Page 102 of Disarming Caine

“Then you fly off to Naples on a whim to make up with him, not even a week later. Play this ridiculous long-distance game with him for months. Then he shows up out of the blue and you’re miserable again.” He stepped in front of me, leaning over so I couldn’t avoid looking at him. “You ever think maybe he’s no good for you?”

Nathan had been there for me through so much. And he’d been telling me from day one that Antonio was bad news. If I’d just listened to him in the first place, none of this would be happening. I’d be safely single, living in my hotel, counting down four more months until I was back on the road.

“Stop arguing with yourself.” He nudged my shoulder and cracked a smile. “Answer me. First thing that comes to your mind when I say Antonio Ferraro is no good for you.”

Waking up with him every morning. His arms around me. The way he always wanted to be in contact with me. My heart racing at every text, every call, every video chat while he was gone. How he admired my brain before anything else.

“I’ve known you since you were a knobby-kneed kid.” He rubbed his hands together, letting out a long sigh, surrounding us in his frosty breath. “You’ve grown into a strong, capable, brilliant, and somewhat reckless woman.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, thanks.”

“What you need is someone who respects that. Not just as a friend admiring all you do, but as a partner who’ll stand next to you while you do it.” He paused, stomping his feet. His toes must have been frozen in those shoes.

“But that’s not who I’m dating. You saw Antonio after the shooting at my hotel. Then he got angry at me after the shooting yesterday.”

“Angry? Or worried?”

“Ang—” I stopped before the word was all the way out.Be honest, for once, Sam.“Worried.”

“I hate to say it, but I gave him the chance you asked me to, and I liked him. It wasn’t just the fancy car or the wicked Scotch he totally bribed me with. It was the way you two looked at each other all evening. You and Matt never had that look. That’s what I want for you. A man who’ll look at you like that. And who’ll put up with your shit.”

This was not feeling as supportive as it had started out. “You said I’d run the other way if I knew who he really was. And now I do.”

“Jesus, Sam, even I can admit I was wrong about him.”

“I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

“Pushing him away before he has a chance to hurt you?”

I pulled the neck of my jacket closed, wanting to bury myself inside it. Not just from the cold air, but from the ice running through my soul. What if he left me? It would destroy me. At least for a bit. I’d eventually pull myself back together, but I’d basically been on the run from Matt’s betrayal for six years. “Vincenzo and Matt told me they loved me. So did my dad. But it was nothing more than words; their actions proved different.”

“Actions? Antonio put his very-big-deal project on hold and flew half-way across the world just because he missed you. You don’t owe him anything for that, but thatactiontells me that man is head over heels for you.”

I shoved his shoulder, breaking the intense look in his eyes. “You’re supposed to be the one telling me he’s not good enough for me.”

“No one is. But he’s the closest thing I’ve ever met.”

My heart lurched. Who wasIten years ago? It had only been seven since I graduated from Quantico, heading to Boston for my dream career. That wasn’t me anymore. Why couldn’t I trust Antonio to change?

Because I was running. Scared of getting attached to Brenton again and having it let me down.

Nathan bounced slightly, his breaths becoming ragged. “We should have held this conversation indoors.”

“Why are you even here?”

He shrugged, ushering me toward the road, arm around my shoulder. “I was driving by, saw your behemoth parked on the side of the road, thought maybe you’d broken down.”

“I have a cell phone.” I wrapped an arm around his waist. “I would have called someone.”

He chuckled. “Fair. Alright, I realized where you were parked meant you needed a friend and were too stubborn to call one.”

I nudged him with a hip, but he held on tight enough we stumbled to the side.

“So, did he actually propose?” He stamped his feet when we got back to the shoveled path leading to the road.

“No, he just keeps threatening that he will.” I clenched my hand inside my pocket instead of rubbing it over my face, the trinity ring on my ring finger digging into my flesh.

He grunted, obviously not fully in Antonio’s camp yet. “For record—I’ll deny every positive thing I’ve said about him if you tell anyone.”