Page 3 of Angel
Chapter One - Paige
I took in a slow and steady breath, the hit of the asthma inhaler I’d just taken aiding my efforts. When I woke up to find Angelo gone, I assumed he’d done just what expected.
To fuck and run.
I wasn’t supposed to be disappointed. I tried telling myself maybe it was for the best if things between us didn’t go beyond one night of passion. Sophia’s warning rung in my head before I even opened my eyes. He was bad news for me, she claimed. Not the guy I needed to get involved with.
Still, I had hope. Not just because I’d been without the touch of a man for two years and had started to get addled in the head thanks to such a lengthy dry spell.
There was something else between me and Angelo. Something that went deeper than just physical lust.
Was I crazy to believe in that?
Maybe. Or maybe I was just suicidal. A man like Angelo had hordes of women swarming around him. He also had a past, some kind of connection to Sophia that she hadn’t really explained to me.
I figured things might be more complicated than I actually knew about, but I never could have imagined the level the words wafting from the living room hinted at.
After realizing Angelo wasn’t next to me in bed, the talking grabbed my attention. My chest clenched. Someone was angry. Really angry.
I choked in a breath. After a beat, I sat up straighter, looking for my inhaler. After finding it in my purse on the floor and taking a hit, I softly rolled out of bed and pulled on my bathrobe.
“I won’t disrespect you in your home,” came Angelo’s voice through my cracked bedroom door. “But Paige is an adult. She deserves the truth.”
I tip toed up to the sliver of space at the door and peeked out. The couch and Angelo’s back were visible, but not much else.
“If I were you I’d take the back stairs,” countered my twin sister. “Moretti’s guys are out front. Where is she?”
Moretti? His guys?
What the heck was Sophia even talking about?
Unable to take any more of the secrets, I pushed the door open the rest of the way and stormed into the living room. Sophia and Angelo both stood at the open front door, the former wearing her clothes and makeup from the night before and the latter looking even more delicious than he had when we fell into bed hours ago. His dark hair was ruffled, betraying our romp in the sheets. I swallowed hard and tried not to let Angelo’s appearance get to me.
“I’m right here,” I yelled, the words coming out a bit higher than intended. “What do I deserve to know, who is Moretti, and why the hell do you have a problem with Angelo, Soph?”
“Paige,” Angelo began.
I waved my hand dismissively at him, half of my irritation due to it seeming he truly was halfway through sneaking out my front door. I hadn’t expected him to stay and cook breakfast with me, but a simple goodbye would have been nice. Was he only still here because of running into Sophia? Likely.
“Soph,” I demanded, crossing my arms. The inhaler still in my hand pressed into my side, oddly comforting me. I probably wouldn’t need another hit, but at least the inhaler was there for me whenever I needed it. Unlike some actual people.
Sophia’s jaw tightened. “There’s more going on than you… know.”
“Obviously.”
My eyes flicked over at Angelo. Guilt washed over his face. His lips tightened.
“You should go Angelo,” Sophia told him, the cutting tone she’d been directing at him not letting up.
I nodded, doing everything I could to keep myself together. The combination of the hurt over being kept in the dark, my physical lust for Angelo, my disappointment over him trying to duck out, and my consequential effort tonotbe disappointed, had me reeling.
And forget the asthma inhaler. I felt so sick to my stomach I was in danger of throwing up.
“You should go,” I agreed, hollowly echoing Sophia’s words.
I wanted him to stay, but not if he didn’t want to. I wasn’tthatpathetic.
Angelo gave one terse nod before meeting my eyes. “I’ll be around if you need me.”
