Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
I don’t know what maddens me more. Him looking so fucking hot, or the fact that he is completely unfazed by my outburst.
I cross my arms. “Are you kidding me? That’s all you have to say?”
“I know this probably comes as a surprise. But it will all make sense in time,” he says.
He’s so confident, it’s sickening.
“Ugh, you’re so…infuriating!” My arms fall open. “What does that even mean?”
He steps closer, and I forget to move, momentarily spellbound by the look on his face. It’s a mix of darkness and warning, and suddenly, I’m sucked into his orbit and unable to look away, let alone move.
I grit my teeth. “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t bother. Unless you’re about to tell me you take it all back and I don’t have to marry you. Otherwise, don’t waste your breath. Nothing you can say will make any of this okay.”
A hint of amusement sparkles in his eyes.
“I can see you’re going to be a giant pain in my ass,” he says calmly.
“Good!” I snap, turning away from him and walking toward the door. “Because I’d hate for that to be a fucking surprise.”
9
Nico
She slams the door, and the sound waves ripple through the room.
She’s going to be a handful.
A real pain in the ass.
Why does that excite me so much?
A smile tugs at my lips. Because she’s a firecracker, and I would expect nothing less.
My body hums from the encounter. I was hard the moment I looked up from my desk and saw her standing in the doorway, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger, her wild red hair swirling around her like fire.
I had expected it. The moment she’d looked at the CCTV camera and flipped me the bird, I knew I had poked the bear, and oh, how I ached for the bite.
Another smile spreads across my lips as I think about her stomping toward me and shoving her finger into my chest. About the way she stood up to me with so much heat in her words.
In my world, men die for less.
But she hates me too much to be afraid of me.
Because I let her down.
Why pick the girl whose heart you broke?
Anger crawls up my spine at the memory, and my smile vanishes.
Because I learned the truth.
I reach for my phone and place it to my ear. When the familiar voice answers, I say, “Follow her.”
Then I hang up.
I return to my desk and sit down. Opening the bottom drawer, I remove a bottle of grappa and splash the grapey liquid into a glass tumbler. Taking a mouthful, I shake my head.
I’ve set something in play, and as much as I think I’m in control, I have a feeling Bella will try to ensure that I’m not.
But I hope she’s prepared for a fight. Because she has no idea what I’m capable of.
10
Bella
The ridiculously large flower arrangement arrives at my apartment the following morning.
I watch as the deliveryman brings it in and places it on a table covered in brushes, spatulas, and squeezed tubes of acrylic paint.
I look at the card.
Let’s start over.
N
The nerve of him. Thinking he can win me over with a bunch of flowers.
He didn’t even have the balls to bring them to me himself.
Although he is right to stay away because I’d probably throw them at him.
I signal to the delivery guy not to leave before quickly scribbling my reply on the back of the card.
Let’s not start at all.
B
I tuck it back into the flower arrangement. The delivery guy looks uncomfortable, and I feel bad for him, so I tip him twenty and thank him for ensuring the flowers are promptly returned to Nico.
“And make sure you bill him for the return trip.”
I’m probably being childish. But fuck it. Let him understand early on that I can’t be won over.
Forcing him out of my mind, I return my attention to the canvas in front of me. It’s an abstract piece created in layered plaster of paris and marble dust, and colored in rust and patina hues.
The day drags by slowly, and despite being in my happy place with a paintbrush in my hand, I feel edgy and restless, and I can barely keep my mind focused.
Across the room, my laptop calls out to me.
Begging me to do what I’ve avoided doing for so long.
With a sigh, I concede defeat. I put down my brush and walk over to it.
Opening it, I google Nico.
My emotions immediately spin in circles when I see his photos splashed all over the internet.
Nico looking like all kinds of sin in a custom suit.
Nico looking like an international player as he arrives at a glittering social event.
Nico leaving a café looking perfectly put together in casual clothing.
A shirtless Nico covered in tattoos and looking like a god emerging from the ocean in some glamorous location somewhere in the world. His muscular body is wet and his shorts cling to him, leaving nothing to the imagination.