Page 30 of The Prices We Pay
His eyes move back to Joe, and I watch his breath still in his chest, likely drawing the same conclusion that I have.
It doesn’t make any sense. How could three—and judging by the way Sebastian can’t keep his hands off her as they dance—four men who have been more than fine being committed to no one but each other, whether intimately or platonically,seemingly fall for a woman we met mere days ago and know next to nothing about?
Well, besides Seb, that is. We haven’t pressed him for any more information after he said she was clear. If anything was pertinent, he would have told us. I get the feeling there are things about her that he wants us to learn for ourselves if and whenever she’s ready to share.
The four of us are all so different. It’s why we’ve worked so well together since Luca took over the company. We know the ins-and-outs of each other’s minds, moods, wants, and desires. As different as we are, we all mesh so perfectly. We’re a family that was never meant to be one.
But now… now, the foundation of our family is being shaken by a stunning woman in the form of Josephine Jenkins. And for reasons I don’t entirely understand, I think I’d be willing to bury myself under the rubble with her as it falls.
It makes no goddamn sense.
“The four of us are going to have to have a conversation about this, aren’t we?”Luca’s eyes close for a moment as if he’s trying to envision a world in which a relationship like this could exist.
Except… he doesn’t need to envision it. We’ve seen it firsthand, and they are four of the happiest people I’ve ever seen in my life.
But I don’t know if I have the capacity to love one person like they deserve, to commit my life to them in that type of way, let alone four. But I don’t know if I have the capacity to love one person like they deserve. To commit my life to them in the type of way I know a partner would need. In a way they would crave.
Let alone four.
Because to love and to be loved means to risk losing it all.
I want to. More than anything, I want that for myself.
I just… don’t know if I can.
13
Josephine
Luca’s eyes bore into me with a raging inferno. I can feel his stare burning my skin as he looks me over from head to toe. I’m not sure if the intensity of his gaze is because he’s angry that I was here on a date, or because I stole the attention away from his best friend, or because I’m at his friend’s club and he doesn’t want me here. But regardless of the reason he’s so clearly angry with me, he has no right to be.
He may be my boss at work, but I’m a woman of my own free will. I can go wherever and date whomever I want.
Man or woman.
However, despite my intestinal fortitude, I can’t bear the heat of his stare. So I don’t.
Instead, my eyes lock with Dante’s. There’s a tenderness in them that’s such a juxtaposition to the rest of his hard exterior. It’s what has drawn me to him since the day we met. I can see a war waging behind those deep hazel iris’. He’s a man who wants to protect everyone around him, even if it means risking his own life. He wants to keep those he loves most as close to him as possible, but at the same time, he feels as if he doesn’t have the capacity toloveat all.
“You looked like you needed saving.” My eyes move to Sebastian, who’s sitting opposite Luca, his arm casually draped across the booth behind him. My eyes catch on the tips of Sebastian’s fingers resting on Luca’s shoulders.
I cross my arms over my chest. “I did, huh?”
Enzo huffs out a laugh, still standing next to me, his arm now wrapped around my waist, his hand resting on my hip. “Kassidy literally looked like the worst.”
“Oh, so now you remember her name.”
He taps the tip of his nose and winks a devious eye at me.
“Not to mention your body language looked wholly disinterested,” adds Dante.
“Since when do you know so much about my body language?” I retort.
The woman sitting at the table with them uses her hand to cover her smile, clearly in on something that I’m not.
“You’d be surprised at the things I notice, Amore Mia.” I sallow hard at the nickname. I don’t need to know much Italian to figure out what it means.
My love.
