He will. I know he will. It’s what he does. Devours you, then spits out your bones like a fucking monster.
He spares me a faint nod of acknowledgement as I approach. “Vince.”
I don’t bother returning the greeting. I take off my coat and hand it to Mateo to check while Adrian pats me down.
When Adrian bends to pat my legs, that’s when I see Mia. She was obscured from my view when we walked up because they were blocking her, but now… now I see her.
My stomach turns over as her soft blue eyes meet mine. She’s as lovely as ever, sitting there in a black dress, so much of her creamy skin showing. Her blonde hair is down, but styled, half pinned back with some kind of pearl-encrusted things to hold it all in place. God, she’s… she’s still so beautiful.
I break her gaze, looking over at Carly. I hope she wasn’t watching just now. I feel like such an asshole. I love Carly, I adore Carly, I’m happy with Carly.
It’s just, the woman sitting at that table still owns a small corner of my soul.
Carly is more focused on watching Mateo than me, so I guess she didn’t see. Her gaze on Mateo draws mine to him though, and now I see that he was.
Fuck.
I don’t know what my face looked like when I saw Mia, but knowing what my stomach felt like, I guess it probably wasn’t good. The indecipherable glow in his brown eyes verifies that hunch. His eyes tell me “she’s mine, asshole,” and he’s not a terribly jealous man.
I need alcohol.
I don’t know how I’m going to make it through this dinner, let alone the rest of this week.
Once Adrian clears us, Mateo moves to greet Carly first, offering his hand. “Nice to meet you, Carly.”
She looks at it for a second, then reaches forward and shakes it. “You too, Mr. Morelli.”
“Mateo,” he replies.
I half-heartedly monitor the interaction for undertones of trouble, but I think the most telling advisory board here is Mia. I want to see if she looks worried that Mateo is talking to another woman, so I steal a glance back at her.
She’s not even watching us. She’s bent over, reaching for something beneath the table. Probably rooting around in her purse for her phone or something.
I turn my attention back to Carly and see her lips pursed, her eyes on me. Adrian and Mateo are watching me, as well.
Well, fuck. I can’t even explain why I was looking to Mia for a response because last time I tried to warn a girlfriend that Mateo is a nefarious bastard, it completely backfired.
“Good to see some things never change,” Adrian mutters, before heading back to the table.
Irritation ripples through me. Mateo follows Adrian and Carly catches up with me. I don’t have the time and this isn’t the place, but I grab her hand, making an attempt at an explanation. “It wasn’t… I wasn’t…”
Carly nods her head, forcing a smile to let me know it’s okay. “I know.”
She doesn’t sound confident, but I don’t even expect her to. That she’s trying is more than I could have really asked for.
I release her hand as we approach the table. Mia is upright again, but now she stands. She fidgets with her own hands, her gaze jumping from person to person, afraid to settle on any of us. At least she feels as awkward as I do.
Then Carly grabs hold of the ship I’m attempting to keep afloat and turns it upside down, rushing forward to embrace Mia. Mia is as confused as I am when Carly comes at her.
“It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.” Carly pulls back, still holding onto Mia’s albows. Mia regards Carly like a wild animal that has suddenly donned a leotard and started dancing.
“Um… yes, and you. It’s nice to meet you, too,” Mia says, trying to recover.
My jaw nearly hits the table. What the fuck is Carly doing?
Smiling brightly, apparently, and telling Mia how pretty she is.
What. The. Fuck.
Mateo regards the interaction with interest, and given every experience I’ve ever had, and his penchant for collecting girlfriends, I grab Carly and yank her back.
She turns, startled.
Since I can’t ask what the fuck she is doing, I just nod for her to sit down. My heart pounds in my chest and my skin feels like it’s on fire. I tug at the collar of this godforsaken suit. I’m not even wearing a tie, it’s not even completely buttoned up, but I feel like I’m suffocating.
I need to get Carly out of here. We need to get home. I can already feel the toxicity rolling over me in waves, and for months, I’ve felt almost healthy.
Chapter Nineteen
Vince
Mateo sits at the head of the short table, even here at the restaurant where none of the tables even have a chair at the head. Mia sits at the end of the table in the seat to his left, just like at the house. Adrian sits across from her so he can keep an eye on everything, and through some evil twist in seating arrangements, Carly sits beside Mia, with me at the foot of the table—which, again, is not a fucking thing in restaurants.