“Of course.”
“Thanks again, Alecia,” Logan says and hugs me tight. “You did an awesome job.”
“My pleasure.” I collect my hug from the incredibly sexy Jax, then follow Jules toward the house. “What’s up?”
“Oh, let’s go inside and get out of the sun,” she says and takes my hand in hers. “It’s so hot today.”
I frown over at her. “It’s not that hot.”
“You’re not hot? Oh, I’m roasting.” She fans her face and rolls her eyes. “Maybe my hormones are still out of whack from having Stella.”
“She’s five months old,” I remind her.
“Well, either way, I’d like to go inside. Too much sun causes wrinkles.” She winks at me and leads me through the kitchen. “Let’s go to my dad’s study. It’s quiet in there.”
She’s up to something. One thing Jules is not is a good liar. Before I know it, she’s planted her hand in my back and shoved me not so gently into the study, and she and Natalie pull the doors closed behind me, leaving me with an equally surprised Dominic.
“There!” Jules yells. “Now you have to talk! So talk!”
I close my eyes and sigh in defeat. Damn them.
“We love you!” Natalie calls in a sing song voice.
Dominic leans his hips back on Steven’s desk and crosses his arms, watching me quietly. Resigned, I cross to the couch, it’s back facing the desk, and lean my hips against it, facing him, mirroring his stance.
“Why aren’t they talking?” Jules mutters.
Dom’s lips twitch with humor.
“So, how was Italy?” I ask, breaking the silence.
He frowns and blinks. “It was fine.”
I nod thoughtfully. “Good.”
“How’s Blake?” he asks out of the blue.
I scowl. “Fine, I guess. Why wouldn’t he be?”
“Are you fucking him?” he asks quietly, and I’m struck dumb.
Am I fucking Blake?
“What did he ask?” Natalie whispers loudly.
“I don’t know, they’re not talking loud enough,” Jules replies.
“Am I fucking Blake?” I repeat.
He just raises a brow and waits, but his eyes have softened as he watches me.
“You think I’m fucking Blake?” I hate the quiver in my voice. Hate it. How could he possibly think that?
“Let me get this straight.” I push away from the couch and pace before him. “You come to my condo and walk in on something you didn’t even fully understand, get angry, make accusations, and then you leave the damn country. I haven’t seen you in weeks, haven’t heard from you, and the first thing you ask me is if I’m fucking my best friend?”
“I saw it,” he replies.
“What, exactly, do you think you saw?”
“I came to your condo to ask you to go to Italy with me, and I walked in to find Blake half naked, you coming out of the shower, and your clothes thrown all over the living room.”
“You came to take me to Italy?”
My heart stops. He wanted me to go with him?
“I did.”
“I was in the shower,” I reply, the blood leaving my face. “Getting ready to come see you.”
He tilts his head. “Excuse me?”
“Blake and I went for a run, and then he talked me into going to your place.”
He swallows hard, processing my words, and I’m still stuck like stupid on I came to take you to Italy with me.
“And then you pissed me off so bad with your insane accusation that the reason I was going to come to your place completely left my brain.”
“Why were you coming to see me?” he asks quietly.
I can’t tell him this!
“I guess there’s nothing left to say.” I turn to walk away, but he stops me, his hand on my arm.
“Oh, there’s plenty to say.”
“You thought I was unfaithful to you!” I round on him, furious. “You jumped to conclusions without talking to me!”
“I’ve tried to call you,” he replies, his voice hard and cold. “You never answered. I had to go to Italy. I had a family emergency.”
“You left without me! I thought you’d just left because the going got rough! That I didn’t mean enough for you to fight for me. Just like everyone else in my life.”
“Alecia, no.” He shakes his head in disbelief.
“I think it’s obvious that this isn’t going to work.” I school my features and swallow hard, determined to get through this without letting him see me cry. “You obviously don’t trust me, and what I need, you can’t give me.”
“Just tell me what you want! Tell me how you fucking feel!”
“I fell in love with you!” I yell back angrily. “I was so in love with you my heart ached. And then I find out that just like everyone else in my life, you rank me last on your priority list!”
“This is bullshit!” he exclaims. “You are my priority. You’re my only priority, damn it!”
He takes my shoulders in his hands and holds me in front of him. “I was coming to you to take you with me.”
“I was coming to you to tell you I love you,” I reply before I can stop the words, and feel my eyes fill with tears. “And when I got there, I was told you’d left for Italy. And you didn’t even call me to tell me your were leaving.”
“Oh, baby, no.” He pulls me against him, and hugs me tightly, in the special way he does. “I’m so sorry for this. For all of it. We’ve been hurting for weeks for no reason.”
“I didn’t fuck Blake,” I say, the anger surging through me again as I push away from him. “I would never do that. How could you think that?”
“It looked really bad,” he replies with a sigh. “And I’ve lived that before.”
“The ex.” I cover my mouth with my hand.
“After my mother died, I was engaged to a woman, and I walked in on her having an affair with my cousin the night before our wedding.”
“Oh, my God,” I whisper and glance away, covering my mouth with my hand, but then I get pissed again. “And you immediately assumed that I’d do the same?”
“I was worried about Gianna back in Italy. I was excited to see you and whisk you away on a romantic trip to my home, and when I walked unannounced into your condo, I felt like I was reliving that scene in Italy all over again.”