My lips curved involuntarily. “I’m your friend?”
His fingers threaded into my thick curls, pulling me back slightly so he could look me right in the eye. “No, Cait, you’re not my friend.” His eyes darkened, and I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry.
“You are so much more than that to me.”
Oh my.
Matteo took my face in his hands and captured my mouth in a slow kiss, showing me exactly what I was to him.
A kiss I felt all the way down to my soul.
Chapter 16
Matteo
“You’re different.” Bella narrowed her eyes at me as we ate Mom’s bruschette.
“Just happy to see you.” I grinned, and she rolled her eyes.
“No, I think it’s the girl. The one you left to go and see the other night.”
Rolling my lips together, I swallowed the words on the tip of my tongue.
Truth was, it was Caitlin.
I’d spent the morning at the cabin with her, doing that ridiculously impossible puzzle, laughing and talking. We’d avoided the hard topics. Or at least, she had.
Caitlin was a locked box, and no matter how much I tried to break the chains around her heart, she wouldn’t let me in.
But I was so gone for her, I’d take whatever scraps I could get.
“Bella,” I warned. “Eat your food.”
“Don’t change the subject, Matt. I know you like her. It’s written all over your face. Who is she? Is she pretty? I bet she’s real pretty if you—”
“Take a breath, pulce,” I teased.
“Can I meet her? I totally have to meet her. Please.”
My heart twisted. “No, you can’t meet her. Not yet.”
Not until it’s safe.
I pushed the words out of my head. Caitlin was safe. As long as she stayed at the cabin, no one knew where she was. Even if DiMarco learned that she’d left the hospital with me and Enzo, he still didn’t know where she was.
He’d have to come through us to find her, and I had no intentions of ever telling him. I’d rather die than give her up.
Fuck. What was I saying?
I had responsibilities. A family to think about. Arabella.
Anger curled in my stomach.
Nothing made sense anymore, not since Caitlin walked back into my life… and yet, being with her felt right. Like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
It was a complete mind fuck.
“Seriously, Matt, you suck sometimes. This is the first girl you’ve liked in… well, forever.” Arabella pouted, flashing her best puppy dog eyes at me. “I want to meet her. She must be special if she’s caught your eye.”
Caitlin was special all right.
My heart beat that much faster whenever I laid eyes on her. All those wild red curls, her alabaster skin, and glittering green eyes. She was stunning and so different compared to the kinds of girls I was used to.
Part of me wondered if I’d pushed her too far last night. Especially after what DiMarco had done to her. But Caitlin had wanted it. I’d felt the need pouring off her. And the fact she’d trusted me enough to touch her and make her come apart meant everything to me.
“Matt!” Arabella punched my arm and my eyes snapped up at her.
“What?”
“You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?”
“I…”
“Unbelievable.” She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I don’t know why I even bother.”
“Relax, drama queen.” I leaned over and ruffled her hair, the way I used to when we were kids. “It’s… complicated.”
“Does she have a boyfriend? A psycho ex? Is it Nicco and Ari all over again? Is she the daughter of a rival—”
“Okay, Bella, that’s enough with the crazy talk,” I said. “Jeez, you need to get out more.”
She scoffed. “Like that’s an option.”
Guilt flooded me.
“I know things are tough sometimes… but is it really so bad to have a family that cares so much?”
“Matteo.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sixteen and I’ve never even been kissed.”
“What the fuck?” I balked. “Why do you want to be kissed? You have plenty of time—”
“And thank you for proving my point.” She threw up her hands. “You think anyone is going to come near me when you act like this?”
“Bella…”
“It’s even worse for Alessia. Guys don’t look twice at her at school. It’s like she has a neon sign above her head saying off-limits. At least guys actually talk to me occasionally.”
“What guys?” I snapped.
She shrugged. “Just guys.”
“The same guys you want to kiss?”
Jesus, I wasn’t ready for this. Arabella was my sister—my baby sister. I still vividly remembered crawling around the yard with her on my back while she pretended to whip me like a horse. She wasn’t old enough to date and kiss and… nope, I wasn’t going there.
Not until she was at least twenty-one.
“Stop changing the subject. This is about you, not me.”
“Caitlin is—”
“Her name’s Caitlin?”
Fuck.
Why had I said that?
It just spilled out though because she was always on my fucking mind. Imprinted there with no signs of leaving anytime soon.
Excitement twinkled in my sister’s eyes. “Her name is Caitlin? That’s pretty. Do you have a photo of her on your phone? Can I see it?”
“No, I don’t have a photo of her.” But I wished I did.
I laid awake last night for hours, watching her sleep. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bigger was at work here, reuniting us like this. But it was really bad fucking timing.
Uncle Toni was still in a coma. Nicco was barely holding on by a thread. And Lombardi’s men were sniffing around DiMarco’s.
There wasn’t time for me to figure out what Cait and I were to each other. My number one priority had to be keeping her safe. She had already been at the cabin for five days. Eventually, she would want more freedom. Maybe she would even want to leave and go somewhere else, somewhere closer to where she was before.
“So… when can I meet her?” Arabella stared at me with eager eyes, and I chuckled. “What?” she whined.
“Never change, Bella.”
My cell phone started ringing and I picked it off the table, checking the caller ID. “I need to take this,” I said, trepidation coursing through me. I got up and ruffled her hair again, smiling down at her. “Never change for anything.”
“Matteo, Lorenzo.” Our Uncle Alonso greeted us the second we stepped into Uncle Toni’s study. Genevieve and Alessia were still at the hospital which was the only reason he’d called us to the house instead of meeting somewhere neutral.
“Uncle Al, how’s it going?”
“Can’t complain.”
“Come, sit.” He motioned to the table. Nicco; my father; and Stefan, Uncle T and Al’s consigliere, were already seated, their expressions grim. Whatever had happened wasn’t good.
“We didn’t know you were driving down from Boston,” Enzo said.