Page 24 of Stolen Wife

Chapter Ten

Giada

I don’t know what cameover me other than to say I’m fucking losing my mind. I want him, and yet—I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t have said what I did to Santino, but I did.

The thought of him hating me cuts deep, so much that I blurted out my pain in the form of anger. The way he looked at me with such sadness in his eyes when I said I hated him broke me. I cried for two hours, thinking that I’d gone too far.

Finally calming down, I prepare for bed and watch some television. I’m addicted to The Office. By the time I turn it off, it’s well past midnight and he’s not here in our bedroom where he should be. Two days and I let him into my heart. How could I have been so naïve?

He’s just like his brother: cold, cruel—a total bastard, but then why do I want him around?

I lay in bed and sob until I’m too tired to keep my eyes open.

****

“IT’S FOR THE BEST,”Santino whispers as his lips kiss my forehead.

“How can it be?” I plead. My heart’s breaking in my chest, pain radiating through every inch of my body. He squeezes my ass and then kisses me goodbye.

“You’re too much trouble for damaged goods.” He shakes his head, staring at me in disgust, and walks away.

“No!” I scream, startling myself awake and into a sitting position.

With a sigh, I wipe the sole tear that slid down my face. I reach out for him, but Santino’s not there. Looking around, I’m not in his room anymore. Was the dream real? Shit. The sun’s shining through a large window, but I’m not sure where I am.

“Ms. Giada, good morning.”

I nearly jump out of my skin when I stare at a large man standing in the doorway. “Oh my goodness. Who are you? Do you work for my...Rafael?” I scooch back on the bed, bringing the covers to my chest.

He rolls his eyes. “No. I don’t. I work for Santino.”

“Where is he? Where are we?” I ask.

“We are safe away from New York.” This is the game he wants to play? I’m going to bombard him with questions until I get the answers I want.

“Where’s Santino? I want to talk to him,” I demand, trying to gain some backbone.

“Right now isn’t the best time.”

“I don’t understand. Is he busy?”

He shrugs, ever so annoyingly indifferent. “I’m not sure, but he’s not here.”

I’m here alone with some guy I don’t know? Shit. “Oh God, you kidnapped me?” I’m searching the room for something I can bust him over the head with. There are a couple of things, but by the size of this guy, I’m betting it’s not going to work.

“No. I didn’t kidnap you. I’m here to watch over you. You can roam around the house and the beachfront, but I’m afraid the ocean is off limits.”

“I’m confused. Are we like on the Jersey Shore somewhere?”

“No. Things are complicated.” He rubs his head. “Just treat this as a getaway. This is a very lovely beach house and the sand looks spectacular. I’ll prepare a meal for you. Then I must leave you to it.”

I stand up, and I’m dressed in the same clothes I went to bed in. Santino sent me away. Maybe I’d become too much trouble.

“You’ll find your closet is full and your necessities can be found in the bathroom.” He leaves me standing in the middle of a large bedroom that’s almost completely white. The four-poster bed has a gauzy white canopy that gives the room a romantic element. A large television is the centerpiece of a wall full of bookshelves. The room is something I would love to have on any other given day, but without Santino, it feels empty.

I exit the room and find that the rest of the house is as equally beautiful with gray accents to match the almost all white décor.

A cool breeze blows across my arm as the patio doors open and the guy in the suit walks back in. “Sorry, I hope I didn’t startle you.”