Page 50 of Frayed Bonds

He nods the muscles in his jaw tensing. “I’m sure that’s the reason he was so eager to talk to you.” His eyes look at me before they return to the front of the car where the driver sits.

“Are you jealous?” I exclaim, shifting forward in my seat to get a better look at his face. I can see him glance away, but at the same time try to hide a smile by running his palm over his mouth and jaw.

“I don’t get jealous, Valerie. It seems like you were the only one able to hold his attention.”

I shift, taken aback, I can’t tell whether to be upset or not by what he’s said, mainly because I can’t tell if he’s joking or not. “Oh right, I wouldn't want to be too much of a distraction.”

We pull up outside my house, and I can see him try to suppress a grin. “The mere thought of you is enough of a distraction for any man, Val,” and with that, he hops out of the car and rounds it, opening the door for me.

“Thank you for your help tonight,” he says, walking me toward the door.

“Thank you for inviting me, I had fun.” I smile up at him as we reach the door, and I open my purse looking for my keys. As if everything from tonight didn’t leave me confused enough, what he does next shocks me to my core.

He leans down and kisses the top of my head. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

I freeze and stare at him awkwardly, “Okay, bye.” I bolt inside my house and slam the door closed behind me.

I can hear his deep laugh from behind the door and I peek through the small window and watch as he walks back to his car, only for him to turn back and look at the door briefly. The smile on his face makes me weak in the knees, and I practically buckle in my heels and for the second time tonight, a thought runs through my head.

I truly am fucked.

As I turn around, I spot a black paper on the floor and all happiness from this evening disappears in an instant.

God, no.

I hesitate for a second before I bend down to pick up the piece of card.

Running doesn’t matter. I’ll hunt you down if I have to. He can’t protect you.

Fuck.

Chapter eighteen

Valerie

“Ladies and gentleman, give it up for the one and only, Valerie Farina. Ambrose Vitale’s latest woman of interest,” Karyn announces as I enter the kitchen.

“Shut up, my papá is going to hear you.”

“Don't worry, he sleeps like a log after taking those pain meds they prescribed.” She waves me off. “There's some leftovers in the fridge,” she points towards the old appliance as she sits leaning over her phone.

“So last night looked interesting. I didn't think Ambrose was the hand-holding type, but the two of you looked amazing together.”

I spin around so fast, my hair smacks the other side of my face. “What?” I spit the stray strand out of my mouth. “What are you talking about?”

She stares up at me, dumbfounded. She turns her phone to face me. “The two of you are on the front page of every news site in the world.”

As if cold water was dumped over my head, I feel the blood drain from my face. It all happens so fast I almost feel lightheaded. Slowly, I step forward and look at the screen in front of me, and sure enough, there’s a picture of us staring at one another as if we couldn't be more enthralled with each other. “I don't even remember looking at him like this while we were on the carpet.”

Realisation comes rushing in, everyone has seen this and probably thinks I’m another one of these women he parades around on his arm. And from the note I found, Mattheo has definitely seen it and is not happy about it.

I’m nearly sick to my stomach as I realise, that no matter where I go, he will find a way to ruin all of this for me.

Karyn reaches forward and scrolls to show me more pictures, one of which is taken from behind, and shows our interlaced fingers resting on the small of my back.

I sink into my chair as Karyn bursts into a fit of laughter. “I never thought you coming home would result in such drama.”

“I’m glad my embarrassment is entertaining to you. We weren't even holding hands.”

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