“Don’t do what? Are you just going to pretend like nothing happened last night?”
I knew it.
Of course I knew it.
“I didn’t say that,” she said in an indifferent tone.
“So, what then? We’ll just go back to being ‘friends,’ or whatever the fuck we are?”
Cassie cleared her throat and I gave my brother a swift kick under the table. He glared at me, his cool facade slowly unraveling. Melissa stayed quiet, avoiding any eye contact as Dean looked back and forth between her face and mine.
He shoved out of his chair, almost tossing it into the wall before grabbing his cereal bowl and throwing it a little too roughly into the sink. The sound of it breaking echoed throughout the apartment and his eyes grew wide. “Shit. I’m sorry, Cass. ”
I looked down at my cereal and shook my head. Little brother couldn’t even be mean when he was mad.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s only a dish,” she said, walking away from the table and over toward him.
Dean lowered his chin and stared at the floor as Cassie wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. He hugged her back for a second before pushing her away and jumping to his feet. “I need to get the fuck out of here. ”
“Hey!” I shouted and Dean stopped midstep. “Don’t fucking push my wife like that. I will hit you, I don’t care who you are. ”
My temper flared as he stalked into the guest room and slammed the door. Right on his heels, I knocked hard on the door, causing the knuckles on my good hand to ache immediately. “Dean?” I shouted and turned the knob without waiting for a response.
I stuck my head inside the room and when my gaze met his, I could see in Dean’s eyes that he was falling apart. “I’m taking you out. ” It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah. You are. ”
My brother’s response made me laugh. “I’ll call Matteo. He’s coming too. We need a guys’ day. ”
“We’re best friends with the guy who kissed your wife now?” Dean’s sour comment caused me to sharply inhale.
“Don’t be a dick. He still works for us, doesn’t he? If I didn’t trust him, he wouldn’t be anywhere near Cassie. Plus, he’s married and has a baby on the way. And he knows my forgiveness was a one-time deal. He tries any of that shit again and I’ll fucking kill him. ”
Walking into the kitchen, I pulled Cassie aside and kissed her sweet lips. “Kitten, I’m going to take Dean out. Talk to your friend. Find out what the fuck her deal is. This shit between them needs to stop. ”
“No joke. I feel so bad for your brother. I’ll talk to her. Or at least, I’ll try. ”
“I love you. ” I kissed her cheek.
“Love you too. ” She smiled and I wanted to kick myself for ever being mean to her.
My cell phone beeped soon afterward, letting me know that Matteo was waiting downstairs. I shouted to Dean, “Let’s go. Matteo’s waiting. ”
Dean appeared and I ushered him out the door without another word. Once in the lobby, I pointed Matteo out to him.
“Jesus, Jack. That’s the guy you hired to drive Cassie around the city? What the hell’s wrong with you?”
Jack shrugged. “What can I say? I’m overly confident and cocky. Have we met?”
We walked through the revolving door and Matteo extended his hand. “Hi, Dean. It’s nice to meet you. ”
“It’s nice to meet you too. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Dean added, his tone wary.
Matteo opened the door and walked toward the driver’s side and hopped in. “I’m sure you have,” he said as he caught Dean’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’ll apologize to you as well, if you’d like. ”
“Nah. She wasn’t my girlfriend. ” Dean looked at me. “You’re lucky Cassie didn’t leave you for him. Hell, I’m about to leave you for him. Are you looking for a new brother? Want to adopt me?” Dean blurted out.
Matteo laughed from the front seat. “You bet, kid. ‘Cause us Italian New Yorkers don’t have enough family members. ”