Page 42 of Sapphire

I jump out of bed and grab my robe that is back from the garden and hanging up for me. My heart flutters in my chest at that gesture.

Slowly, I creep out of the bedroom and look down the hall to see if I’m truly alone. I don’t want the boys to see my internal freak out I’m having, not until I have it under control. As I sneak down the hallway, I pop my head around the corner into the living room to see if they are there, but it’s empty. The kitchen is as well, maybe they are in the pool. That’s good, I can make it to my room without running into them yet.

I hastily walk past the main foyer and head toward the corridor leading to my room.

“Good morning.” Mateo’s deep voice surprises me.

I scream, clutching my chest. “You scared me!”

He has a smirk on his face. “You’re rushing back to your room because you’re freaking out over what happened last night, aren’t you?”

Busted

“No.”

Deny, deny, deny.

He crosses his large arms over his chest, his bulging biceps flexing as those chocolate eyes narrow on me.

“Fine, yes, I was hiding from you both. I mean, look at me, I’m doing the walk of shame.” I wave my hands around dramatically.

His foot starts tapping and he doesn’t look happy. “Are you ashamed of what happened last night?”

No, I want to scream, but the words fail me. I stay silent for a moment too long and see Mateo’s brows pull together, and the hurt fall across his face at my non-answer.

“You’re seriously ashamed of what happened last night?”

I’m still unable to answer him. What is happening? Why can’t I say, no? It was the greatest night of my life.

Mateo nods and storms off from me.

Shit. I’ve upset him now, and that’s not what I wanted to do. I quickly follow him.

Banging of cupboards and the rustling of drawers in the kitchen tells me Mateo is upset.

“Mateo,” I say, grabbing his arm, trying to get his attention.

He refuses to look at me.

“Mateo, please,” I beg him to look at me.

His face is stony when he does eventually look at me, and I don’t like that.

“I’m sorry that I’m being awkward this morning,” I confess to him as I rub my hand over his tense bicep, hoping to calm him down. “I was worried that I might have … might have caused problems between you and Tomas.”

Mateo’s eyes widen at my words.

“If I had broken the two of you, I would never forgive myself.”

Mateo’s face softens as he pulls me into his arms. “You have nothing to worry about, my angel, with Tomas and me. We are solid. We have been for years.” He plants a soft kiss on my cheek. “I love that you are worried about our relationship. You must really care about us?”

“Of course, I care about you—you two are the most important people in my life at the moment,” I tell him.

Is that hope in his eyes?

“Only because you don’t remember anyone else,” he jokes.

“Well, yes, there’s that.” I giggle in agreement. “Even if I did remember, I would still feel this way.”

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