Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
His blue eyes, filled with pain and longing, raked over my face as he took me in with a sorrowful expression. His eyes spoke volumes.
For the first time, he was letting me see what he was feeling. It was right there in the open, his eyes shining with vulnerability, something I was sure he had never shown anyone before.
But here he was, giving me yet another part of himself.
His hand slowly came up until his finger was tracing a line down my cheek. His touch was gentle, almost feather light.
“Ayla,” he whispered, my name sliding past his lips as if he was whispering a prayer. His thumb brushed over my lips as his eyes stayed on mine.
With Alessio so close, I was lost in his captivating, pain-filled eyes. My body was instinctively drawn to him before I could think.
“Alessio,” I breathed, moving just a little closer. At the sound of my voice, he cupped my cheek, holding my face gently.
But then the connection was broken. The spell that had bound us together in that moment vanished in thin air, leaving us both stunned and completely dejected.
“Boss.”
I felt Alessio’s warm touch disappear from my face as he pulled away and turned toward the voice that had called him. Phoenix looked between us and then fixated his eyes on Alessio.
Quickly looking down, I released the breath that I hadn’t even realized I was holding. Phoenix was saying something, but I tuned him out.
Feeling disappointed that my moment with Alessio was interrupted, I avoided eye contact with him and Phoenix and continued my way down.
I felt Alessio’s eyes on me the whole time, his stares burning holes in my back. My body was strung tight with tension, and I rubbed my sweaty hands over my dress, trying hard to control my breathing and racing heart.
Stepping into the kitchen, I sent Maddie a quick smile, acting as if everything was fine when I was feeling anything but fine.
I couldn’t keep doing this any longer. It was only hurting me. But in the process, it was hurting Alessio too. And the thought of him being hurt felt like a knife stabbing in my chest.
He was a confident man. Arrogant and so sure of himself, but the Alessio standing on those stairs, he was a completely different man.
For both our sakes, I willed myself to be strong.
A hand on my arm snapped me out of my thoughts. Maddie stared at me, an eyebrow raised in question.
Swallowing nervously, I looked down at my feet and looked back up again, finally speaking my thought.
“I need your help.”
Chapter 14
My legs bounced up and down almost frantically. In their nervous movement, a random rhythm was found. It matched the beating of my pounding and wildly racing heart.
If the bouncing of my knees were not enough to show my anxiety, then my hands showed it clearly. My trembling hands rested on my lap, my fingers clenching tight, and then unclenching around the fabric of my dress.
It wasn’t a surprise that I was slowly going crazy with tension.
After all, I was sitting at the piano, waiting for Alessio to make his appearance.
It had been two nights since I last played the piano. The last two nights, it was Alessio hoping that I would come to the piano room and play for him. And now, it was me waiting for him.
Was he going to come? Or was he angry at me? Was he going to make me wait, like I did to him?
With each passing second, I was growing more alarmed at the thought that Alessio wasn’t going to come.
What was he doing right now?
Did he receive my note?
The flower?
Did he smile while reading it? Was he happy about them?
Or did he ignore them?
My lips turned down in a frown at the thought of him refusing my gifts. But then I shook my head. “Stop it, Ayla,” I muttered.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I heard a sound at the door, and my head snapped toward it.
There he was. Alessio.
He was standing tall, his hands resting on the door as he struggled with his breathing. It appeared as if he had run all the way here. There were beads of sweat dotting his forehead, a few strands of hair clinging on his skin as his eyes fixated on mine. His breathing was almost frantic, his eyes presenting a wild look as he walked further inside.
I saw him swallow nervously several times, his throat bobbing up and down with the movement. Alessio walked to his sofa chair, which was directly in front of the piano.
Taking a seat in his usual spot, he extended his legs forward in the exact same position he would take every single night while I played the piano.
We didn’t say anything. There was only silence.
But the silence between us was enough. It was always enough. We only needed each other’s presence, our eyes on each other. Words were never needed to express what we were feeling.