Page 43 of Bound to You

“Hi,” she says quietly.

“You look beautiful,” I tear my gaze from hers to acknowledge Marina and May on either side of her, “you all do.”

Marina gives me her signature warm smile before switching to roll her eyes. “When did this one get here?” She gestures behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see Leo and Rafael walking up to us with mischievous looks plastered on their faces, no doubt making jokes at my expense.

“Ciao, ladies, I’m sure you’ve heard tons about me, Leo Romano,” he says like the dickhead that he is. This is the most relaxed I’ve seen Leo in a while. Any cool exterior he usually has is shed tonight, it’s good to see.

May assesses him with narrow eyes. “Mmm, no…nothing at all actually.” She tips her head to one side.

“Let me remedy that.” Leo grabs her hand giving it a kiss.

“Such a gentleman,” she says, making a point to look directly at Rafael.

Marina snorts a laugh before pulling Leo in for a hug. They’ve always had a soft spot for each other, and Marina is the one person who can get through to Leo when he’s being an asshole.

My attention is brought back to the girl in front of me. “Would you like a drink?” She nods in response.

“We’ll get you all a round,” Leo says, prompting us to leave the girls as we head to the bar.

Leo calls the bartender to order before leaning back against the bar. “How about the blonde, huh? She’s got a bit of fire in her.”

“Not that one,” Rafael snaps.

“Oh, so it’s you that’s pussy whipped, is it? Didn’t see that coming Raf,” he smirks at me.

“Fuck no, but that doesn’t mean you should be either.” He downs his glass in one gulp before setting it back on the bar top. “I’m going to check on the team.”

Leo and I stand with our backs to the bar watching him move through the crowd towards the kitchen where his team is doing the catering.

“Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it?” Leo can’t wipe the smirk from his face.

I bump my arm into his. “Come on.”

We weave our way through the increasing number of people back to the girls. I spot Marina and May standing around a table, but no Isla.

“Where’s Isla?” I ask before we even reach the table.

“She went to the bathroom, but she’s been a while,” May looks in the direction of the bathrooms. “Maybe she got lost or caught up talking to someone.”

“I’ll go check on her,” I say to no one in particular, before heading back through the crowd.

I enter the hallway to the bathroom, but I can’t see Isla. I can’t exactly go into the female bathrooms, so I decide to wait here.

After leaning against the wall for what feels like an eternity, the door finally swings open and Isla comes walking out, but I don’t miss the way she’s sniffing or the tear tracks trailing down her cheek as she walks out with her head down, and I can’t stand it. I stride towards her and reach her in two steps cupping her cheeks in my hands.

She startles at my touch. “Oh! Caio, you scared me.” Her eyes are red around the edges when she looks up at me.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I swipe a rogue tear away. “What happened?”

She looks up at me with conflict swimming in her eyes like she’s not sure whether she should share anything else with me.

“I was on the phone with my brother.”

“Okay…”

She looks everywhere but at me, her eyes scanning our surroundings before her gaze finally reconnects with mine. “I just miss him, I haven’t seen Miles in a really long time, and I was supposed to see him on this holiday.”

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