pity. She grasped my hand in hers and squeezed it. “Run away from here, Sienna. Come and live with me,” she whispered. “I’d love that. I’ve really missed you.”
“I tried to run away and come to you a few days ago, and it was a complete and utter disaster.” I chewed my bottom lip. “If I find I can’t talk my father out of marrying me off to Fabio and I do attempt another escape, I will have to plan it much better. No matter what, I can’t compromise my family’s safety.”