Suddenly, the air in the room seemed to change.
I froze.
Charlotte’s eyes darted towards the doorway.
Slowly, I turned my head in the direction of her gaze.
Angelo stood in the doorway and watched me quietly. With a curt nod at Charlotte, he made his way into the room and halted a few feet away from me.
“Uh, I think I need to use the bathroom,” Charlotte mumbled, and scurried away faster than I could blink.
Before Angelo could speak, I did. “I know—you said you’d be done, after—after. Uh, last night, but could you please wait until Charlotte returns to the UK? She’ll be leaving at the end of the week, and I don’t think I’ll be able to completely trust her safety in anyone else’s hands.”
His gaze remained unblinking, and completely void of emotion—the stark difference between this stranger and the abandoned, pleasure-crazed man from last night and earlier this morning, was staggering.
“I’ve brought a message from Fabio Mancini,” he spat the last two words as if they disgusted him.
Angelo, I realized then, was not devoid of emotion, he was freaking furious, but he was holding the rage so tightly in check, his whole body clenched as tight as his fists. Inside, he was ticking like a bomb. One wrong move …
I stared at him with confusion. “What? Why is he in contact with you?”
“He has returned from his trip to Italy, and wants to have dinner with you tonight. He will send a car over for you. He also mentioned that you should dress casually as you will be dining in his apartment.”
I was speechless. I knew exactly what was going on. Fabio wanted to humiliate Angelo. He had not moved on from the petty competition he had started with Angelo, and he was out to make things as hard as he possibly could for him. What I couldn’t understand was how he couldn’t see that his attack on Angelo would also make things difficult and unbearable for me.
The answer was simple. He didn’t care. All he was capable of thinking of, was his narcissistic self.
I knew I had to go, but I also knew I had to act fast. While I was dreaming of being with Angelo, people around me were making plans for me. Ruinous plans.
I stood and faced Angelo. My voice calm as I spoke. “Please thank Fabio for his invitation, but tell him, I will make my own way there as I’m taking Charlotte on a shopping trip this afternoon, and it will be easier to simply go direct from there.” I paused. “As you are in charge of guarding me, I should also inform you that I will be taking Charlotte with me to dinner.”
A glimmer of wild joy passed through Angelo’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly, I could have just imagined it.
“I will convey your message,” he said formally, before walking away.
The strength drained away from my legs then, and I sank back into the chair.
Charlotte must have been waiting around the corner, because she hurried in seconds after Angelo left. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.
I told her what Angelo had come to say and she was incredulous. “Why the hell did he send the message through your bodyguard? He doesn’t have your phone number?”
“He does,” I replied, reaching for the glass of water on the table. I saw my hands trembling. In fact, I felt so angry it was painful to breathe.
“You were right,” Charlotte muttered. “He’s a dick.”
“Yeah, and you’re coming with me to the dinner.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Do you even have to go? Just ignore the invitation.”
“I can’t,” I replied. “I have a plan. I need to show the elders that I at least gave him a chance.”
“Oooo … a plan. I could get on board with that. This holiday is going to turn out far more exciting than I’d hoped it would.”
I sighed and hoped Angelo would be able to ignore him. Fabio wanted to show Angelo that he had it all. The money, the power, and the heiress he could summon at will.
Well, I had a few lessons of my own to teach him tonight.
Chapter 38
Sienna
Fabio’s luxury condo was located downtown at the century city.
All through the ride there, I was careful not to meet Angelo’s eyes, and he seemed to have adopted the same method of defense, keeping his distance from me and avoiding any communication between us. It turned the atmosphere in the car so tense even Charlotte hadn’t said a single word.
The ride in the elevator was even worse. I met Charlotte’s eyes once in the polished doors.
She widened her eyes and made a strangling gesture with her hand around her throat.
When we got to the door, I glanced away quickly. “Thank you,” I said.
“I’ll be right here,” he replied quietly.