Page 52 of Wrecked By You
“Yes, I like him. Too much.”
Her hand whipped through the air, the gesture dismissive. “No such thing. But if I can offer you a piece of advice...”
“Go for it.”
“If you want him, then you’re going to need a lot of patience. Johannes has a traumatic past, and it’s shaped the man he is today. He doesn’t trust easily, if at all, and he has mastered avoiding any kind of emotions. They’re locked up so tight behind walls of concrete that it’ll take a long time to knock them down.”
I knew it.The eyes never lied, and Johannes’s were steeped in suffering. As were mine. But if Gia saw in me what I’d seen in Johannes, she didn’t let on.
“Don’t ask me,” she stated, even though I hadn’t spoken. “It’s not up to me to tell you. It’s up to Johannes. And believe me, you’re in for a wait before he’ll share his past. He might look at you as if you’re all his fantasies rolled into one cute-as-a-button package, but that doesn’t mean he trusts you.”
“I understand.”
Gia squealed, then squished me in a tight hug. “This is so exciting. He deserves happiness, and I have a feeling you’re it.”
My heart sank. No, I wasn’t. Not until I found a way to escape Mateo for good, if such a way even existed.
But what if… what if I could gather the courage to tell Johannes about my past.
No.
Not until he shared his. Given what Gia had said, if he told me about his past, then I’d know that he fully trusted me, and only then could I take the leap of faith needed to share my story.
Besides, all this could be moot. Gia might’ve read the situation all wrong. As much as my fingers itched to test her theory, Johannes would have to make the first move. Or second move since, technically, he’d made the first move when he’d kissed me.
We strolled back to our table. Penn and Johannes appeared deep in conversation, and as we approached, I heard Penn ask about me. I put out a hand to stop Gia, curious as to how Johannes would reply to his brother if he thought I wouldn’t hear his response.
We all know what they say about eavesdroppers.
His voice rang out, clear and true. “She’s just my assistant. Nothing more. I’m being nice. That’s all.”
My heart plummeted to my feet. So Gia had read it wrong after all. I had no right to feel this rush of disappointment, but it came at me so fast that it stole my breath.
Penn laughed. “Bullshit. You’re never nice. I saw the way you’ve been looking at her all night. Don’t be an asshole. Just admit you like this girl.”
“Yeah, Johannes,” Gia said, butting her hip against Penn’s shoulder for him to move over. “Tell us. Or better still, tell Ella.”
Floor, please open up and swallow me whole.
Heat flooded my face until it felt as if I’d been cooked under the same grill as Penn’s burger. I didn’t dare look at Johannes. Or sit down. Or move.
“Fuck off, Gia,” Johannes growled. “You’re assholes, both of you.”
Gia threw back her head and laughed, unperturbed by Johannes’s barked curse.
“Yeah, but you love us.”
“The way one loves a bout of gastric flu,” he snapped. “Ella, for Christ’s sake, sit down.”
I slid onto the bench, my back as straight as a rod of steel. As my butt hit the seat, “We Will Rock You”by Queen started to play. The entire restaurant erupted as the staff jumped up onto the bar and began to clap and stamp their feet.
“Yessss!” Gia exclaimed.
“Kill me now,” Johannes muttered.
“Oh shut up,” Gia said. “This isawesome.I love it when they do this. It’s a Hard Rock tradition.”
She kissed Penn hard on the mouth, then skipped over to the bar. Seconds later, one of the bartenders reached down and helped her up. Displaying the kind of confidence I would sell a kidney for, she joined right in, shimmying her hips, shaking her boobs, and clapping and stomping and singing louder than anyone else.