Page 27 of Saving You Losing Me

“What?”

I’m aware he has doubts. They all do and this won’t be new to me.

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble man, but I hooked up with Ginny last night after her shift at The Rubens Club.”

Ginny is one of Razor’s go to girls and they kind of use one another for sex. She is a classy woman who works as a waitress at the gentleman’s club and has a desire to succeed. Razor is her guilty pleasure, and he indulges her fantasies. They are good together, but neither of them see it like that and just enjoy the ride while it lasts.

“Why would that burst my bubble?”

I heave the weights and he lowers his voice.

“Charles Santobello.”

“Should I know the name?”

“He’s just moved into town with his family.”

“And that concerns me because?”

“Because he has a son who, according to Ginny, was bragging at the club that he was taking your girl on a date today.”

“She heard that wrong.”

I place the weights back on the stand and sit astride the bench, facing him with a scowl.

“What else did he say?”

“Ginny said he was a rich prick who only joined yesterday and wasted no time in shooting his mouth off. He was asking questions, too many questions about how it works around here. He got into conversation with Dominic Riley and Ginny overheard him telling him he had Clara in the palm of his hand. That his intentions were to secure the best wife in town and his sight is set on her.”

Razor sighs heavily. “Like I said, I’m sorry, man.”

“Don’t be.” I shrug. “Be sorry if it happens, not before. Clara is her own woman who can make her own decisions. I’m not worried.”

He nods and selects his weights, leaving me to pound out my frustration on the rowing machine.

I’m aware we will face many obstacles in our struggle to be together, but even I never anticipated they would hit us this early on.

Michael Santobello. I’ll remember that name because if our paths cross – which they will undoubtedly do if he has designs on my woman – I will be ready for him.

When I head hometo shower before meeting Clara, I find Tanya eating lunch, surrounded by the usual mess she makes.

“Don’t you ever clean up?”

“Don’t you ever shut up.”

For some reason, it makes us both laugh and as I take a seat at the table, I reach for the pot of coffee.

“Have you come across a man called Michael Santobello?”

I’m not sure why I’m asking Tanya but she is normally happy to spill the tea, as they say.

“The last name is familiar, but I don’t know the first.”

“So his father, Charles Santobello.”

“Yeah. Smooth talking criminal if ever I saw one. He came into Singles a couple of nights ago and booked Chrissie for a private dance.”

“Any gossip?”

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