Page 90 of Fractured Frets

Maddy hugged and waved farewell to my family. She was so freaking sweet.

I just stormed off.

My family wasn’t going anywhere. They loved me. But they’d pissed me off. They’d get over it. So would I. We may be Italian, but we weren’t a family who held grudges for too long...except maybe my mother. We spoke our minds far too often. Me...not often enough.

Maddy drove us back to our villa in silence. When we walked inside, I reached for the vodka sitting on top of the bar, but Maddy placed her hand on my arm. “You don’t need that. Not tonight. It’s been a long day. Let’s just go to bed.”

I tightened my grip around the neck of the bottle. My hand shook. Fuck. I stared at the vodka. The lure to drink called to me. The demon inside me poked and stirred my craving. Have a drink. Just one. I swallowed hard, my throat dry and burning for relief. It will make you feel better. Help you relax. Go on. Take a sip.

“Slip?” Concern drifted through Maddy’s whisper.

Then I looked at her. There was no competition. She won every time, destroying every demon inside of me. She was what I craved. I let go of the bottle and wrapped my arms around her. Holding her close, I hugged her tight. “I’m sorry about my family.”

“Don’t be.” She circled her hands over my back and rested her cheek against my shoulder. “They love and care about you.”

“Only on days when they want something. But they could’ve been nicer to you.”

“Not my first one-star review.”

A low chuckle escaped me. “Mine either. I’m still sorry.”

“Let’s go to bed.” Maddy stepped back and combed her fingers through my hair. “You look exhausted.”

I felt it in my blood. My muscles. My mind.

The small hesitation and dark clouds looming in Maddy’s gaze made my breath shudder. I didn’t want her to worry about me.

I took her hand and led her up to our room. After showering, we fell into bed and made slow, sexy love. I made her come...twice. But Maddy’s mind was elsewhere. In the aftermath of our lovemaking, I drew her into my arms and kissed her soft lips. “Mads? What are you thinking about?”

She played with the hairs on my chest, tickling and trailing her fingernails across my skin. “Us. We’re like the eye of a storm. We’re in the center, and our lives and family and friends are this constant swirl of chaos around us, pulling and throwing us in all different directions. I’m not sure if that will destroy us or if we’re strong enough to survive the weather.”

“I feel like that all the time.” I stroked her hair and tucked it behind her ear. “We’ve just got to ignore it. If we stay focused on us, we’ll be okay. I promise.”

But a distant haze drifted across her eyes. She blinked it away, then nodded. “I love you.”

I kissed her on the forehead. “I love you too. ’Night, bel girasole.”

“’Night.”

But as we snuggled beneath the sheet, she remained restless, wriggling about and playing with my hair.

I was beyond tired.

I wanted to love her, talk all night, but sleep pulled me under.

When I woke, she wasn’t beside me.

I reached out, sliding my hand over the bed sheets where she’d laid. They were cold.

Fuck!

I sat upright. She wasn’t in the bathroom. Nor on the balcony.

Shit!

Had my family gotten into her head?

How could I assure her I was nothing like them?

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