Page 5 of Her Dirty Secret

“Sorry,” I say breathlessly. “I didn’t mean to—”

“No, it was my fault I—”

I reach for him, silencing him with a hand on his arm. “It’s okay.” The heat of his gaze makes me blush, and I retract my hand, dropping it down and playing nervously with the ends of my hair. The humidity outside has curled them, and I tug at my hair, futilely trying to smooth it back into submission.

“Emily,” he says. My name sounds beautiful on his lips. But then, I imagine everything does. I look up at him from under my eyelashes to see he’s smoldering down at me. It’s almost too much to take.

“Yes?” I prompt, swallowing hard.

“I just came to see if you were all right,” he replies, stepping back slightly. “I saw you leave but couldn’t break away. You seemed upset.”

There he goes with the selflessness again. He’s either a pile of contradictions, or he isn’t the same man he once was. Part of me wants to forget about him, to not take the risk. But part of me wants to know him, and not just to know if people can really change.

I breathe deeply and right myself, dropping the coy flirtatious act. “Thank you,” I reply. “But I’m fine. Or I will be.”

Alessandro smiles indulgently at me. “You’re a tempestuous one, aren’t you?” he asks, a note of teasing in his voice.

I laugh shortly. “Yes, I suppose I am,” I admit. “You also seem a little…” I try to come up with a word to describe him.

“Passionate,” he murmurs. “That’s the word you’re looking for.” I swallow hard again. It’s not exactly where I was going, but clearly true, nonetheless.

We stare at each other for a moment.

“So you’re really sure you’d be willing to deal with my brother just to get to know me?” I ask abruptly.

He gives me a mischievous smile. “Are you falling for the ‘handsome and charming shtick’ after all?”

I laugh. “Let’s just say I’ve reconsidered. I realized I need to be more spontaneous and stop sitting around wishing things would happen a certain way.”

“Intriguing,” he replies, rubbing his finger under his chin with a sparkle in his eye.

A noise grabs my attention, and I look down the hall at the crowd starting to break up and head this way. With a sigh, I realize I’m out of time for now.

“I should go congratulate the happy couple,” I tell him. “And then call my ride home. It was nice to meet you, Alessandro.”

His eyes sweep over my face. “It was my pleasure, truly, Emily,” he replies, stepping aside to let me pass. I walk away, thoroughly confused and disconcerted by our exchange. I can’t even seem to flirt properly these days.

With a sigh, I seek Bryce and Sera out, giving them hugs and congratulations. They remind me that they’ll be leaving for their honeymoon later tonight, and it makes me yearn for the kind of trip they’re about to embark upon. And when I see them sneak away, it makes me yearn for what I know they’re about to do.

It’s a few more minutes until everyone clears out, and I spend the time cleaning up so Mom and Aunt Char don’t have to. I say my goodnights and step outside to summon my ride and wait in the cool of the evening, rather than keep Mom and Aunt Char up.

But there’s still a car in the driveway. And Alessandro sits on the hood of the sleek, dark luxury coupe.

“If I owned a car like that I wouldn’t sit on the hood,” I remark drily, pocketing my phone.

He grins widely. “What good is it if you can’t?” he replies, hopping down.

I laugh, shaking my head. “What are you still doing here?”

He gestures to the car. “You said you needed a ride. Your chariot awaits.”

His choice of words freezes me on the spot. “I’m not a damsel in distress,” I snap.

Alessandro presses his lips together, clearly amused by my change of mood. It pushes me further into annoyed and I fold my arms over my chest.

“Do you get tired?” he asks with a tilt of his head.

“Of what?” I brace myself, expecting the pickup line that’s probably coming.

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