Page 85 of Better Left Unsaid

Hold on. Why wasn’t she saying anything? It was her turn to say something. She had to respond. Literally, any response at all would do. That was how this went.

Her face was unchanging until her lips crept into a smile, and her expression softened, inching a step closer to me. Was it too much to hope she was going to say something along the same lines?

Finally, she replied, “Aw, I love you, too, Dom,” in a cheeky, sing-song voice.

What the fuck? I shook my head, my eyes studying her closely. “No, Maria, you’re not understanding me,” I tried again, grinning as I repeated the words, “Iloveyou.”

More of that deafening silence I hated. But she was processing my words, finally understanding me. I could tell because the gears looked like they were turning in her head. But then her face fell. Actually fell. “Oh,” she finally broke the awkward silence.

I raked a hand through my hair, frustrated. “Oh? That’s all you’ve got for me?”

Maria stuttered. “I. . . umm. . . you. . .” Maria never stuttered. She was sure-footed, confident, and always one step ahead.

But obviously not this time.

“Don’t date Paolo. Date me. Let’s explore us as a couple. We’re practically right there anyway. Let’s do it. I know you have feelings for me. Maybe not in the same way, but they’re there. You could get there. I know it.”

Silence. Again.

But I was a patient man, so I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

“Dom, I. . . I don’t know what to say.”

I shook my head. “You never wondered about me? About us? All these years and nothing?”

“You’re my best friend.”

“Who treats you like a queen. Who would give you the world. Who doesn’t date. I’m asking you to just give me an inch. Don’t date Paolo. It’s not too late.”

But Maria shook her head and her eyes fell to the ground, a pout tugging on her lips. “We. . . can’t. I can’t.”

I took a step back and fought the urge to scream the word “why” from the top of my lungs. This wasn’t going like I’d expected. Not even a little. “Fine. At least I said it. But you should know I can’t keep going like we’ve been. I just can’t. Not anymore, Maria.” And now there was nothing left for me to say. She obviously didn’t feel the same way. Not even close.

I had to get the hell out of her trailer. I couldn’t be with her. So I turned and walked out, feeling—yet again—like a schmuck. Only this time for a whole new reason.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Maria

Dom loved me.

Was that a dream, I wondered as I stirred from my slumber.

Then the memories from my trailer flooded me like a flash flood—suddenly and rapidly—and I realized that it was all, in fact, reality.

It was the kind of reality that had you crying and sweating all at once. Both a beautiful and terrifying reality.

The exact reasons why I’d pretty much froze when he’d told me. I mean, come on, to think that this wonderful, kind man who’d seen me at my worst, who knew my deepest and darkest secrets, who had brought me to the brink and pushed me over the edge, loved me. It was almost impossible to process.

All these years.

All the times we’d slept together.

All the times we’d laughed together.

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