Page 31 of Because I Need You
“You’re welcome to try.” I pointed at the ceiling. “She’s up there.”
“Okay.” Nadia stood up. “Let’s go.”
“Let’s?” My eyes widened. “Fuck no.”
“You’re scared of tears now?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Please.” I scoffed. “I grew up with two little sisters. You know I’m not scared of tears.”
“So? What’s the problem?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what the problem was and that in and of itself was a fucking problem. That was alarm bell number one. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t like seeing her trying to leave the house, or why I liked the fact that she hadn’t called her boyfriend and instead ran straight to me. Two more alarm bells. I mean, I hated the guy, so that was definitely one of the reasons, but it wasn’t the only one. It was that look. That sadness. It wasn’t I got off on tears. It was more that the sadness and the need to hide it behind a smile, behind harsh words, behind flirting and sex, hit close to home. Fuck it. If she was going to stay here, I was going to have to get used to seeing it. I shrugged and walked out of the office with Nadia.
13
ISABEL
The door opened as I was stepping out of the bathroom. I’d taken another shower. I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of disgust and even though I knew Dove soap wasn’t going to wash it away, I tried anyway. He didn’t have many clothes in the closet, which made me wonder if he lived here at all, but I’d managed to borrow a black T-shirt of his and a black pair of boxer shorts. They were both too big, but the boxers stayed put thanks to my hips and ass. I froze when I saw a woman walk inside and Giovanni walk in behind her. He shut the door. I kept my attention on the woman. She was pretty, with short dark hair and light eyes. She was wearing a button down and slacks, which made me wonder if she was on her way to work. It was too early for her to not have slept here, but I’d already met his girlfriend, who was the complete opposite of this woman, so I wasn’t sure what to make of this. Giovanni was still wearing the same thing he had been when he got here. He looked tired. Beautiful, but tired. I didn’t miss the way his eyes raked over me from head to toe and back, as if he was drinking me in slowly. That look made my heart skip a few beats. I focused on the woman again.
“I’m Nadia,” the woman said, stepping farther into the room. She stopped by the bench at the foot of the bed. “Gio’s assistant.”
“Oh.” I blinked. That explained the attire.
“You’re Isabel,” she said when I didn’t introduce myself. I nodded.
“I need you to tell me exactly what happened last night,” she said, in such a soothing voice as she took a seat at the other end of the bed. She patted it and I didn’t think twice as I moved and climbed onto the opposite side, facing her. Giovanni walked to the bench and stopped there, still watching me.
“Tell me what happened.”
“I was packing some boxes.” I paused, looking at Giovanni. “Does he have to be here?”
“Yes, he has to be here,” he said, voice as hard as the expression on his face. “I won’t interrupt this time. Just fucking talk.”
Nadia shot him some kind of warning look over her shoulder. He didn’t even look at her.
“I was packing boxes and when I finished it was one in the morning more or less. I was starving but the delivery apps weren’t delivering at that time. I found a pizza place nearby that was still open, so I decided to order and pick it up.” I swallowed, waiting for Nadia’s reaction to that. She gave none, so I continued. “I ate a couple of slices in the parking lot, but then some homeless guy knocked on my window.”
“Jesus Fucking Christ,” Giovanni muttered, shutting his eyes briefly. I glanced up at him. He shook his head as if he was exasperated by this already.
“So, I gave the guy the rest of my pizza—”
Giovanni laughed harshly. “Mother fucking Teresa over here.”
“Do you want me to tell you what happened or not?” I snapped. “I’m so tired of you and your judgement. I know it was stupid, okay? Fuck.”
“I’m sorry.” Nadia leaned way in and set her hand on mine. “Please ignore him. He has two younger sisters that he’s very protective of, so you can imagine what must be going through his head.”
Oh. I looked back up at Giovanni, who was staring into me like he was trying to pull the entire story out of me through my eyes. I was an only child, and even though I considered the neighborhood kids my siblings and would probably take a bullet for some of them — Luke and Noah specifically — I didn’t truly know what it was like to have blood siblings. It kind of explained the attitude, though. He was probably picturing one of his sisters doing something this stupid. I looked at Nadia again when she moved her hand from mine.
