Page 77 of His to Have
My skin warmed, but before I could respond, his phone buzzed. On the second ring, he answered, without even checking to see who it was. It was his personal cellphone, so I figured it must be someone he trusted.
“What’s up?” His voice shifted.
It was still calm, but a whole lot heavier. Gone was the playful man who’d just been flirting with me, and teasing me about paint colors. Now I was in the presence of the powerful and ruthless Don — the parts of him that I had no idea turned me on.
I busied myself, stepping down the aisle like I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I was. His fingers were still laced with mine.
“Nah. Let Keem handle that... you are too close.”
A pause, then a sigh.
“Sophia,” he groaned, and his head was already shaking. His sister couldn’t see his disapproval, but it didn’t matter because a few seconds later he shut whatever she was offering down. “The answer is still no.”
It was that simple. A demand.
No one went against the head of the family. Not even blood. So, I knew that even if Sophia wanted to protest, she wouldn’t, out of respect.
“I need you focused on the North. Territory’s shaky, and we can’t afford soft hands over there. Let Keem handle Isabella.”
A pause. Then that low, warning tone only Teo could pull off. It was firm without raising his voice. “Sophia.”
Another beat.
“She’s your friend. That makes it messy. I don’t need messy. I need clean. Hand it off.”
He didn’t say another word only ended the call before his sister could make any other request.
His hand squeezed mine. “Sorry ’bout that.”
I shrugged, keeping it casual. “Everything good?”
“Yeah, for now,” he kissed the inside of my wrist, and I nodded, deciding not to press. Whatever it was could wait. At least for now.
After browsing a few more items, and making arrangements for delivery of the items I ordered, I decided we’d been at the hardware store long enough. I still wanted to go to my boutique before lunch.
With barely enough room left in the cart to accommodate another single item, we walked slowly to the front of the building. Teo pushed the cart with one hand, while my fingers laced through his free hand. I was mid-laugh at some smartass remark he’d made about how I was the only person he knew who’d rather shop for lighting and paint herself instead of hiring a team. “Which, by the way, I already hired someone to help. She’ll be there Monday.” he added.
I didn’t even have time to respond because the sight of the man I blocked almost a month ago was nearing us. My stomach dipped at the sight of him. I was not fully prepared to cross paths with Corey. I hadn’t spoken to him in weeks, for good reasons.
He was my past.
And my present and future was standing right here next to me. But it still didn’t change the fact that the way Corey and I ended was less than ideal. There was no proper closure. I never gave him the details of my arranged marriage, or the details surrounding my family’s loyalty to theDonatellis. I for sure never disclosed how Teo and I both always had deeper feelings than I ever disclosed. And when Teo told me to end it, I did. No questions asked, or regrets. At least not at the time, I hadn’t.
However, the moment Corey’s eyes met mine, something uncomfortable settled in my chest. My eyelids collapsed, and I tried, but failed miserably to ease my fingers from the grip of Teo.
Simultaneously, both men looked at me like I’d grown a second head. Each for different reasons.
Teo’s was at the audacity. I was his.
Corey’s was at the sight of me so close to a man who was only supposed to be my brother’s friend... holding my hand. And when he spotted the flawlessly cut diamond on my ring finger, I thought I saw a flash of anger.
Corey stood a few feet away, a bag in one hand, receipt in the other, but he wasn’t moving. His glare was on us. Or more specifically, me. Then they dropped to our hands once more.
His scoff was loud, ringing in my ears and making my heart throb with a pang of guilt. In this moment, I kind of felt like I owed him an explanation. Even if I hadn’t felt that way before. The hurt I could sense made me want to help him understand why things had ended the way they did.
Teo, on the other hand, remained composed. He never viewed Corey as a threat and I’m sure it won’t start now. But Teo was protective, even more so now. His whole focus was on me.
Calm, cool... and a bit of quiet possessiveness.
