Page 104 of Vicious Intentions
“Thanks, Bruno,” I say, forcing myself to walk instead of run to the house.
I pass through the kitchen and see Lourdes at the counter, where she usually is at this time of day. Her hands are dusted in flour as she works a smooth sheet of pasta dough, a rolling pin resting nearby.
“Hi, Lourdes,” I say, pausing just long enough to slip an arm around her waist in a quick side hug.
“Ciao,piccolina,” she greets, leaning in to press a quick kiss on my cheek before turning back to her task.
I head straight for the fridge, like I’ve done a thousand times before, and grab a bottle of water. “Is Mom home?”
Lourdes shakes her head. “She’s out doing charity work with Alejandro. I doubt she’ll make it home for dinner. But your father called, saying he’d leave work early so you wouldn’t have to eat alone. He should arrive around half past six.”
Three hours. It’ll have to be enough.
“Okay. I’ll be in my room studying,” I say cheerfully, waving goodbye before heading for the stairs.
The second I’m out of her sight, I break into a run, racing up to my room and locking the door behind me.
This is insane. What I’m about to do is insane. But I don’t care. I rush to my bed, pull my burner phone from inside the pillowcase, and stare at it for a moment. I then hesitate, second-guessing my impulse to call him.
I should wait for tonight. I should wait for him to text me, or hopefully even call me. I shouldn’t call him now, not when he must be at work, doing God knows what.
I bite the corner of my lip, but press the call button anyway. Raffaele answers on the first ring.
“Anna? Is everything alright?” he asks, concern threading through that same gravelly voice he had last night.
Damn it. He probably thinks I’m calling because I’ve gotten myself into trouble. Of course his mind would go there. I mean, I never call. But then again, neither does he… and he broke that rule last night, so why can’t I break it today?
“Everything is fine. I promise.”
I hear the tension leave his voice as he asks someone to excuse him and give him a minute. I wait with bated breath, then a door closes on his end of the line.
“Okay, now we can talk,” he says, a smile in his tone. “I can’t believe you called.”
“I can’t believe you answered.”
“There isn’t a world where I wouldn’t.”
I don’t remind him that he did just that over Christmas. In fact, I force myself to push that whole debacle out of my mind so I don’t ruin the mood. Besides, that was a different Raffaele. This is my Raffaele.My caro mio.
“Anna, sweetheart… is there something you need from me? Want?” The way he says it has my head spinning, like he already knows the reason behind my call.
“Kiss me.”
That’s all I say. It’s all I need to say.
And just like that, I fall back into him, the distance between us disappearing.
One sweet, ardent kiss at a time.
Chapter 22
Matteo
Twenty-six years old
Today is Anna’s nineteenth birthday, and I’ve been in a foul mood from the moment I woke up. My volatile disposition only worsened when Raffaele kept throwing smug smirks my way during breakfast, each one a quiet little reminder that he got what I didn’t—time with Anna on her birthday.
Still, Raffaele isn’t the reason I’m on edge.
