Page 41 of Ruthless Touch
I gently push her off me and nod, unable to keep the smile from my face. “Finally, right? I just hope it doesn’t ruin the floor.”
“To hell with the floor, Gideon! He had it coming in spades for years. It was the best thing I’ve seen in ages.”
“Well, now I need you to go see if I need to spend a fortune to have a new floor installed. Have it professionally looked at, okay?” I say while I ease her toward the door.
I want to be alone with Aria right now, and any talk of my brother or bloody marble floors can wait for later.
Sasha, thankfully, understands without being told that she needs to leave, and hurries out. “I’m on it! That was the best thing, Gideon! It was like a Christmas bonus in September. So cool!”
When the door closes behind her and I’m alone with Aria, I’m surprised to see her looking unhappy. “Are you upset I caused a scene with my brother?”
She narrows her eyes at me and shakes her head. “I don’t care what you do to your brother. In fact, I was happy you hit him. He’s an ass, and he had it coming.”
Slowly, I walk toward her as she stands over near the couch, her arms folded across her chest. “Then why don’t you look happy.”
“Gideon, did you do that to your brother for me?”
I stop and consider that question. It was definitely in part for her, but I’d be lying if I said it had nothing to do with wanting to beat the hell out of Alex for years. There’s been too much bad blood between my brother and me to deny that.
“Yes. And no. But mostly yes.”
“Then why when you walked into this penthouse did you immediately look at Sasha and not me? And why did she feel comfortable running into your arms the second she saw you.”
I reach out for Aria’s hand, but she yanks it away. “No. I want an answer first. Why was I an afterthought for you? You take me from Franco and keep me here like I’m yours. You defend me against your brother. But when it comes to actually dealing with me, Sasha is more important. So why am I an afterthought?”
“You’re not an afterthought, Aria. To be honest, you’re all I’ve thought about all day since I walked in and saw my brother with you.”
Her eyes flash pure emotion. “Oh, that’s because you were jealous. I’m not stupid. I picked up on the brotherly rivalry between you two. That doesn’t mean I’m not someone you forget about whenever Sasha comes around.”
“Sasha is my assistant. I’m used to relying on her. That’s the only reason she reacted like she did. She knows how much I’ve had to deal with when it comes to my brother.”
None of what I say makes Aria happy, though. Sulking, she walks out to the terrace and stares out at the water. I thought she’d be thrilled that I punished Alex for what he did. Instead, I’m the bad guy.
Needing to make her see I care, I make my way out to the terrace and slide my arms around her waist. I dip my head to her ear and whisper, “Please don’t be mad at me. You’re not an afterthought. In fact, since the other night, you’ve been one of my only thoughts.”
She slowly turns around so she’s facing me, and in her eyes I see true sadness. “Gideon, who’s Gia?”
Only my brother would bring up my past to use it like a fucking cudgel on me. Fucking Alex.
“Nobody,” I answer flatly, sure my expression isn’t as calm as I’d like it to be at this moment.
“According to your brother, I’m the spitting image of her. Is that why you took me and keep me here? Do you like having the duplicate of the woman you loved around? He said you two had a love for the ages. Is that true?”
I step back away from her, dropping my arms from around her waist. “I can’t imagine Alex said that without a mouth full of bile since he thinks of love as nothing more than a word you use to get people to do what you want.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Gideon. In fact, it doesn’t answer any of the questions I asked.”
“Yes, you look like her. As for the rest of what my brother said, ignore him. It’s not worth your time.”
“Do I look exactly like her?” Aria asks, her voice shaking as the words come out of her mouth.
I don’t have to think about the answer to that. She absolutely does. It’s what drew me to her at that party weeks ago.
But that doesn’t mean a goddamned thing. The problem is thanks to my shithead brother, now that’s all she’s going to think I want her for—as a replacement for a ghost.
“Men generally have a type. My brother likes any woman who will have him, but he prefers blondes with big breasts. He has mommy issues. I prefer women with dark hair and green eyes. It’s nothing, Aria.”
“Except I look exactly like the woman you loved. Tell me the truth, Gideon. Am I merely a substitute for this Gia person?”