Page 52 of Toxic

"What are you doing?" she frets, trying to move out of my grasp.

I tighten my hold on her and lean into her ear. "Relax, Bridge."

Two cute wrinkles form on her forehead. "People are going to get the wrong idea."

I murmur, "What would that be? That we're fucking? That we're together? Sounds like the truth to me." I guide us inside and nod to the hostess. She picks up two menus and motions for me to follow her.

Bridget takes a deep breath. "We aren't together."

I grunt. "The sooner you come to terms with this, the better."

"I'm not one of your girls, Dante," she snarls.

I don't respond, steer her into the private room with a circle booth, and motion for the hostess to leave. She obeys, shutting the door. I slide closer to Bridget and put my arm around her shoulders. Her body stiffens while she gives me a death glare.

I state, "Let's get something straight, dolcezza. I'm fully aware you aren't one of my 'girls'. Now, if you need me to keep this between us right now until you get used to our situation, then fine. But there's no more hiding from me or us."

"I'm not looking to get into a relationship with you," she asserts, holding her head higher.

My insides cringe, but I ignore her statement, opening her menu. "The food is good here. I made them put apple pie on the menu, too."

Her body stiffens. She tilts her head. "Apple pie isn't Italian."

"Yeah, but you like it." I push a lock of hair behind her ear.

She lets out a long breath and stares at the table, shifting in her seat. A nervousness I haven't seen since we were kids fills her expression. She meets my eyes. "I haven't talked to you in five years. Why would you do that?"

My pulse races. "You know why."

"What exactly does that mean? You said it last night. Just answer my question and stop toying with me."

The flipping in my stomach increases. I hold down my anger that always pops up when she refers to our past. The mistakes I made while we were teenagers doesn't seem to be something she has forgotten. Time didn't heal all wounds, but I should know that, since I haven't gotten her off my mind for over twenty years. I keep my cool and calmly reply, "I'm not toying with you, Bridge."

Her expression tells me she doesn't believe me. She takes a sip of water then crosses her legs.

I take a few deep breaths then admit, "There's only one thing in my life I regret."

She arches an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

My heart races faster. "Losing you."

A moment passes. She still doesn't look at me and replies, "You never had me to lose."

"Sure I did."

She shakes her head, making eye contact. "No. You didn't."

"Bridge—"

"This is too much for me right now, Dante. I don't want to get into a conversation about the past," she blurts out.

I freeze, contemplating my next move, but decide to give her some space. I release my arm from around her and scoot an inch away. "Okay. Tell me what's going on with the kids."

Her face falls, and she sighs. "They hate me."

"So you keep saying."

"Killian and Arianna already told you the situation."

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