Her eyes find mine. “He thinks…”
“That you’ll want him back at some point,” I finish the thought for her.
Burdeon approaches at an even pace. I keep my gaze locked on him.
“Yes,” she answers quietly. “Our break up was messy.”
I round her so I’m the one he has to face. I don’t know why the fuck I’m putting myself in the middle of this, but I have an overpowering need to protect Isabella.
“What?” I bark at him as he nears.
“Bella,” he calls out to her even though her back is still to him. “Give me thirty minutes. I’m asking for one cosmo for old time’s sake. Amore Mio, please.”
I feel her move behind me. Those words pierced something inside of her because she’s next to me and face-to-face with him before I realize what the fuck is going on.
I sense her gaze floating over the side of my face, but I keep my eyes trained on Burdeon. I want to tell him to go to hell, even though I know that Isabella can fight her own battles.
“Don’t call me that,” she says quietly. “You can’t call me that anymore.”
Amore Mio. It’s Italian for my love.
I used the same phrase the summer after I graduated from high school when Dylan and I took to Europe for a backpacking trip. I tried to pick up an Italian woman at least ten years my senior by calling her my love. With a pat on my head and a string of Italian words I’ll never understand, she left me standing in the middle of a coffee shop with a bruised ego.
“I have something to say.” He gestures toward me without making eye contact. “I need to do that when we’re alone. I’m not asking for more than a few minutes, Bella.”
“I can’t.” A shake of her head punctuates the words.
“It’s about Venla.” He reaches out a hand. “You’ll want to hear this.”
The bait works. She drops her hand in his and steps forward. “What about her? She’s alright, isn’t she?”
This is a conversation I have no right overhearing even though I know he’s pulling on Isabella’s heartstrings because she’s a good person. She’s too kind. She’s too much of an angel for this twisted, hardened world.
She glances at me. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
I’ve been brushed off with a beautiful smile. “Sure thing.”
“Good to meet you, Baron.” Burdeon drops Isabella’s hand to extend his to me.
I ignore it and him.
“Barrett,” Isabella corrects him. “His name is Barrett Adler.”
I catch her gaze briefly before I turn and walk away, leaving her in the clutches of a man who will never fully appreciate the beautiful woman standing right in front of him.
Chapter 26
Bella
“How’s Venla?”
I turn to the sound of Barrett’s voice. He’s standing in his office near the window staring out at the skyline of Manhattan.
It’s ten minutes to eight. I’m a touch early because Gina had a meeting three blocks from here with a producer for one of the national morning shows. If I can ride the subway with my sister, I’ll do it. That’s for her, not me. The train makes her anxious. I always give her hand a squeeze when we board so she knows I’m right beside her.
“Venla is fine,” I say.
I’m not getting into the details about Emil’s teenage sister. The big reveal was that she was accepted to Columbia University. I haven’t spoken to her in years, but I’m still happy that she’s going to the college of her dreams.