Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 79061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Feeling like she was suddenly treading on thin ice, she said uncertainly, “Umm...okay?”
He took a deep breath, working hard to rein in the urge to murder her friend. “Would it please you to see me behind bars?”
She gasped, “Gosh, no! Oh, not at all!”
“Then you should know that it is certain to happen,” he said calmly, “if I ever find you in a situation where another man is able to accidentally kiss you.” He clasped her face. “So to avoid such an incident, from now on, I will be the only man in your life. Si?”
She bit her lip. “But I have male friends...”
“And they can still be your friends,” he said generously, “but you are not to allow them within three feet of you.”
“Umm—-”
He released her face. “I will not, however, force you to obey me. Just be warned that we Italians are an incredibly possessive race, prone to violence when we feel we have been slighted——”
Paling again, she said quickly, “I agree.”
He smiled. “I knew you would see it my way, tesoro.”
She smiled back at him. Everything seemed right with the world whenever Angelo Valencia smiled at her like that.
But then his smile faded. “Now that you know I thought I saw the two of you kissing, you have the answers to your questions earlier.”
Oh.
“Him lying about the two of you going out stopped me from speaking with you, but my hunger for you did not abate. However, being confronted – or the thought that I was being confronted by your feelings for each other—-”
She looked up at him, eyes wide.
Angelo only needed to take one look at her face to know what she was about to say, and he forestalled her immediately, saying, “And so that’s that.” His tone warned her from saying anything else.
The warning fell on deaf ears.
“Oh, Angelo,” she breathed.
He winced.
“It means—-”
“Whatever you think it means, it is best to keep it to yourself.”
“—-you were jealous!”
He scowled.
“Like a lovesick boy,” she continued dreamily.
At the same time, he dreamt of shutting her up.
“Angelo Valencia III, jealous!” She sighed. “Oh.”
Deciding to get the ball back in his court, Angelo said unevenly, “Yes. I was jealous. Is the thought amusing? Does it make you happy to know you have made me feel that way?”
Her eyes flew open at his tone, and when she saw the disappointment in his gaze, she gasped, realizing she had hurt him. “Angelo—-”
“I never thought you’d be the type to...” He slowly shook his head.
Appalled at the thought that she had somehow hurt him, she scrambled to apologize, “I’m so sorry, Angelo. If it means anything, I was jealous, too. Extremely jealous,” she said feelingly. “You even made me feel depressed—-”
“Is that true?”
“Yes,” she said fervently.
“But you could have dated other men to forget me—-”
“No,” she denied right away. “That’s not possible.”
“Because I’m the only man for you?”
“Oh, yes—-” She stopped. Wait a minute. Something wasn’t right here. Her gaze narrowed at his face, and Angelo gazed back at her innocently.
Yeah right!
“You were faking the entire time,” she cried out.
His teeth flashed in a grin, and then he was laughing.
“Sadist!” But his smile was so beautiful and infectious it was impossible not to laugh with him.
“That’s what I am,” he agreed easily.
“I knew it!” Her lips pursed in mock disappointment. “I had a feeling about you, from the very start.”
“I’m glad.”
She blinked at the unexpected answer. Huh?
“Because I also knew you’re a masochist.” His tone was light, but his gaze was watchful and serious.
She forced herself to laugh, saying, “Sure, you did.”
He said agreeably, “From the very start.”
Chapter Five
Some girls talked a mile a minute to cover their awkwardness, and Lane wished she could be like them. Unfortunately, she wasn’t, and all she could do was walk beside Angelo in uneasy silence and concentrate on not tripping over her feet...or tongue.
Sadist. Masochist.
Just thinking of the words made her head hurt. If only he was joking. But he was not. She had seen the look in Angelo Valencia’s gaze, and she knew he believed he was...that, and she was...the other.
Sadist. Masochist.
She swallowed back a sigh. I’ll never use big words again, she thought glumly. If she had just called him ‘unfair,’ then maybe it would have ended there, and there wouldn’t be this weird, tense atmosphere—-
“Lane—-”
She practically jumped in shock, not expecting him to suddenly talk, and he frowned. “Are you okay?” She cleared her throat. “Yup.” As okay as one would be, after finding out the guy she had been crushing on apparently believed she was the type of person who got off being hurt.
And that was not true, she told herself. Not. True.
But a tiny part of her was not convinced, and this was what worried Lane the most.
To distract herself and to keep him from talking about things she didn’t want to know about, she pointed towards the intersection, saying unnecessarily, “We just cross the street, and that’s where Millie’s is.” When Angelo only nodded, she relaxed slightly, and they crossed the street in somewhat comfortable silence.