Page 45 of The Diávolos: Part Two
I rub my hands down her back and squeeze some shampoo onto my palm, running my fingers through her hair as her head instinctively tips back. When I reach the top, I massage her scalp with gentle motions and she lets out a low, contented moan.
I’m hesitant to comfort her, worried she’ll reject my efforts, but I care about her too much not to try. “Talk to me. I know you have a lot on your mind.”
“I’m not going to talk to you about my problems, Evander. You don’t have the right to that anymore.”
I scoff, irritation running through me every time she calls meEvander, but I don’t stop rubbing her head. “I don’t have the right to know about mywife’s problems?”
“I’m not your wife yet,” Angelica retorts while still letting her head lull in my direction.
“You will be soon, and that gives me access to your deepest secrets and insecurities, my little angel.”
I turn her so she’s facing me, but keep her head under the warm water and rinse the shampoo out of her hair.
“Is it absolutely crazy?” she asks. “Us…getting married?”
“No. You were always destined to be mine.”
She meets my gaze, and I hold it for a few moments, trying to convey everything I feel for her in that stare. Only time will be able to give her peace, but I’ll be there every step of the way.
14
ANGELICA
“There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family.”
—Unknown
“We have to head back to Cebrene tomorrow,” Evander announces to me on the ride back from the boxing gym.
I sigh, a deep, resonant exhale born out of irritation and fatigue.
Every attempt to make progress in my life seems to be met with new obstacles, like an endless game of whack-a-mole where the moles multiply faster than I can strike them down.
I know I have to go.
I have a wedding to plan. Secrets to uncover. A father to overthrow.
I just didn’t think it would’ve been so soon.
My mind keeps jumping from the frustration of not getting any closer to finding out the truth about my mother to what I have to do to get those answers.
Going back to Cebrene was an unfortunate must in the plan I’d concocted with Gianis, but it would’ve been on my own terms. Not on Evander’s timeline, which seems to have been the theme since I met him.
Sadly, my time in The Big A has come to an end...again.
However, I won’t leave without saying goodbye to my friends.
“What are you thinking about?” Evander asks.
Not wanting to reveal my feelings, I give him a half-truth. “Just that I need to tell Amanda, Nicole, and Daniel that I’m leaving.”
“That’s a lie,” he replies, casually, his eyes in front of him.
“It’s not. I’m going to give them a call when I get home,” I snap, indignant.
“Fair enough.” The wariness in his voice indicates he’s still mistrustful. “How about we play truth or dare?”
My brows furrow as I glance at him. “You want to play a game?”
