Page 33 of The Art of You

“You two planning on joining us anytime soon, or do you need another minute? You know, like that minute you took to hug Hudson outside?”

An audible gasp fell from my lips at Constantine’s question. Okay, I was probably exaggerating on that part, but seriously. “You were watching us?”And wait.“There are cameras over there now? Since when?”

Constantine checked his watch. “Since an hour ago.” Turning to the side, he gave the order to join everyone in the way of a head nod toward the kitchen. “Not you.” He shot his arm in front of me the second I tried to walk. “We’ll be right there,” he told Enzo without looking at him.

Once it was the two of us, framed by the walls still holdingon to Bianca’s memory, I whispered, “Don’t.” My voice was so fragile and weak that I barely heard the word, so I repeated it with more punch.

“Isabella.” If a sigh could ever be a word instead of a sound, it’d be a woman’s name from a frustrated man’s tongue.

I pouted in response. You know, more bees with honey and all that, or however the saying went.

He gently cupped my chin, urging my eyes on his. “You don’t know what I planned to say.”

“I do.” The downturned-lip action from me in response was legit. No faking that time.

“Come here.” He relinquished a deep breath, let go of my chin, and then pulled me into his arms for an unexpected hug. “What am I going to do with you?”

I angled my head so my face wasn’t smashed into a wall of muscle so he could hear me. “What you’re going to do is finally let me go so I can fall.”

“I don’t know what that means.” He stepped back, arms to his sides, staring at me as if genuinely confused.

“You don’t want me getting hurt.”

“And why would I?” he guffawed, head jerking back.

I poked his chest with my index finger. “You’ve always been there for me. And with every stupid mistake I’ve made, you’ve bailed me out from both trouble and heartbreak. But I can’t ever stand on my own if you’re always there to catch me before I fall.”

“I can’t watch you get hurt if I can help prevent it. It’s impossible. Not in my DNA.” He drew a palm over his heart.

“You can keep me safe from criminals, sure.” I twirled my finger in the air. “This mess I’m in? Yes, please. But the other stuff, no.”

Based on his grimace, he’d latched on to the meaning of “other stuff” andwasn’t a fan.

“You have feelings for him?” The dark undertones in his voice were as unsettling as his point-blank question. “Is that what this ‘let you fall’ lecture is about?”

Yes, but the timing is shit, so I should probably not let my near-death experience do the talking.“You were planning to warn me about him after seeing ourinnocenthug, right? So, I just?—”

“No. We haven’t had a moment alone since the accident, and I’d been planning to tell you how damn proud I am of you for being so resilient and remaining strong.” His next words were rougher. “And how much I love you, but also, how fucking terrified I was that I almost lost you on Friday.”

My hand went to my stomach as it squeezed in pain.

Before I could find it in me to respond, he hit me with another question, and it barreled through me, sending me back a step. “You’re asking me to stand by while you fall for a man I know can’t love you back?” A rattle of emotion he was probably working hard to hide managed to slip into his voice anyway.

The gut-wrenching words didn’t have a chance to swallow me whole because Hudson and his horrible timing stole my attention instead.

He was standing still in the hall, a hand up on the wall next to him as if he needed the support, and it had nothing to do with his injuries. His focus wasn’t on me, but on the floor.

Oh God, how much did he hear?

“Adelina doesn’t have a ton of time,” Hudson finally spoke, his voice low and haunted, indicating he’d heard something.

Constantine cursed under his breath in Italian, slowly swiveling around to face him. “Hudson.” The apology curled up into his best friend’s name. My brother was an asshole to everyonebutthe people he cared about. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have heard that.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.Oranything to worryabout.” Hudson slowly met his eyes. “Your sister and I will only ever be friends.” His gaze cruised over to mine as he killed me with a promise. “You have my word.” He pushed away from the wall, jaw strained and his solid body visibly tense. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, please tell Adelina I need a minute.”

Hudson brushed past us, barely grazing my shoulder, and I flinched when the screen door slammed shut.

Constantine reached for my wrist. “Izzy.”

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