Page 64 of Burning Caine
“Wonderful!” She spoke rapidly. “It’s black tie. Wear something blue, it lights up your face. Something elegant you can dance in. Show some cleavage and leave your hair down.”
Noting the wary look on my face, she put her hands on her hips and frowned. “I’m not coming on to you. My date needs to be the second most beautiful woman there! After me, of course!”
I laughed at her feigned conceit. “Will do. Want me to pick you up?”
“No, no. Take a cab. The tasting bar will be worth it. Are you familiar with the Convention Center in Lansing?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. There’s a boardwalk between the Center and the river with a fountain that lights up at night. We’ll meet at the gazebo down there at seven o’clock.”
Chapter 27
Antonio
Sofia’sarmswerealreadyfolded as I stepped through the front door, her lecturing face on. “Yes, she’s gone, if you’re wondering.”
“I know.” Good riddance. I had watched her climb into her giant truck and drive off. But her scent clung to the air, taunting me, like citrus and a warm Mediterranean breeze.
Standing slowly, Sofia kept her eyes on me. “You spend all this time and effort looking for the right woman, and when she’s standing right in front of you, you walk away! What were you—”
“I told you. She’s dating someone.”
She slapped the desk as she rounded it, her voice grating. “I asked her, and she said she doesn’t have a boyfriend!”
“She’s a liar! Just like every other woman! Said she was not dating Miller, then admits she is! Stringing me along this whole time, while she was with another man!”
“You are so full of yourself!” Sofia poked me in the chest. “She didn’t string you along! She turned you down!”
I swatted the finger aside and walked around her, into the studio to collect my things, but she followed me.
“She’s not Faith! Stop treating her like she owes you something.”
I wanted to throw one of the chairs. “This idea of finding the right woman is stupid. I should go back to screwing everything in sight. I was happy then.”
She smacked the side of my head. “Drop the macho act. You’re looking for a family, Antonio, not a harem.”
“Che cazzata!”
“You know what your problem is? You’re very adept at romancing your way into a woman’s underwear—”
I glared at her, not giving her the satisfaction of a response.
“But what you need is to romance your way into a woman’s heart. When was the last time you tried that?”
A woman’s heart. Samantha’s heart was full of nothing but lies and deception. Beautiful woman like her, playing hard to get with me. Miller was probably an old flame, and she thought she could use me to make him jealous. And I fell right into her trap.
“Sofia, leave me alone. Let me clean up my things in peace.”
She stormed off to her desk, while I packed my tools in silence. Damn burned painting. What to do with it now? I had to finish cleaning it enough to prove it wasn’t the real thing, and I had to continue seeing her. How could I spy on her when the sight of her drove me mad?
I could tell her the truth about the painting. That would put an end to things.
But it was not what I wanted.
What I wanted was Nathan Miller out of the picture. And for her to never leave Brenton. How could fate give me someone so perfect and yet so wrong for me at the same time?
Snatching a paintbrush from under my desk, I squeezed until the handle snapped. I stared at its broken halves for a moment, the bitterness fading. I stretched out my jaw, releasing the pain from clenching it so long.