Page 52 of My Italian Love Affair

It was about me.

Myattention.Myfucking smirk.

Like I’d done something wrong just by looking at her.

It makes me fucking sick.

Daphne Sinclair shouldn’t have to prove herself to a worthless fuck like him.

I can’t figure out why he hates her so much, either.

Is it because she’s young?

Because she’s a woman?

Because she’s good and he knows it?

Or - and this is what makes mereallywant to destroy him - is it because she doesn’t worship him?

Because she isn’t hanging onto his every word like he’s somekind of fucking legend?

Because he’s seen something that’s told him she’s more interested inme?

The thought makes my blood boil.

I meant what I said to her: Mark Chapman wasn’t acting like a boss. He was acting like a jealous boyfriend.

And that makes me want to put him in the fucking ground.

I exhale sharply, dragging a hand through my damp hair.

I have to calm down. I have to get this under control.

Because if I don’t - if I let this fester, if I let this rage dictate what happens next - then I will find Mark Chapman, and I will end his fucking career myself.

And I don’t even mean in football. I mean inlife.

I close my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath through my nose.

But when I open them, all I see isher.

Daphne, standing there in that fucking perfect outfit that hugged her hips and made my mouth dry, narrowing her green eyes at me like I was a problem she couldn’t figure out.

Beautiful. Sharp.

Fuckinguntouchable.

I scrub a hand down my face.

I was trying to play it cool. Trying to tease her, trying to check if she was okay without making it obvious that I was two seconds away from hunting that bastard down.

But then she’d looked at me with eyes full of fire, telling me that I didn’t get it - that I had no idea what it’s like to be questioned, to have people decide who you are before youeven say a word.

And something inside me just snapped.

She doesn’t know me. She has no idea what the fuck I’ve been through, no idea what it’s like to have to constantly fight for respect in this game.

But oh, I had wanted to tell hereverything. Wanted to drag her into my world and make her understand that I’ve been fighting to prove myself since I was a fucking kid.

---