Page 55 of Tempt Me
Rushing to her bedside, she turns and looks up at me, tears swimming in her eyes. Placing one hand on each side of her face, I push the hair back from her face, feeling bad that she is upset. “What’s wrong?”
Looking up at me with red-rimmed eyes, she tries to smile but can only manage a watery grimace. “Nothing.”
“You’ve got to stop telling me lies, Misty,” I murmur. “You forget how well I know you.”
She turns to me, and to my surprise, she wraps her arms around me as she sobs lightly, her head resting against my chest as her body jerks with the movement of her crying.
Between her sobs, I whisper, “Hey, everything will be okay.” Brushing the hair back from Rue’s face, I can see dark circles under each eye and a blooming redness on each cheekbone from tears. Her body curls closer to mine for comfort, and I feel a sense of protectiveness over her. She is my charge, but I feel that she is also my friend. Before Isaac came along, we were closer. We’d laugh and joke with each other, play cards and drink. Then he came and everything changed. She changed. Whatever it is that’s weighing on her mind, I will do anything I can to help her through it.
“Hey,” I whisper softly, risking a gentle kiss on the top of her head. I just can’t help it. “You okay?”
She stirs slightly, turning to face me with an exhausted expression. “Yeah, it’s just…everything.”
I stroke her hair gently, feeling the soft strands between my fingers. She doesn’t push me away, so I figure she needs to feel safe and cherished. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”
Rue looks away from me, biting her lip nervously. “It’s nothing, really.”
“It doesn’t feel like nothing.” I shift closer to her, wrapping my arm more firmly around her waist. “Is this okay?”
She looks up at me and takes in my face, searching my eyes as if she is seeing me for the very first time. Maybe she is. Maybe her feelings bout me have changed.
Wishful thinking, asshole.
“It’s personal stuff.” She sighs heavily, resting her head back against my chest and cutting me off before we’ve even got started.
I don’t push the issue any further, respecting her privacy. Instead, we sit there for a while longer in comfortable silence, enjoying the warmth of each other’s company.
“These last few weeks have been a lot, but you know I’m still here for you always, right?”
“I do, but Luca…”
“Don’t say it,” I murmur sadly, hoping that maybe if she doesn’t the fantasy won’t die.
“Whatever you feel for me…”
“I know.” It crushes me that she is rejecting me outright, and I know it’s all because of Isaac. If he hadn’t come here, maybe we could’ve had a shot one day. Who knows? But now, we never will.
Rue sits up, pulling away from me slightly. “It’s complicated. With everything that’s going on, I don’t know what I want.”
“I understand,” I say softly, not wanting this conversation to continue, it’s too painful. Plus, she has a lot on her plate right now, and she needs to focus on that. “About Antonio…”
“Ugh, what about him?” she spits out, telling me pretty much all I needed to know, but I’m pressing ahead anyway.
“Isaac killed him right in front of you.”
“Thankfully.”
“So you’re okay with that?”
“Of course,” she scoffs.
“I don’t mean it being Antonio, but the killing and the aftermath…being labelled a widow…it’s a lot.”
“Yeah, I know. Honestly, Luca, this whole thing has been a shit show. I don’t care about Antonio, and I don’t care that he was killed in front of me. I do care about the label. It’s disrespectful to women who have loved and lost.”
If it was possible to love her more, I do in this moment. “You’re sweet to think that.”
She nods, looking down at her hands. “I’m in love with Isaac,” she blurts out.
