Page 54 of Blood Money
My mouth hung open.
After straightening his sleeves, he walked out of there as if he hadn’t just ripped me apart and left me raw and bleeding.
That was the moment I realized we’d been right there in the front of the bakery with giant-ass windows and the possibility of a customer coming in at any minute. And I’d been ready to climb him like a goddamn monkey.
“You have no right,” I whispered to the empty room. “How dare you make me want you and act like you give a fuck?”
I sagged against the wall and pinched the bridge of my nose.
“Are you okay?” Tillie asked as she pushed through the stainless steel door from the kitchen with a tray of cheesecake slices.
Shaken, I nodded. “Yeah, I just got lightheaded,” I told her with a weak smile.
Not a lie.
Frustrated, I reached into the case and grabbed a pink cupcake. I ate that sucker in two bites, hating Vittorio for pushing me to consume the caloriesandmy own damn product, cutting into my bottom dollar.
Fuck.
“SaveYourself”—DevourtheDay
Present day….
I’m a fucking idiot.
Half a block from the bakery, I stopped and leaned against a storefront. My head fell back, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
What the fuck had I been thinking? I had no business following her. I had no business going to that goddamn bakery every morning. And I sure as hell had no business touching her, yet I couldn’t help myself. In my heart and mind, she was still mine.
It was like her being back negated the last ten years. And only a fool would think like that.
“Wanna talk about it?” Dario asked.
I squinted one eye open and looked at him. “What is this, a counseling session?”
He snorted. “Not hardly. But, boss, you and I have been together a long time. You have Dahlia, and I know that’s for convenience, but you don’t do shit like this.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I deadpanned. I didn’t have Dahlia anymore either.
“Bullshit. You stayed at her house after she got robbed. You go to that fuckin’ bakery every morning. You have a guy on her place all day, every day. I saw what you just did.” The last bit he said in a low and quiet way.
“I’m watching out for our potential investment.”
“Bullshit. You might get Gabriel to believe that, but I don’t buy it. Iseeyou.”
“Enough. Leave it,” I ground out as I pushed off the building and resumed walking.
He quickly caught up and walked alongside me, deftly dodging the pedestrian traffic. He pulled out his phone, and I was aware of his thumbs flying over the screen before he tucked it back in his pocket. Another block later, my car pulled up to the curb in front of us.
Dario gestured to where the driver was coming around to open the back door.
I huffed in irritation. “How do you know I didn’t want to walk farther?” I snapped.
“It’s not safe,” he replied through gritted teeth. “Get in the fucking car.”
“You dare to tell me what to do?”
“It’s my job to keep you safe,” he bit out. “Let me do my motherfuckin’ job.”