“You…what?” Noemi’s hand gripped my knee, her nails digging into me. “You slept with who?”
“Lorenzo,” I whispered, letting my head drop back. Now that it was out there for everyone to know, I felt a sense of relief. “I slept with him, and now I hate myself.”
Noemi laughed, unable to contain herself. “You hate yourself because you slept with your husband?” She slapped my leg and turned back to face the front. “You, little sister, are insane.”
“I’m not!” I threw my hands up in the air, narrowly missing Sofia’s face. “You don’t get it. He’s…he’s…”
“An asshole?” Sofia supplied.
“Yes!” I pointed at her. “That.”
“An asshole you slept with,” Noemi quipped.
“I’m not the only one he’s slept with,” I ground out, staring at the back of Christian's and Mateo’s heads. They knew exactly what would have taken place behind my back. They knew everything that went on around Lorenzo. “He fucked that woman who redid his office.” I waited, seeing if either of them would say anything, but they didn’t.
“Veev,” Sofia groaned out. “Her name is Veev.”
I curled my lip up at the name. What kind of person was called Veev anyway? “Veev,” I said, seeing how the name sounded on my lips. “Yeah. I hate her too.”
“You hate a lot of people,” Noemi said.
“And?” I pursed my lips at her. “If I want to hate on people, I can, okay?”
She held her hands up in the air, surrendering. “Okay. Jeez. I can see why you wanted to get drunk.”
I moaned. “I need to get so drunk that I forget my name.”
“I’m down for that,” Sofia sang, reaching for my hand. Her lips pulled up into a small smile, understanding shining in her eyes. She’d been part of this family from the moment she was born, which meant she knew the men inside it better than anyone. “And if that doesn’t work, we can TP Veev’s house.”
I laughed, trying to keep the burning tears at bay. Tonight wasn’t about anything other than spending time with my sister and drinking as much alcohol as possible, but somehow, I’d managed to gain another ally—an ally I hadn’t seen coming. I hadn’t even tried to get to know Sofia. I’d been so trapped inside my own head and what was happening with Lorenzo, that I’d forgotten about the other people in the house.
So as Sofia stared at me and we pulled up to the club, I promised myself that I’d get to know her. I’d stop being so consumed by Lorenzo and start living my life, whether he liked it or not.
LORENZO
I stared at the screen of my laptop, trying to make sense of the numbers on the spreadsheet, but my focus wasn’t there. Every time I tried to do some work, all I could think about was a certain curvy, dark-haired woman who had flipped everything on its head.
Fuck.
I hated how she’d wormed her way inside. Hated how every time I heard her laugh, I wished it was me who had caused her to have that reaction. Despised how I looked forward to dinner so I could sit next to her.
Why? Why couldn’t she have been a one-time thing that I could have gotten over right away? Why did she have to drive me nuts but also make everything so clear?
I let out a frustrated breath and slammed my laptop closed. There was no use in me even trying to work because nothing was going in. Nothing was making sense anymore. And it was all because of her. Aida. Fuckin’ Aida.
Pulling out my cell, I checked if she’d replied to my message this morning. She hadn’t. She was ignoring me, but politely, which was even worse. I wanted her to shout at me, to call me an asshole, to tell me she hated me, but the pleasant silence was killing me. Every time I saw her, I wanted to shake her. I wanted to touch her. I wanted to fuckin’ kiss her again.
I slammed my hand down on my desk, growling. It wasn’t meant to be like this. She was meant to be my wife for show. She was supposed to go to college, live her own life, and not make an inch of difference to me. So how the hell had she managed to get under my skin so quickly? It had been six weeks since I’d put the ring on her finger, but it felt like I’d known her my entire life.
Soft laughter floated through the house, footsteps ricocheted across the foyer, and I leaped up, not wanting to miss her again. It had been three days since she’d gone out with her sister and mine, and since then, I’d been coming up with a plan, one where she wouldn’t shut me down and shut me out.
I halted at my office door, catching sight of Aida’s smiling face as she talked animatedly to Sofia. I couldn’t help but like the fact they got along so well. Sofia had always been a loner, trying to find her way through life and the people who had exploited her to get close to the family. Time and time again, her friends had used her to get to Dante or me.
“Aida,” I called, my voice rougher than I intended it to be. Both of their heads whipped around as they got to the bottom of the stairs. “I need to see you in my office.” I turned, not giving her the chance to tell me no. I was done with her defying me. She was going to listen to what I had to say whether she wanted to or not.
I walked across my office and to the bar cart, poured myself a whisky, then leaned against the front of my desk. I was calm, calmer than I had been for weeks. Maybe it was because I’d come to a decision? Maybe it was because I knew I couldn’t pretend I didn’t feel something for her. Or maybe it was because I was done listening to her silence.
My stomach rolled as her footsteps neared, and when she paused in the doorway, it took all of my strength not to stand and go to her. I was trying to act like this was just a normal conversation, but it wasn’t.
“Yes?”
Silence spread out, permeating the air with tension.
“How was your day?” I asked, lifting my glass to my lips and cursing. Why the hell did I just ask her that?
“It was fine.” She shrugged, her gaze moving to the desk I was leaning against. “I hope you cleaned that.”
I frowned. “What?” I stood, looking behind me. “Cleaned what?”
“Your desk.” I turned back to her, seeing her lips lift at the corners, but I knew it was one of her fake smiles, the ones she used when she was trying to put on a facade. But I saw through it. I always saw through it.
“Aida.” I let out a breath and placed my glass on the desk, trying not to remember fucking Veev on it. It had been an asshole move, I knew that, but nothing could change it. I was who I was, but maybe…maybe I didn’t want to be an asshole anymore, not to Aida anyway.
“Come with me to the gallery opening tomorrow night.” I stepped toward her. “We can go for dinner afterward.”
She snorted. “Hell to the no.” She planted her hand on her hip. “I’m sure Veev would like to go.” She winked, a move that I both hated and admired. “She’d never turn you down.”
“I don’t want to ask Veev,” I rushed out and stepped toward her. “I’m asking you.”
Aida stared at me, her light-brown eyes filling with fire. That was what I wanted. I wanted her to fight. I wanted her to have a reaction. Hope built in my chest. Hope that I hadn’t fucked things up completely. It was ironic. I’d spent over a month pushing her away and pulling her in just enough to keep her sated, but all it had taken was one moment in time to change everything. To change the way I saw her, to change the way I’d been taught to feel.