“Oh no you don’t. You donotget to pin this on me.”
“I do, actually, and I will. And from now on, everyone else I hurt is on you. Because if anyone fucking dares to touch you—”
His jaw clenches and his fists turn white, verging on a shade of purple.How long has he been gripping the steering wheel?
“Let’s just go inside, okay?” He finishes his sentence.
“Okay.”
He unlocks the door, and I get out before he can lock it again.
I walk over to the trunk and open it to grab my bags.
Giovanni’s arms snake around me, grabbing my hips. “I can get the bags,Donnina.”
His kind gestures are hard to match with his appearance. Gio has always treated me right, give or take a few situations.
“Stop calling me that.” I’m trying to sound annoyed, but the truth is, I really like when he calls me that. There are so many things I like about him, but I can’t allow myself to feel those things, because once I do, I am afraid there is no going back.
“Donnina?”
“Yes, that.”
“What would you like me to call you then,amore mio?”
I press the heels of my palms into my eyes, creating pressure.
“I thought so.”
My jaw clutches tightly. I lean against the trunk of his car. I let out a long breath as the exhaustion hits me all at once.
I turn around to look at him, not a single drop of emotion in his eyes, which pisses me off even more. I step toward him, his height only making me look weaker. “Fuck you.”
“I’d like to.” An arrogant smile forms on his lips.
“I hate you.”
“You’ve said that before.”
“Leave me alone.”
“Absolutely”—he looks me up and down like I am a joke—“not.”
“I cannot stand you!” My voice bounces off the walls of the parking garage.
“Then sit down!” he yells back at me. I have never seen him lose his temper with me like this before.
My eyes widen at him. He’s making me question everything more than I already was.
“Hit me, if it’ll help let out your frustration.” He crosses his arms, stepping toward me.
“Hit you?” I say, my voice low.
“Right here.” He pats the center of his chest. “A punch. You can do it.”
I look at his hands, then back into his eyes.Is this some kind of trick?
“The offer only stands for thirty more seconds. After that, you can’t get pissed at me anymore.”