Page 24 of Maddest Temptation

The entire party dissolved around me, blurring at the edges, and then disappearing entirely. My eyes landed on Cassio Moretti. He was standing as still as a statue, and I wasn’t sure he was even breathing. I watched as his pine-green eyes turned arctic as he slowly came to realize who was standing before him.

In that couple of seconds, my mind went blank, and then all I could think about was how fast I could run away from the party without being caught. Perhaps I could make it to the door in five seconds tops. Not in these shoes I wouldn’t.

Damn it.

Damn him.

It had been a week since I had seen Cassio and to my greatest displeasure, he looked even better now than he did before. “Frankie?” Marie nudged me, and I realized I had been rudely staring at Cassio. “Why are you glaring at my guest?” Glaring? Marie whispered pulling me closer towards the group. “Guys this is?—”

“Francesca Manci,” the second man supplied, and that’s when I realized it was Vitelli Moretti, Cassio’s younger brother.

“What?” Marie was taken aback. “How do you know her?”

Vitelli came forward and as though not even a single year had gone by, he brought me in for a hug, his strong arms wrapping around me. The action was awkward—on my part—I had no idea what to do, so I patted him lightly on the back until he let go.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” he chuckled lightly.

“Frankie?” Marie arched her brows in a silent question.

“What kind of name is Frankie?” Cassio finally offered, his tone bland and detached.

“Mine,” I snapped and offered Marie my attention. “We grew up together, sort of.”

“She and my sister were best friends,” Vitelli supplied, and I couldn’t help but feel a sudden rush of pain in my heart. We hadn’t been close; we had been skin and bone. Sisters.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Cassio’s nose flared at the mention of his sister, but he said nothing of the matter.

“I didn’t know that.” Marie said, looking at me. “Well, Frankie, since you already know each other, I don’t need to present you to the guy,” Marie said speaking closer to me so neither of them would hear.

My insides twisted at that moment. I had completely forgotten what tonight was all about. Me meeting Marie’s new boyfriend or whatever they were right now. I stood there perplexed and slightly horrified as she moved toward one of them.

A voice that had been silenced for an eternity came back to life and screamed in my head as I watched my friend reach out, hand outstretched toward one of the Moretti’s. Was the man she had been gushing about for an entire week, Cassio? Was he the one that had put those heart-shaped signs in my friend’s eyes?

It couldn’t be.

Certainly, it wasn’t Cassio. I mean… Cassio? It didn’t make sense. The man who had rescued me from prison and had broken my heart wasn’t capable of love. But that was a lie, wasn’t it?

I had loved him once. Desperately. Cassio had been the air I breathed, pure and fresh and reviving. And I thought he had loved me too.

The scene before me seemed to take an eternity to unfold and I watched. Eventually, Vitelli reached out and took her hand, interlocked his fingers with Marie’s, and brought her closer into his arms.

I sighed. Unfortunately, it was loud enough that it was probably heard by everyone at the party. Annoyed and greatly angered with myself, I plastered a fake smile on my face and pretended I hadn’t freaked out a moment ago.

Everything is fine. Everything is fine. Everything is fine.

I sang the mantra in my head, maybe if I said it enough times, I was going to be fine, and survive this party. Then Cassio looked at me with cold eyes. His gaze traveled up my golden heels, all the way to my dark blue dress that was a bit too short for my liking.

Paolo had been the one to buy me this dress and he liked them as short as possible. The dress made me uncomfortable, but I still hadn’t gone shopping, so I didn’t have much choice in the wardrobe department.

His gaze then roamed upward landing on my chest and my exposed collarbones. Slowly it trailed upwards to eventually meet my eyes. There was something in them aside from the iciness. When his thumb ran under his lower lip, I knew what it was… annoyance.

He was annoyed at me, and we hadn’t even exchanged two words. I shot him a sweet smile, pretending I hadn’t noticed the gloom and doom emanating from him. He was not going to ruin this party for me. I was already nervous as it was, Cassio had no business in making things worse than they already were.

“Did you lose something?” I asked when he wouldn’t take his eyes off me. He didn’t answer. “If you’re going to keep staring, you might as well take a picture, it lasts longer.” With that, I excused myself and left, my heart beating against my throat and hands shaking.

How could one man elicit such emotions from me without even opening his mouth? Damn him for existing.

7

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