Page 16 of Unforgivable Ties

“I do, so if you could please leave—”

“Steph, who’s that?” Jessica asked curiously. As I spent more time with Vincenzo, I noticed he attracted a lot of stares—some out of curiosity, others out of fear.

“I’m her boyfriend,” he said, before I could tell Jessica a different lie.

I was livid. Lying to Preston about that was one thing, but Jessica? She was my best friend.

He gently nudged me aside and strode into my living room with an air of arrogance that simultaneously provoked fear and respect. Jessica shot me a surprised look as Vincenzo made himself comfortable on my worn-out armchair, his size making the furniture look laughably small. I could see her eyes darting between us, shock slowly morphing into confusion and then curiosity.

“You didn’t tell me you got a new boyfriend,” she said, almost sadly. I was sure she was hurt that I was keeping this “secret” from her.

I was about to deny it all and dismiss Vincenzo with a half-hearted excuse when he beat me to it.

“It’s only been a couple of weeks,” Vincenzo lied. “And it was fast—I was very forward with what I wanted.”

I hadn’t seen Jessica for a little over two weeks because I had been busy with all the mafia stuff, so that timeline would check out. But I didn’t want to know how Vincenzo knew I hadn’t seen her in two weeks. He must have really done a deep dive on my life.

She side eyed me. “Well, you could have texted me about it.”

“I really am busy with school!”

“My name is Vincenzo,” he said, formally introducing himself to her.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Jessica.”

“Stephanie has told me all about you. You two met in undergrad, and...” I stopped listening as he told Jessica everything he knew about her, and there was a lot. He really did conduct extensive research on my life.

It was like I was watching a different person. The cold, somewhat indifferent Vincenzo I was used to was gone, and a charismatic, charming version had taken his place. Jessica was visibly taken by the new Vincenzo, her eyes alight with fascination as he effortlessly wove tales about our supposed relationship. His charm was undeniable. He was a chameleon, able to adapt and blend into any social situation in order to manipulate it to his advantage.

I wanted to punch him. Although I’d probably just end up hurting myself; his body was pure steel.

“That’s so cute, Steph,” Jessica said, her eyes sparkling with delight at the end of one of Vincenzo’s stories. “I love it!”

I think he had just finished telling an elaborate lie about how he had asked me to be his girlfriend.

“So cute,” I said, giving Vincenzo a deadly look.

“You two have to go on a double date with Ted and I,” she exclaimed, clasping her hands together in gleeful anticipation.

“Absolutely,” Vincenzo’s persona confirmed, without missing a beat. His eyes met mine, a mocking twinkle dancing in their depths.

“Well, Vincenzo, Jessica and I were hanging out. So we can talk another—”

“No, no!” Jessica said, standing abruptly and gathering her things. “I need to head out, anyway. Ted promised we would go shopping for a new rug today.”

My futile protest fell on deaf ears as she waved us off, chattering about how she looked forward to our double date. I scowled at Vincenzo as he slammed the door shut, his mask instantly falling off.

“Glad she’s gone,” he said gruffly, his former social charm evaporating into the ether. “Fucking annoying. Do you two babble like that all the time?”

“Friendly conversations are not babbling,” I said, crossing my arms. “And I never want to see you smile again. It was unsettling.”

That was a lie. He was really handsome when he smiled, in a dangerous, alluring way that sent a thrill down my spine.

It was annoyingly attractive.

“Unsettling or not, it got the job done,” he replied, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it onto a nearby chair.

“So I take it you’ll be here for a while, then?” I said, pointing at his jacket.

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