Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
What the hell?
I open the door and frown. “Zane?”
“Hey, Angel. What’s up?”
“What are you still doing here?”
“I told you, Victorio asked me to watch you while he was in Greece. Now, I was supposed to make sure you didn’t see me, but since you have, I’m not bothering to hide,” he responds with a shrug. “Your porch is more comfortable than the ground over there in the trees.”
I gasp, “You’ve been hiding in the trees since Victor left?”
“Nah, I mean, someone has but not me. I’ve been in Greece myself until recently.”
“Oh. Still, you can’t stay out here. It’s cold.”
“Babe, we’re in Miami. Miami doesn’t get cold,” he laughs.
I don’t think another man has ever called me babe before. It’s weird to hear, but I can’t deny there’s a little thrill that moves through me when Zane says it. It’s nothing like when Victor calls me sweetheart or shortens my name to Gia, but it’s nice just the same.
I stand back from the door opening it wider. “Come inside,” I tell him.
“Huh?”
“It may not be really cold, but it is cold. Plus, you’re standing up and the only chair out here is one of those cheap foldable ones. Come inside you can have the sofa and at least get some sleep.”
“I’m supposed to be watching you, not sleeping,” he chuckles.
“Then, you can stay awake on the sofa. Although, I will point out that you will be inside with me. If anyone breaks in, even if you’re asleep, you’d wake up. Besides, this is a gated community. Only select people have permission to get inside to begin with. I’m also regretting giving Antonio, and therefore his employees, clearance,” I mumble.
Zane laughs.
“Seriously, I doubt very seriously anyone is going to break in. I hardly know anyone in Miami.”
“Most criminals don’t break in on people they know, Angel.”
“Yeah, but if they manage to break into this community, I’m pretty sure a smart thief will go for the nicer houses.”
I smirk at him and slowly watch as his smile spreads. He shakes his head. “Fine, I’ll stay inside. I should warn you, though. This probably won’t make Victorio happy.”
“Victor will just have to suck it up,” I mutter.
Once Zane walks in, he closes the door and follows me into the living room. “He still in the doghouse?” he wonders.
“He acted like an idiot,” I complain. “I’m going to go get you a pillow and some sheets and a blanket.” I frown as I turn to leave the room.
“Just a blanket and pillow are fine. Really, just a pillow is all I need.”
“You need a pair of sweats,” I mumble. “You can’t sleep in a suit.”
“Babe, I don’t think I can fit in your pants. Besides, it’s hard to chase after someone trying to break in a house when I’m not dressed.”
“I have some of Victor’s sweatpants. You can wear those. You can chase after whoever in those and you know it.”
“Victorio didn’t tell me you were so bossy,” he says as he follows me down the hall.
I open the small hall closet and take out a spare pillow, a fresh pillowcase, and a pale beige velour blanket. The pillowcase has little pink flowers interconnected by vines in the design. Zane isn’t exactly a pink flowers kind of guy, but he’s out of luck. All my sheets are kind of dainty and pretty. It’s something that Victor balked about and made me laugh. I didn’t realize men could have such an overdose of testosterone that they are offended by flowers.
“I’m not bossy,” I puff out as he takes the blanket and things from me. I follow him back into the living area. He puts everything in a chair and then picks up the blanket and spreads it out on the couch. I watch him and then walk into my bedroom. I open the top dresser drawer and find some of Victor’s things. I grab a pair of gray sweats and head back to my guest.
I gave Victor a drawer to keep him from searching forever out of his overnight bag. If I was honest, I did it because I liked the way it felt to have his clothes next to mine. Of course, that was before he told me that we weren’t friends. It bothers me, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. Emilia didn’t want me to overreact. She said men are stupid sometimes and I needed to talk to him about everything. I plan on it, but I know the real problem is that no matter what Victor says, he will never care about me like I do him. I mean, I’ve always realized that, but the distance between us now is just physical proof. Deanna’s words come back to haunt me. Victor is safe. I’m comfortable—happy even.
I need to push myself.
“Keep telling yourself that,” he replies to my earlier statement, obviously not agreeing. I force my mind to go back to our conversation and put thoughts of Victor away for a bit.