I straightened and glanced at it lying next to us. The screen showed the county jail calling, and it was like a bucket of ice thrown on me. “It’s Izzy.”
“Lilah—”
“You should answer,” I said, climbing off him, not sure what I was feeling but knowing we were too intertwined to take what we were doing any further.
He sighed and took the call, getting up from the grass and walking away to discuss whatever he needed to with her. When he stalked back, I couldn’t stop myself from blurting out, “It’s crazy that she hasn’t called me even once.”
“She wants to talk to you after, I know she does.”
“Are you saying that, or is she?”
“She’s hung up on the case, Lilah.”
“She calls you a lot, right?” My question sounded like an accusation, even if I hadn’t meant it to.
“I’m her boss. She’d better call me if she has information. I—”
“Calling her family once in a while might be nice too.”
“She can’t talk to you in there, Lilah. It would jeopardize—”
“You don’t need to explain, Dante. She’s my twin. She can explain once she’s out.”
He sighed and pointed toward our driver. “Sun’s going to set.”
“Then I should be getting ready for my date.”
He groaned but didn’t try to stop me again. Izzy’s phone call had created the wedge we both needed to realize this was as far as our relationship went.
And on the ride back to the hotel, he took another call from a woman in another country who I could hear begging to come see him or fly him out to see her.
It reminded me that Dante was a man of the world and I was a woman in her ownEat Pray Lovefairy tale. I needed to conquer number five more than ever.
If I couldn’t, my whole time here would be ruined.
I mumbled a thank-you to him and slammed my door before he could say anything else. I was happy I’d kept the dating app, even though I hadn’t responded to any of the messages until last night. That was when I’d decided Troy might be able to at least get me out of the hotel to go have a few drinks at a bar.
I could get drunk on mojitos and explore guys tonight. It was a win-win.
I dressed in the yellow two-piece outfit I’d worn out with Dante just the other day. His eyes had been glued to me from the moment I’d put it on, and it made me feel attractive.
When I opened my hotel door, Dante stood there in the hallway. His eyes ate up my whole body as he looked me up and down, burning every part of my exposed skin with the heat we shared between us. “Fuck, Delilah, not that dress.”
“Jesus, Dante. Why are you outside my door?” I let it slam shut behind me.
“I should have burned that thing the first time you wore it,” he grated out, his eyes still stuck on the material.
“You seemed to like it. You stared at it then like you’re doing now.”
Those piercing jade eyes sliced up my body to meet my gaze, and they burned bright with emotion. “I like it enough to know I’m going to ruin it later. And if your date touches my friend in it, I’ll probably ruin him too.”
I breathed in and out, chewed on my cheek, and then bit my lip as our standoff in that hallway went down. “If we’re friends, we won’t ruin each other’s things. I didn’t ruin your call with that woman on the way back to the hotel tonight, did I?”
“Did you want to, Lamb?” he asked and tipped his head.
He caught me combing my hand through my hair angrily as I said, “No, of course not.”
He smiled. “Go on your date. Bring him back to meet me, huh? Let’s see if he can make you forget the way your pussy feels with my cock in it.”