Page 70 of Be With Me
Oh, but I fucking did. Like recognizes like, and Rosa? She was just like me. A natural at destruction.
There weren’t many people I gave a damn about, but my brothers were on that short list. If Cos didn’t cut Rosa loose before the wedding, it would be doomed from the start. She wasn’t the kind of mistress who’d be happy staying in the shadows.
But Cos was stubborn. He had to come to that conclusion himself.
“What did the finance bro do?” I asked, rubbing my hand over my jaw.
“Overstepped.” His vague response probably meant the guy had asked Rosa for a dance in front of Cosimo, not knowing any better.
His jaw tightened. “Fabiana was at the Hamptons? Messero is supposed to keep me updated of her movements.”
“Don’t you follow her on Instagram?”
His frown deepened. “She’s on Instagram?”
“Yeah. Along with everyone else under fifty. You’d know if you weren’t such a fucking Luddite.”
“That shit rots your brain,” he muttered, even as he pulled out his phone and started tapping.
I refilled my coffee in the kitchen. By the time I returned, he’d downloaded the app and was scrolling through Fabi’s profile.
I huffed a laugh. “Isn’t it interesting you thought I was talking about her? Fabi been on your mind a lot lately?”
Immediately, he locked his screen and slid the phone into his pocket. “I don’t have time for this. Are you coming or not? Mom’s not in a patient mood.”
Yeah, I figured. She’d expected me to get something useful from Mia, but all I had to show for my efforts was a stolen tube of lip gloss and a newly rediscovered conscience.
I couldn’t fucking stomach the thought of hurting that girl anymore.
She’d done something to me. I didn’t like these feelings. I didn’t likefeeling.Period.
What I wanted was to get back to normal, to having no moral qualms about doing my fucking job. I wanted to rid myself of this disturbing urge to protect someone whose last name wasn’t Ferraro.
If I told Mother any of this, she’d crucify me. Tell me I lost my damn mind.
And she’d be right.
But I was done. After my next meeting with Mia, I wasn’t planning on seeing her again.
She’d won.
I set my half-finished mug on the coffee table. “Let’s go.”
My parents’ penthouse was only a few blocks from mine. But when Cos and I stepped out onto the street, he turned in the opposite direction.
“You’re not coming?” I called after him.
“You can handle it,” he said, tossing the words over his shoulder. “Good luck.”
I scoffed. He was annoyed with me. He’d get over it.
Five minutes later, I stepped out of the elevator into my parents’ foyer.
Voices floated in from the living room. Mother was entertaining. If she’d summoned me in the middle of it, she must’ve really had it.
I walked through the archway, flashing a grin at the five women seated around the dining table. My aunts and cousins greeted me with high-pitched exclamations and air-kisses as I made my way around the room.
Aunt Lisa was nowhere in sight. Guess she was still on Mother’s bad side.
