Page 33 of His to Have
“I mean... yes and no.” Her giggle was breathy and light, the enchanting sound always doing weird shit to me. “New environment and everything.”
I nodded, understanding. “C’mere.” I sat the knife down, holding my hand out for her to come closer. To my surprise, she didn’t argue, she simply padded across the floor withouthesitation easing into the small space between the table and the seating.
Patting the soft cushion next to me, I invited her to sit next to me on the long bench. I moved over, not a ton, but plenty of space for her to have room. Our shoulders brushed as she settled onto the bench. Her bare legs extended from her silk night shorts, revealing toned thighs that pressed against my more muscular ones. Again, she made no attempt to shy away from our closeness.
Curiously, she eyed the table, scanning the assortment of items scattered across it.
“What are you making?” she asked softly, leaning forward just enough to inspect the intricate grain patterns in the wood, and then the polish sitting on the table.
“A jewelry box,” I paused, picking up the piece I’d been working on, then smiled. “For you.”
“For me?”
There was surprise in her voice.
“Of course for you. Who else would I be making jewelry boxes for at two in the morning, Amore?”
She rolled her eyes, and lifted her shoulder nonchalantly, but the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her. “I don’t know. Maybe for Isa.” Her eyes lingered on my phone that was now lit up with a response from Isabella.
Isabella didn’t mean shit to me, and I had nothing to hide but I couldn’t help but to fuck with her. Turning to face her fully, I smirked. “You jealous, Yanna?”
She blinked hard and fast, before a blush crept up from her chest and settled on her cheeks. I maintained our eye contact, licking my lips anticipating her answer.
“Hardly.”
I chuckled at her defiance before grabbing my device from the table. Turning my body so I was now aligned with hers, my legsnow straddling both sides of the bench. I pulled her between my thighs, wrapping my arms around her chest with my cell in hand. The very audible breath she took bounced against the walls. Making me kiss her shoulder tenderly.
“Relax,” I told her gently resting my chin on her shoulder.
Now that we both had a clear view of my phone, I unlocked it with her birth month and year. A code I’d used since I bought the phone. Slowly I clicked on the message.
Isa: Sorry for caring, I guess. Just wanted to make sure everyone was okay.
Yeah, fuckin’ right.
She wasn’t slick. This was her attempt to get information.
I felt Yanna’s body tense slightly against mine, likely because she read the last couple of exchanges between Isabella and I. Which wasn’t anything much. I’d been keeping ol’ girl at arms length. Before the message tonight, her last message was inquiring about the info I'd extracted from Roland.
But it wasn’t hard to discern that Isabella wanted me from the way she blurred our conversations between business and personal.
The eye roll was subtle, both eyelids cutting to the side. And her lips? A barely contained frown. I wasn’t sure if she was intentionally trying to hide it but I caught the flicker of something. Particularly, when she saw the message asking about her boutique. Yanna’s head tilted just enough off center to be noticeable before the small huff of breath escaped her lips.
“Am I gonna have to worry about her?” she asked, her voice carrying just enough edge to let me know she wasn’t asking out of insecurity. It was more annoyance than anything. “I thought all of the families knew about this arrangement.”
Yanna tried to pull away from me, but I wouldn’t allow it, tightening my hold around her hips keeping her in place.
There was a bite in that statement, letting me know that it wasn’t really about Isabella texting me at odd hours. It was more about another person knowing about our arrangement while she sat in the dark.
I knew my woman well.
Closing out of Isabella’s message without responding, I tossed my phone onto the workbench with enough force to make it slide across the surface.
“Nah,” I said simply, addressing her initial question. My chin still rested on her shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about her.”
“Then why is she texting you at two in the morning about my business? I know she knows you’re about to be married. Everyone does.”
I pressed a soft kiss to the curve of her neck, tasting the sweetness of whatever lotion she used before bed. “She knows.” I pressed another lingering kiss to her shoulder. This time she shuddered and leaned into me without realizing it, giving me more access to her collarbone, even in her anger. “Isabella’s a bird, and doesn’t know how to be anything other than a bird. She doesn’t mean shit to me. Just Gianni’s daughter, but if you want me to call her, I will. I’ll call her now and tell her what I just told her in a text.”
