Page 147 of Matteo
The corner of my lips tipped up.
“Is he mad at me?”
He poured himself a glass of bourbon, then leaned back in his chair, watching me with a smile. “At you, no. At me… fucking furious.”
Oh.
It dawned on me then. Maybe he was keeping us here because he thought Dad would kill him.
“I can tell him not to hurt you. That I… wanted this.”
One of his brows met his hairline.
“Really?” I nodded slowly. “You’d tell them you want to stay with me? Choose me over your family?”
I released a frustrated breath. “First I have to work out my issues with Hannah.”
I could practically feel the disappointment rolling off him.
“Tell me something. Has Hannah reached out to you since you robbed my pa and took off for Ireland?” Judging by his expression, he already knew the answer to that. “I didn’t think so.”
“That doesn’t mean?—”
He stopped me. “But you reached out to her, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” There was no point in denying it. “Why are you making everything so complicated?”
“I’m not. You are though, by constantly giving in to your sister.” He took a sip of his drink, wearing a dark expression. “But I’ll tell you this, Ari. She better have a damn good explanation for setting the planetarium on fire.” Silence. “Let megive you a hint… There isn’t an answer that could justify putting your life in danger.”
I tilted my chin stubbornly. “I refuse to believe she did that on purpose.”
He brought his drink down with force, making the silverware rattle.
“From now on, it’s you and me, Ari. And as far as I’m concerned, everyone else can fuck off. Staying on this island suits me just fine.”
He went back to eating and silence stretched, broken up only by the soft tunes I didn’t recognize in the background and the scraping of our silverware against the plates.
“You don’t really mean it,” I stated matter-of-factly.
He frowned. “Mean what?”
“About everyone fucking off,” I said. “Firstly, you love your parents and your sister. Secondly, you’re taking over your father’s empire.”
“Whatever’s left of it,” he muttered. “No matter though, because I love you more.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”
He scoffed. “It means, my darling wife, that I love you. You are my life, Ari. My life is pointless and aimless without you.”
Dammit, when he put it like that, how was I supposed to resist him? I shook my head, rephrasing my question. “What did you mean when you said whatever’s left of your dad’s empire?”
“Your dad’s dismantling it. One asset per day.”
My mouth dropped. “And you’re letting him?”
“I’m working on getting it back, but I really wish he’d stop and focus on other issues.”
I frowned.
