Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
But Gabriella was off-fucking-limits.
Rafa would see it as a betrayal. We both knew I wasn’t good enough for her. Gabriella might have been raised in the midst of The Family, but she deserved a life that didn’t throw her right into the middle of it.
“You’ve been avoiding me all night,” she muttered, her pink lips pursed in annoyance.
I raised an eyebrow in silent question, afraid that if I spoke, the roughness of my voice would give away my struggle to keep my hands to myself.
Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step closer. “Every time I saw you, I would blink and you’d be gone.”
My brow furrowed, but I kept my expression neutral, giving nothing else away. “Why would you be looking for me? Aren’t you here with your…friend?”
Gabriella pouted, which should have made her look like a petulant child, but instead, it was cute and drew my attention back to her X-rated lips.
“Boyfriend,” she corrected archly.
Boyfriend. What a joke. Although, he was definitely a boy, not a man.
“He’s talking with Felix about interest rates on something or other.”
That made sense, since George did something with banking and Felix was our money guy. Though, I doubted George had any experience with the more unique aspects of the “banking” Felix did for The Family.
“Sounds fascinating,” I drawled. “So why were you looking for me?”
Gabriella crossed her arms over her chest, and I was immensely proud of myself for taking no more than a peek at her generous breasts.
“I wasn’t. You just happen to be standing in front of the bathroom.” She pointed to my left where I was blocking the door to a small powder room. “But since you were here, I figured I might as well find out why you were dodging me. Like you have been since I got home six months ago. But if you’re still determined to pretend there’s nothing between us, then go right ahead. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
She pointed at the door again, and I moved to the side, giving her just enough room to squeeze past me. Then I called myself ten kinds of idiot when our bodies brushed, and lust slammed into me. Son of a bitch. I knew better than to touch her, but I’d had a moment of weakness. I had to shut this shit down fast.
“Gabriella.”
She paused and twisted around, dropping her head back to look up at me.
“I wasn’t avoiding you.” I sent up a silent prayer for forgiveness to Santa Maria Goretti for my lie. And for the one I was about to say. “I hadn’t noticed you were here.”
Gabriella’s face fell for a second, and then she put on a smile that was so fake that it chafed my nerves. “I see. Well, thanks for clearing that up. I better hurry. George is waiting on me.”
Although I held back a derisive scoff, I couldn’t stop my mouth from running away. She had that effect on me. “What do you see in that spineless drip?”
“For one thing, he didn’t go running when he heard the last name DeLuca.”
”That’s not a reason to date someone, Gabriella,” I grunted. “You deserve better.”
“I don’t know why you would say that since you clearly don’t think I’m good enough for you.” With that parting comment—stabbing me in the chest with guilt—she stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
“Motherfucker,” I hissed. The lowest level of hell was probably reserving my spot at that moment.
Logically, I knew it was better for both of us this way. In another time and place, I might have risked everything to be with her. But I was the one who didn’t deserve her. I wasn’t going to drag her into my darkness. It would drive a wedge between Rafa and me, which would eventually ruin our friendship completely when we watched the world we lived in taint Gabriella little by little until her sunshine was completely snuffed out.
2
GABRIELLA
“Ihope you don’t mind hanging out with me.” Vivienne shook her head with a soft laugh. “Your brother has taken his protectiveness to a new level ever since we found out that I was pregnant.”
“I was actually looking forward to getting some quality girl time without Rafa hovering,” I assured her.
I adored my sisters, but since we were the same age, it hadn’t taken me long to feel closer to Vivienne than them. Lucia was only two years younger than me, but there was a big difference between almost eighteen and twenty in our world. She hadn’t been allowed to spread her wings much yet, so I felt our age difference more deeply when I returned from New York. Although I’d stayed with our cousin Nic—who was the head of The Family, the boss——between art school and interning at our gallery there, House of Verità, I’d still had the chance to broaden my horizons while I was there.