Page 14 of The One
I should look away, but I don’t, torturing myself with hearing them laugh.
Keep moving. Get on the plane.
He doesn’t know I exist, I remind myself.
But my feet seem to have grown roots, and my gaze remains fixed on Mateo’s very fine backside.
I try to reassure myself that the girl, whoever she is, won’t be more than a plaything. No girl ever is.
Mateo De Marco is known for many things, but most of all for his dislike of anything messy, including relationships.
It’s rumored he’s never been in one. They’re too complicated for him. He’s a playboy.
He’s also known for bloodless killing. Again, why make a mess when you have to clean it up? Apparently, he finds the slow torturous deaths so popular in our circles a waste of time. Efficiency is his motto, and I’m told he’s good at it.
He’s straightening up again, seemingly finished with the girl, and swings the door shut. He taps the top of the roof and the car whisks her away.
He turns, his gaze falling on me.
My heartbeat stumbles, and instant heat colors my cheeks. Feeling caught staring, I drop my eyes to the ground and hastily turn, nearly tripping over my feet.
My stomach somersaults as I walk toward the stairs. They’re lined with plush red carpet up to the open door where a flight attendant is waiting.
I stop at the bottom, looking up at the plane.
Here we go.
Taking a deep breath, I place my hand on the railing, hesitating for just a second before climbing up.
This is the moment I never dared to dream of. I’m leaving Sicily.
“Is everything okay, Mariella?” Mateo’s rich, deep voice comes from right behind me.
How did he get here so fast?
A tremor runs through my body at the sound of my name on his lips. I love and hate how good it sounds.
Oh god, he’s talking to me.
This hasn’t happened in over four years. It’s what started my crush on him.
My pulse races like a speeding bullet.
My voice is stuck somewhere in my throat. I try to swallow, but my mouth is dry, and the knot only tightens.
Everything is not okay, or perhaps it is perfect.
I don’t know anymore.
Chapter Six
Mateo
“Are you okay?” I ask again when Mariella doesn’t answer.
A shiver runs through her body before she slowly turns to face me.
Well,face meisn’t quite right, her gaze is firmly locked onto the tarmac.
