Page 90 of Broken Pieces
I don’t know Matteo Carter well. All I know is that he’s Damian’s head of security, and I believe he had told me in passing that Isabella and Matteo went to MIT together. I’ve never asked her the story behind it, and he seems to be a sore subject.
Isa hits me in the stomach with her elbow. “You are so smitten.”
“I am not.” I blush.
I absolutely am.
“You owe me ten bucks, Isabella, pay up,” Sophia says, extending her hand.
“I do not,” Isabella counters.
I look at them confused as I sip on the homemade margarita and pet Marley, who’s currently in my lap sleeping. “What the hell are you guys talking about?”
“We bet whether you and Damian were going to get together or not.” Soph shrugs nonchalantly as she sips her drink.
“You bet that they were going to fall in love,” Isa corrects.
Sophia looks at her, incredulous. “And you don’t think they are? Didn’t you hear how he defended her honor with her mom? If that’s not a confession of his love, I don’t know what is.”
Isabella looks at me expectantly. “Well… are you?”
Am I in love with Damian Romano? I haven’t thought about it.
Lies. Filthy, filthy lies.
“We’re exploring things,” I tread carefully. “We haven’t said anything like that to each other.”
Only that he’d be there for me, and has been bringing me out of my darkness. Take care of me when the anxiety threatens to take over me. Tell me that we’re endgame. But we haven’t actually said those three little magic words.
Sophia groans. “Ari, that man is so in love with you. I could tell the day I met him. I can read people well, you know?”
The irony is that Sophia is actually good at judging people, except the people she dates. She does the exact opposite; it's actually hilarious.
“He does look at you like you’re the only person in the room,” Isabella confirms.
Sophia extends her hand again. “Aha! So you accept it, pay up.”
Isabella groans as she gets up from her sofa and looks for her wallet, taking a crisp ten dollar bill out and handing it to Sophia.
“Thank you very much,” Sophia chirps.
“I can’t believe you guys bet on that behind my back.”
Sophia grabs my hand and squeezes it. “I will say this in the best way possible, because you’re my best friend and I love you, but you aren’t the easiest. If I would have said that, all you would have done is try to prove me wrong, even though you know I’m nothing but right.”
I rest my head on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. I close my eyes and the first thing I picture is him. His smile. His addicting kisses. Wanting nothing more than to get lost in him.
Damian is kind; thoughtful; selfless. He cares for me like no other man has. My heart quickens at the thought of what this means. He’s all I think about, hell, if I hadn’t made plans with the girls I would be in his apartment, or him in mine. The thought of loving him is not scary. No. It’s the exact opposite. He grounds me, and makes me want to be my best self.
Walking into the coffee shop, the staff waves and smiles at me. This is Aria’s favorite spot, and it honestly ended up becoming mine too. I order my coffee and sit down as I’m engrossed on my phone looking at my emails, because the work never stops. Especially with the gala happening so soon.
An annoying, persistent presence stands before me, so I look up and find the last person I thought I would find here.
Alex.
“What do you want?” I snap.
Alex, with his smug, dick face casually sits down, unbuttoning his suit. He drops his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers. “Tell me something,” he starts.
