Page 70 of Broken Pieces
“How’ve you been?” he asks.
“Good,” I reply dryly.
He lets out a frustrated groan as he scrubs his face with one hand. “Come on, Aria. This has been going on for long enough. Don’t you think so?”
“No, Alex. I don’t think so,” I retort. “After all, you thought I was your charity case this whole time.”
Alex looks at me suspiciously. “Is this about Damian? Have you guys talked about me? He got in your fucking head, didn’t he?” he asks a little too loud for my liking.
I look around, noticing people around us looking at us as they whisper to each other.
“Would you please lower your voice?” I snap.
Alex claps his hands together, laughing humorlessly. “I knew it. I told you working for Damian was a fucking bad idea. But you just never listen, do you?” he shouts.
“Not that I owe you any explanations, but Damian is not even aware that I know you. Now if you excuse me, Ihave to get back,” I say, turning around and refusing to be a part of this ridiculous conversation.
Before I can get any farther, Alex grabs my arm roughly. “We’re not done here.”
Before I can reply, I hear Damian behind me. “Get your fucking hands off of her.”
Alex looks over my shoulder and huffs. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Get out of here, Romano. This doesn’t concern you.”
Damian walks closer to us, his presence making me tremble. He gulps his glass of bourbon in one swig, placing the empty glass on a nearby table as his demeanor changes completely in a terrifying, worrisome way. His usual green eyes are dark now, his presence a thick mist of fury and anger.
He grabs Alex’s hand, taking it off of my forearm. “I won’t repeat myself twice,” he says as he grips his hand hard, causing Alex to groan from pain. “Now, now, don’t go causing a scene,” Damian sneers. “What would people say,golden boy? Aren’t you scared of what people are going to think of you, as always?”
Alex gulps, his gaze snapping to mine. “You’re not going to do anything about this?”
“You willnotspeak to her, or breathe the same air as her for that matter. Do you understand me, Brown?” Damian says in a conspiratorial, lethal whisper that shakes me through my core.
Alex’s green eyes grow two shades darker, as he shakes his head. “You will regret this, Aria. Mark my words,” he says with narrowed eyes, storming away.
Damian places his hands on my face, caressing it softly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m pissed.” I sigh. “But I’m okay.”
“I think we should go. Do you want to go?”
“No, absolutely not.” I shake my head.
He nods, backing out with an extended arm. “Shall we, then?” He smiles.
I smile back, interlacing my arm with his as we walk toward the stairs.
As we sit at the auction, nothing catches our attention. We want to make sure the last piece ties the collection together. If it weren’t for that break-in, we would have been done and already open for business.
As they keep showing the pieces, he whispers, “This collection is worse than I thought.”
I nod. “And this is very different from what I was expecting. It seems like the hype they decided to do around this was a bunch of bullshit,” I whisper back.
He places a hand on top of his mouth, trying to contain his laughter.
“This upcoming painting is guaranteed to be exciting for everyone here,” the auctioneer begins saying, “for all romantic folks out there, I present youImpossible Touch.”
My eyebrows knit together as I hear the name.
Must be a coincidence.
