Page 21 of Dark Breaker

I sigh.

I can’t believe I’m actually going to do this.

I hear a gentle knock at the door.

“Come in,” I say.

The door opens and Angela glides inside. She always seems so light on her feet, even though she’s pregnant now. Like she hasn’t a care in the world.

“How are you holding up?” she asks.

I shrug. “Fine. I guess. I met Carlo earlier.”

“Your ex?” she asks.

“Uh huh,” I reply. “He showed up at an empty beach.”

“Stalking much?” she comments.

“My thoughts exactly. He backed away pretty quick when I produced some Mace.”

“What did he want?” she presses.

“The usual thing exes want,” I reply. “To get back together again. He actually wanted me to go to a party Nunzio is putting on—he’s another of my exes.”

Angela shakes her head. “I don’t know how you do it. Sleep with so many guys, I mean. I get attached so easily. Massimo is the only one I’ve ever been with. I don’t want anyone else.”

I smile patiently. “Some of us weren’t lucky enough to meet the man of our dreams the first time around. Or the second time. Or the third. You get my drift…”

“And now you’re marrying Fabio…” Angela says.

I sit on my bed and look down at my hands. “Yeah. I’m marrying Fabio. We don’t really get along. But who knows? They say opposites attract.”

Angela sits down beside me and rests a hand on my knee. “I talked to Massimo. He’s come around. Like Luciano, he agrees that if you don’t want to go through with this, you don’t have to. We don’t want you to be unhappy.”

I grab her hand and squeeze it tightly. “The thing is, my happiness isn’t worth losing any of you. If I turn this down we’ll have to fight. My brothers could die. Yours could. Things probably won’t work out between Fabio and me, but at the very least he’ll be a pleasurable distraction. Like all the other boys in my life. He’s really not bad to look at. Still, I expect he’ll divorce me at some point, and if not, like Massimo said, I can take lovers. Besides, think of the alimony package I’ll get out of him. He hasn’t even bothered to bring up a prenup!”

Angela looks at me and I see pity in her eyes. “When are you going to stop doing things for other people, and start doing them for you?”

I can’t meet her eye. “Thisisfor me.” At least, that’s what I tell myself. And a part of it is. The part that doesn’t want to see my brothers hurt.

“Is Fabio still stalking you?” she asks.

“He hasn’t shown up all week,” I reply.

“He’s probably stalking your social media, though,” she insists.

I shrug. “That’s different, and I don’t really care if he does. He’ll just be joining the ranks of the countless other guys who do it. Besides, I don’t post all that often.”

“Have you tried stalking his?” Angela asks.

“Hmm,” I tell her. “That’s a good point. I actually haven’t.” I pull out my phone. “Let’s see what we can find out.”

I open up Snapchat and add his number from my contact list. Sure enough he has an account. He accepts my request almost immediately.

I pull up the first story. He’s lying next to a pool at some house party. He turns the camera to his bottle of Cristal and then to his face before giving a thumbs up.

“Typical rich dude who feels the need to show off that he’s rich,” I tell Angela, shriveling my nose in disgust.