Page 40 of Matteo
“Yes.”
“You were mad at me for risking my life, yet you do this?” My voice was high-pitched and uneasy, haunting even. “I had no control over the shooting at Yale. But this? This is pure recklessness.”
Someone cleared their throat behind me.
“We should all calm down.” Of course it was Anya.
Amara nodded, eager to help resolve this conflict. “We have classes in the morning, so maybe weshouldgo back to the dorms.”
Penelope patted her hand. “Ever the peacemaker.”
“I think she and Anya are right,” I said. “Let’s just go.”
Hannah’s eyes shone with defiance.
“Pfft. We’re here now. Let’s not spoil it,” Francesca argued, tugging on my arm. “Hannah is just being a good sister. Your brothers are here too but I don’t hear you yelling at them.”
“Hmm, true,” Amara agreed. “But this has nothing to do with gender discrimination and everything to do with?—”
Penelope bumped her friend’s shoulder, and Hannah’s expression changed from a rebellious one to the one she always reserved for?—
“Matteo!” She stared behind me. “You took care of that fast.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up at the sound of his voice.
“Ladies, I see you crashed our party,” he announced coolly.
I inhaled a deep breath and slowly turned to find him standing there with one hand in his jeans pocket, his white T-shirt revealing muscular biceps. It was a rare occasion to find Matteo in jeans, but it was certainly a sight worth beholding.
He nodded at everyone, leaving me for last. When his hazel eyes rested on me, it felt like the world stopped turning. The power shimmered from every fiber of his being, consuming the space around him. Or maybe just me.
My brow furrowed at the odd reaction.What’s happening to me these days?
“Well, I didn’t crash it.” Hannah grinned, wrapping an arm around his bicep. Matteo gave her a look, and she continued. “I did good, right?”
I forced a smile that must have looked more like a grimace, then narrowed my eyes on him. “You all have some explaining to do.”
“I always protect what’s mine.Always.” Matteo’s eyes flashed with something raw, and everyone around us stilled, probably sensing the predator in him. “You can’t fault me for it.”
I held his gaze, refusing to be the one to break eye contact. It felt like being trapped in a bubble, the noise around us drowned by the drumming of my own heart. I’d never seen him look at me like that.
“Can you, Ari?” he drawled, still staring at me, drilling holes into my soul.
Hannah glanced between us, then slowly, almost carefully, said, “She doesn’t blame you, Matteo. She would never blame her future brother-in-law.”
I hated that I noticed he didn’t correct her. These little comments by Hannah were nothing new. From the moment she’d met him, she’d staked her claim and made it clear that she’d marry him. It’d never bothered me before, so why did it bother me now?
“Actually, I do blame him.” I was surprised I sounded calm considering the thundering of my pulse and the adrenaline sluicing through my veins. “He should never allow my sister—his futurewife—to get in harm’s way.” Something told me I was poking the monster, but it was too late to retract the words. I locked eyes with him and gritted, “Don’t fucking do it again.” Then I smiled at my sister. “Let’s get something to drink.”
She interlinked her arm with mine and we left them all behind, but I couldn’t resist glancing over my shoulder. All the girls had scattered, but Matteo and Francesca stayed in place.
She whispered something to her brother while looking troubled, but Matteo’s heated gaze followed us, his jaw set and lips thin.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MATTEO
“What the fuck am I seeing here, Matteo?” Francesca hissed. “Please tell me you aren’t actually interested in the wrong twin.” There was no mistaking the reprimand in my little sister’s hushed voice.
