Page 93 of Brutal Obsession

All envy. She’s gazing at Cian the way dieting women stare at a cake display.

I sip my wine to keep from barking a laugh. I’m not sure why it’s so funny. Maybe it’s the irony? Women take one glimpse of Cian and lust after a piece of him, but none of them experience the sweet, awkward side he just showed me.

People desire Cian for his body, but the joke is that his heart might be the most alluring thing about him.

I’m still smiling to myself after the flight attendant leaves and the plane takes off.

Cian could have been callous and cruel back in the car and played off my trauma in defense of his boss. He could have acted entirely apathetic to my plight.

But he didn’t do any of that. Instead, he listened and believed me and held me close. He promised that everything would be okay. They don’t teach that at mafia man school. That’s the kind of response only someone with a good heart is capable of. He revealed a sliver of what he’s like on the inside today. He let me in.

And in the few hours since I told him my truth, he’s been sweet, kind, attentive, andgentlewith me in ways I didn’t think a man could be. It’s absurd. Too wonderful to be real. To necessary to live without.

But that’s probably the wine talking. I’m on glass number three.

As the night stretches on, things with Cian somehow get cozier. My legs end up in his lap. He tells me to pick a movie, and I chooseWhen Harry Met Sallybecause Riley and I love this one. I just never expected a rom-com where Meg Ryan fakesan orgasm to remind me so much of Cian and me. Long car rides. Bickering nonstop.

Honestly, I have a whole new appreciation for these characters.

And for us.

Chapter 26

Harper

At some point, I fall asleep, and I don’t stir until the light of dawn starts knocking on my eyelids. Outside, the sky’s brightening, and the miniature display of the airplane’s path indicates that there’s only an hour left of our flight.

Oh my god. One hour and I’m back in New York.

Only the thought of my sister can stop me from spinning into a panic spiral.

I spoke to Riley at the airport. Cian called Finn to request they pick us up, and he handed me the phone so Riley and I could chat a second before hanging up. The hope and relief in my sister’s voice triggered the same emotions in me.

If Riley really is happy to see me, maybe that means she can forgive me for all the bad blood I’ve injected into our relationship over the years.

Thinking of Riley got me through so many tough moments in the past two months, and I could not be more excited to see her. Focusing on that keeps me sane…that, and the sight of Cian’s sleeping face.

Damn it, I hate him for throwing away my cellphone.

If I still had it, I could snap a picture of this, and once Cian and I go our separate ways, forever, at least I’d have this small souvenir. I’ll have to memorize this moment instead.

In Hawaii, I learned to really appreciate a beautiful view.

Somehow, the plane lands too soon and not soon enough. We’re the first ones down the jetway, and Cian holds my hand the entire time. I try to move as slowly as possible.

I don’t want this to end.

I want to tell him that whatever’s happening between us doesn’t need to stop just because our time together is over, but that’s stupid, so I keep my mouth shut as we shuffle forward in sleepy silence. The path snakes left, then right, and as we approach the end, light from the terminal hits us. It’s eight in the morning, Eastern Time.

Like horror-movie déjà vu, I feel an apocalypse brewing.I’m living in that moment when the first victim realizes she’s in the wrong place at the wrong time, right before something horrible happens.

But then I see Riley and Finn waiting for us at the gate. They must’ve bought tickets to meet us past security.

I suppose that’s another benefit of mafia money.

I stop walking. They haven’t seen us yet.

“Har—” Cian’s about to ask me what’s wrong when I fold my arm around his and yank him left. We’re out of the flow of jetway traffic in an alcove, invisible to the boarding area.

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