Page 73 of Eden's Deliverance

“How dare you! You knew—” She coughs, the inhale of cold air too harsh on her bruised trachea. “You knew what he did to me. Right fucking here!”

I stare blankly down at her broken form, accepting her fury like a man. I hurt her, I know that—twice in the same location, just as two different men.

“I’m sorry.”

Her head snaps up, those hateful eyes seeking mine. “I m-meant what I said. I hate your f-f-fucking guts, and I never want to see you again,” she spits, using the railing for support to keep from falling over when she stands up. “Don’t speak to me.” Planting both palms on my chest, she pushes me backwards. “Don’t text me.”Shove.“Don’t come around here.”Shove.“Get the fuck out of my life!”

I don’t have a response, so she doesn’t have to worry about me not speaking to her. She deserves an explanation, but I’m a selfish fuck. Since the beginning, I’ve had dreams about ruining her…and I finally did it.

I ruin everything I put my hands on.

27

Scarlett

Peace, at last.

“Tell me everything about him, please! I’m dying to know.” She knows I hate when she chews with her mouth open, but here she is, shoveling forkfuls of steak and mashed potatoes through her lips after every sentence.

I thought dinner at Andy’s Diner would make a nice gesture to show her we can still spend quality time together without me going to Eden.

I can’t tell her everything. For one, I barely know much myself. And two, the biggest thing Idoknow about him is that Skylar beat the shit out of him last week, and he hasn’t shown his face around here since.

Neither of them have.

Dario still texts me, sure. He was absurdly understanding about the ‘miscommunication,’ insisting that a little scuffle over a woman’s honor is nothing to shy from. He may not blame Skylar for his behavior, but I do. Everything he did that night was completely unacceptable, and the bastard has been smart enough to heed my warning.

I haven’t heard a single word from him.

“I don’t know much about him, Pen. We’re still in the talking stage, and it’s kind of nice,” I explain. “Eden was fun and all, but I think it put me in a position where I now see the beauty in just dating someone before jumping right into sex.”

Not that I’ve even had the chance. I pull out my phone to check our texts, a smile curling into my cheeks when I see his latest message.

Turning the screen towards Penelope, I say, “See for yourself. Mama’s got a hot date tomorrow night.”

She smiles brightly, but she’s not looking at me or the phone. “A hot date?” a voice sounds from over my shoulder. “I hope you are talking about me.”

Jumping from my seat, I turn to find Dario crouching down to scoot into the booth beside me. “Hey! What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see you until tomorrow.”

I flash him a wide smile and he returns it, staring at my teeth in a way that would probably make me feel self-conscious, had I not become so used to men staring at my mouth lately.

“Me? I was running errands in town, walking to mymacchinawhen I saw you in the window. But now that I have heard your laugh,diavolina,you cannot get rid of me.”

Fine by me.

Penelope plants her elbows on the table with her fingers locked together under her chin. “So, are you two lovebirds doing anything for Valentine’s Day?”

Is this crazy bitch trying to scare him off?

“Pen—”

“Well?” Dario cuts in. “What do you say,belezza?” He turns to look at me, brushing the side of my cheek with his knuckles. His face still bears remnants of the bruises Skylar left there, and the cut on his brow hasn’t fully healed. It doesn’t matter though; he’s still beautiful.

I shouldn’t have spoken too soon about being excited to date, because honestly, I’m not fully convinced I’m ready for that. Especially a date on Valentine’s Day with a man I just met at a bar, a week ago.

“Let’s see how tomorrow goes. There’s still time to scare you off,” I say lightly, but the weight behind my words is heavy on my heart.

If I’ve learned anything in the past few months, it’s that my life and the people around me are too unpredictable to expect a simple plan to go smoothly.

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