“I’m not dodging anything. I just don’t have to answer.”
Ava was caught off guard when Angelo grabbed her arm, yanking her closer to him. His eyes bored into hers.
“Did you let him kiss you? Did you let him touch you? Did you, Ava?”
Ava sneered. “What business is it of yours if I did?”
Angelo’s face seemed to turn white. His mouth formed into a thin line. His fingers dug more tightly into her flesh, but she didn’t flinch.
“All I’ve ever tried to do is look out for you. Protect you since Joseph died.”
“I’m not a fool. There’s more to it than that and you know it.”
“Fine. You want the truth? The truth is that I want you, damn it. I have since the moment I first saw you.”
She gave him a thin smile. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”
Angelo released his tight grip on her arm, but he didn’t completely let her go. Instead he leaned over closer to her. So close their faces were inches apart.
“If you know how I feel about you, if you know how much I want you, then why do you keep me at arm’s length?”
“Besides the fact you’re my late husband’s brother? You’re no different from Joseph. I’ve already ridden on the Martelli train once. I have no desire for a repeat.”
“As much as I love my brother, he’s gone and he’s not coming back. But you and I are still here.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is we could be good together. No, we could be great together. In some ways, my brother was a fool. He had you waiting at home for him. A ripe peach no other man had ever plucked and yet he still wanted to fool with common street whores. I’ll never understand.”
Ava laughed. “Angelo, are you breaking your brother’s confidence and telling me about his other whores? So much for the code of silence.”
“I’m trying to be honest with you. I wouldn’t treat you like that. I’d treat you like the goddess you are. I’ll worship you if you’ll let me.”
There was such an earnest expression on Angelo’s face. Ava had never seen him look so…so…honest. She was almost tempted to believe him. Almost. As the limousine pulled into her driveway, Ava breathed a sigh of relief. Home sweet home. Time to make her escape from Angelo.
“This has nothing to do with business, Ava.”
“Maybe it doesn’t, Angelo. But there will never be anything between us. Never.”
Without another word she opened the limo door and climbed out. Behind her Angelo cursed. Ignoring him, she went to the trunk as the driver appeared to unload her luggage. She declined his offer to take her bags into her home. Grabbing the handles of her suitcases, Ava rolled them up to her house and fished inside her purse for her keys.
“This isn’t over, Ava,” Angelo’s voice called behind her.
Finding her keys, she turned to face him. “Yes, Angelo, it is.”
Quickly unlocking the door to her home, Ava took her bags and went inside, closing and locking the door behind her. Sighing, she leaned against the door. Her life was a mess. A real mess. A possible stepson fancying himself interested in her and an ex brother-in-law dying to get in her pants. Ava had problems and for once she wasn’t sure how to solve any of them.
Chapter Seventeen
Her house phone had not stopped ringing for the past two days. The media smelled blood and they were circling like sharks looking for wounded prey. But Ava was not going to be that prey. She’d done the smart thing and taken the phone off the hook. Only a select few had her cell phone number. Everyone else could go to hell.
Working from home today, she’d kept Maia with her. There was no need to go out into the madness until things had died down. The last thing she needed was some snot-nosed children telling Maia her mother was a murderer. The brats at that private school had already said enough hurtful things to her little girl. No. Maia would stay there with her until it was not so bothersome to venture out. Too bad poor Natalie didn’t have the same luxury. The girl had class that morning and had no choice but to brave the media that would no doubt soon be onto her as well.
All of this was a nightmare. An absolute nightmare. The police were pissed they hadn’t been able to nail her for the murder and were taking every opportunity to let it be known. Instead of harassing her, they should be finding Gina’s killer.
Days later she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Gina was dead. Fun-loving, business-savvy Gina. Throat cut like she was a damned deer. And the police still hadn’t recovered the murder weapon. For all they knew whoever the killer was had tossed the knife in the ocean. With the incompetent jerks on the force today, Ava didn’t hold out hope of them finding the weapon either. They needed Sherlock Holmes for this one. Too bad he was just a fictional character.
But Dominic’s not fictional, is he, Ava? No, Dominic wasn’t. And he’d been calling her cell phone insistently. She hadn’t spoken to him. What happened between them was still too raw, too confusing. The messages he’d been leaving telling her not to ignore him weren’t helping either. Or the ones where he told her that she wasn’t just some fling and he still wanted her. It sucked that her heart skipped a beat every time she replayed one of the messages. What was wrong with her?
She didn’t know. She honestly didn’t. Joseph was the only man she’d ever been with before Dominic. Was she having strange and conflicted feelings about Dominic because he was only the second man she’d ever been with?
It was still a real possibility that Dominic was her husband’s illegitimate son and Maia’s half brother. Not to mention the fact that he was suing her for a piece of Joseph’s estate. It was a twisted situation all around. Then why can’t I stop thinking about him?
About the way he’d kissed her. The way he’d pleasured her in ways Joseph had never dared. His eagerness to have her again and again. Her thighs trembled at the memory. The buzzing of her cell phone on the table startled her. She glanced down at it. Immediately she recognized the number. Dominic. Stop being a wuss. Just talk to him already. The phone continued to buzz and she waited. Taking a deep breath, she finally picked it up.
“This is Ava.”
“I know that. About time you picked up.”
“I don’t have to talk to you.”
“No, you don’t, but I’m glad you finally are. I miss you.”
Ava’s breath caught in her throat. His words were stuck in her brain. He missed her. Really? This was just too much.
“You don’t even know me, so how can you miss me?” she asked.
“I know all I need to know about you, Ava.”
“Is that so?”
“I know you make little noises in your sleep. I know that—”
Ava sat up straighter. “You watched me sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you looked so unguarded. So beautiful. I just couldn’t help myself.”
Ava swallowed. “You know that makes you sound like a stalker, right?”
“I think it makes me a hopeless romantic.”
“There’s no such thing.”
“What? No such thing as romance. I disagree.”
“Then it sounds like you’ve been reading too many romance novels. In real life a man doesn’t sweep a woman off her feet and give her a happily ever after. He seduces her until he gets what he wants and he moves on, regardless of whether he marries her or not. The allure is gone. What he felt for her, he will feel for somebody else.”
Dominic sighed in her ear. “I hate to hear you say that. It doesn’t always happen that way, Ava. For some people happily ever afters do exist.”
“Not for people like me.”
“Yes they do and if you would stop being so stubborn, you’d see that I’m ready to give you just that.”
Ava stood up. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. Give me a chance, Ava. That’s all I’m asking.”
“A chance to do what?”