Chapter 189 192

Chapter 189 192
“A word of advice,” I continue. “Don’t ever come back.”

42

Charlotte

It’s strange climbing up the familiar steps of the apartment.

I take them two at a time, my heart hammering hard against my chest. I have so many questions burning in my head.

But I also want Vanessa to volunteer the answers to me. I want her to want to tell me.

I knock on the door. It flies open immediately.

Vanessa is standing on the other side in tiny little shorts and an oversized t-shirt. Her hair is loose and her cheeks are flushed.

She looks cute as hell.

But different.

Why does she look so different?

It’s the t-shirt, I realize with a start.

She’s never been a fan of oversized anything. I was more that girl.

Vanessa believed in flaunting her goods at all times.

“Nice outfit,” I comment with an all-knowing smirk.

She shrugs. “Thought I’d try something different. Come on in.”

I walk in and look around. It looks exactly the way I left it—that is, if I’d left it as a complete fucking disaster.

There’s shit everywhere. Like a series of explosions has gone off at some point in the recent past.

Magazines littering the coffee table. Clothes everywhere. Even the kitchen counters are a mound of all kinds of garbage, none of which actually belong on a kitchen counter.

“Jesus, Vanessa,” I say, looking around. “Ever heard of cleaning up after yourself?”

She shrugs. “I like the mess.”

“I’d forgotten what a pig you are,” I say with a laugh and a grimace.

She rolls her eyes. “And I’d forgotten what a neat freak you are.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not bad,” she concedes. “It is annoying as hell, though. You’re lucky I put up with you.”

My spirits lift instantly. This is what I’m looking for. The comfortable, familiar banter. A conversation with a friend who gets it. Who gets me.

“I ordered pizza,” she adds with a wink. “A large pepperoni and an extra-large meat lovers’ special. Hope you’re hungry.”

“You’re gonna have leftovers for days.”

“Girl, if you think those pizzas are gonna live to see the morning, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.”

“You and I are not gonna be able to eat two whole pizzas in one sitting,” I tell her.

I expect her to hit back with some quippy comment, but she doesn’t. She gives me a suspiciously guilt smile and starts clearing up the kitchen counters.

“Uh, what are you doing?” I ask.

“Cleaning up,” she replies sheepishly.

I frown. “We just established that you like the mess, right? Am I hallucinating?”

She looks up at me as I come around the other side of the narrow counter to face her.

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m trying to be more of a grown up,” she offers.

“Since when?”

“Since—”

I hear the sound of a flush. Vanessa hears it, too, because she breaks off mid-sentence.

“Someone’s here.”

“Yeah,” she confirms vaguely.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No, not at all,” she says. “We were just gonna sit down for dinner together, that’s all. You can join us.”

“Us?” I repeat. “Since when is there an ‘us?’”

“You know what I mean,” she says, still being kind of vague and weird and defensive. “I was just having dinner with a friend.”

“A male friend?” I ask suspiciously.

“I can have male friends, can’t I?”

I roll my eyes. “When have you ever?”

“I’m trying something new, okay?”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Oh my God. You really like this guy.”

“I do not,” she retorts, which obviously confirms my suspicions immediately.

A door opens and shuts. Footsteps thump.

This as-yet unspecified male friend is about to walk out of the bedroom.

Three, two, one…

My jaw hits the floor.

“Adriano?”

He gives me a sheepish smile as he emerges.

“Hi, Charlie girl,” he says.

Then the smile slips off his face as though he’s just realized something.

“Are you supposed to be off the compound?” he asks. “Does Lucio know you’re here?”

“Slow your roll. You’re in no position to be asking me the questions,” I say firmly as I look between the two of them. “Someone better start explaining stuff in a hurry. How long has this been going on?”

Vanessa gives a laugh that sounds a little too forced. “She thinks we’re dating or something.”

Adriano’s smile is a little more natural, but definitely still guarded. “We’re just friends,” he says convincingly.

Yeah, right, and I’m the Queen of England.

“‘Friends,’” I repeat, turning to Vanessa. “If that’s the case, then why didn’t you tell me about this alleged ‘friendship’ earlier?”

“Because you had a lot going on,” Vanessa offers with a shrug. “I just didn’t think it was very relevant. Or important.”

The moment she finishes speaking, however, she looks right at Adriano as though she’s nervous he’ll misunderstand. I don’t catch his expression, but there’s no mistaking the body language.

I wasn’t born yesterday.

“And what about you, Adriano?” I inquire innocently, turning my attention to him.

“Uh… same?”

I roll my eyes and walk over to the couch. Both Vanessa and Adriano follow me there. Vanessa sits down on the couch next to me and Adriano picks the small one-seater adjacent to both of us.

“Charlotte,” Adriano says, all business suddenly. “What are you doing here?”

“Not a chance,” I say, shaking my head. “You first. What are you doing here?”

He sighs. “Vanessa and I kept in touch,” he admits. “And when she came back into town, she needed help. So I helped her.”

“We became friends,” Vanessa says with a mild shrug. “That’s all. End of story.”

She’s being pretty casual about it.

But I know Vanessa.

She likes Adriano, probably more than she’s willing to admit—even to herself.

“After you moved back to the compound, this apartment was just sitting around,” Adriano says. “And since Vanessa needed a place to stay, I figured, why not?”

“Does Lucio know?”

Adriano pauses. “I handle a lot of the Family’s real estate and safehouse management. I don’t really need to run things by Lucio first. He trusts my judgement.”

I snort. “That’s a hard no.”

He stifles a laugh. “Enough questions. Your turn.”

Now, it’s my turn to sigh. “I needed to get out of the compound,” I tell them. “Lucio and I had another fight.”

“Jesus!” Vanessa exclaims. “Another one?”

“Apparently, that’s our default setting,” I admit. “Every time I think we’ve turned a corner, something happens and we end up at each other’s throats again. Maybe this is my fault.”

“How do you figure that?” Vanessa asks.

I shrug. “For assuming we have a future together,” I say, forcing the words out. They taste bitter, just like I expect them to. “It’s pretty clear now that we don’t.”

I notice Adriano and Vanessa exchange a glance.

“Why?” he asks.

“I’m just a distraction for him,” I say, giving voice to my deepest, darkest fear. “I was convenient to have around for a time. But soon, he won’t need me anymore.”