For Angelo(31)
“I always felt…” There was another pause. “I don’t think it’s fair or right for me to say this on the phone. Can we meet? And before anything else, I’d like you to know Derek knows about this.”
****
Angelo entered Lane’s room just as quietly as he had left it, and for a long time he simply watched her sleep. Sunlight filtering from the window turned her hair into gold, and looking at her now made him think about how she described him.
A fallen angel, she had said.
If he was a fallen angel, then she was what angels were at their purest.
An angel who had enthralled him, so much so that she had only spent one night under his roof and she had already started turning his life upside down.
An angel, whose wings were clipped like a wounded bird—
Just like Jaike Hepburn when Angelo had first found her.
He whitened at the thought, but it was a truth that he was powerless to deny. Was this his fate then, he wondered dully. Was it his inevitable, inescapable fate to want wounded birds like Jaike…and Lane?
Would he never find a woman he didn’t have to piece together to stay with him?
His gaze returned to Lane’s tear-stained face.
Would you leave me, too, tesoro, once you’re whole again?
The answer to this might still elude him, but he also knew he had the choice not to wait for it.
And that was what he was going to do, Angelo thought grimly.
He would not let himself hope.
He would not let himself lie.
This time, he would not pretend that he was someone worth loving.
Chapter Nine
“Buon giorno, signorina.” A tall, curvy girl with beautifully feline features came to Lane’s room to wake her up, the girl’s bright tone in complete contrast with her intimidatingly all-black grunge attire, which consisted of a ribbed top, skull necklace, and leather pants.
Rubbing her eyes as she pushed her up, she stammered, “G-good morning.”
“Signor V told me to wake you up at nine.”
Signor…V?
She asked uncertainly, “Do you mean Angelo?”
“Yup, that’s the boss, but I like calling him Signor V to annoy him.” At Lane’s bemused look, Julieta explained with a grin, “We share the same hometown in Italy, so he’s also something of a big brother.” She wrinkled her nose. “And like most big brothers, I hate him more than I’m fond of him. But he’s also my boss, so I need to pretend I’m respectful of him, si?”
“Umm…si?”
Julieta chuckled. “You’re as adorable as Fico and Umberto said you were. Che transparente!”
“Um, t-thank you?” She smiled weakly even as a part of her remained caught up with the fact that Julieta was a childhood friend of Angelo. Did the other girl really just see Angelo as a brother? What if—
“Oh my God” Julieta was grinning again
“What is it?”
“You’re jealous, si?” The girl laughed. “Molto carino!”
“Umm—”
“You are so cute,” Julieta translated helpfully then with another wrinkle of her nose, she muttered, “I promise you, I have zero attraction to Signor V. Just the idea is…” Julieta shuddered.
But still Lane hesitated.
Julieta started laughing. “Diiiiiiiiiio. You are so unbelievably cute. You really like him that much? Maybe you’re much more ill than I thought.”
Lane’s eyes widened. Julieta knew about her condition?
“Oh!” The girl’s hands flew to her mouth. “Mi dispiace. I’m so terribly sorry, I didn’t mean…” Julieta grimaced. “And the worse thing is, Signor V totally saw this coming. He even warned me to at least try not to be tactless for the first hour at least, and…” Julieta sighed and then looked at her hopefully. “Can we try again?”
“Umm…okay?” Lane didn’t know whether to laugh or run away. Being in the girl’s company made her feel like she had been caught up a whirlwind that showed no signs of abating.
Julieta cleared her throat loudly. “Hello, Ms. Petersen—”
“Lane, please.”
Julieta said sweetly, “Oh, how kind of you. Lane it is. My name is Julieta, and I’m part of the household’s day staff.”
“Day staff?” she echoed.
Julieta nodded. “The night staff starts at six in the evening.”
“I s-see.” The unwanted reminder of Angelo’s wealth made her grimace.
“As for me, I’ve been instructed to serve as your personal assistant—”
“But I don’t need—”
Julieta was visibly alarmed. “Don’t tell him that. Please. He’s doubled my wages just so I can be your nanny.”