She pursed her lips and answered, "Just visiting my friend. Is that a crime? He doesn't mind when I visit. And who made you his boss? He's not your property, Scarlett."
I smiled at her, bringing up my ring hand to tap a finger at my jaw, making sure the huge as hell rock on my finger was given proper notice. She saw it, oh yes. Her eyes widened, and for a second she couldn't hide an honest look of dismay.
My smile grew even as I heard Dante let loose with a soft round of cursing.
"Funny you should mention property," I said. Yeah, I was being a bitch.
She needed to be put in her place.
Bitch was about the right speed for that.
She'd gone pale. She looked like she might become ill. "When did that happen?" she asked, nearly spitting out the words.
I didn't even try to touch that one.
"Aren't you going to congratulate us?" I countered with instead.
She didn't bother. The engagement bombshell had been enough to knock her off kilter. It was refreshing to see her usually serene facade slip so completely.
I hoped, quite wholeheartedly, that Dante was taking note.
"It doesn't matter," Tiffany said derisively. "You still don't own him."
"It doesn't make you happy," I said with relish. "But it matters. And yes, I fucking do."
Her reaction was interesting and if I was being spiteful (newsflash: I was), amusing as hell.
She got up and practically ran from the place, fleeing without giving me so much as a backward glance.
I was still wearing a triumphant grin when I caught the look on Dante's face.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" he asked, looking beyond pissed and into desperately furious. "My mother will know about that ring within the hour. Do you even understand the kind of hell she's going to raise for this?"
"My God," I said slowly, tone as disbelieving as I felt. "You're turning this on me? Somehow you're going to get out of having to explain the fact that I found you at a bar with fucking Tiffany!"
"You're the one that left. I wouldn't have been alone for her to join if you'd been with me."
Oh hell no.
If he wanted to fight, he'd come to the right place.
"Is that right?" I asked, tone dangerous.
He was feeling lucky, apparently. "Just stating facts, tiger. If you'd kept your promise and stayed here, you wouldn't be so worried about whether Tiffany was paying me surprise visits or not."
A fight it was. "If I can't trust you—" I began.
"That's not what I said. Don't twist this. It was strange timing. I was here reading—"
I rolled my eyes. "Really? Reading at a bar?"
"Yes. I do it a lot, actually. I don't mind the noise. It's nicer than being alone."
Ouch. Yes. Point taken.
"And she just walked up, sat down. I was as surprised to see her as you were."
I studied him with narrow eyes. "And this is the first time she's visited you? Since I left, I mean."
"Yes," he said without hesitating, eyes meeting mine squarely.
"Where is she staying?"
"I have not a clue. I never asked."
"How long was she here before I showed up?"
"A few hours. We mostly talked about everyone from high school. It was a boring conversation, to be honest. I was just being polite."
His straight answers were getting to me. I could barely hold onto my anger when he just told me the truth without prevaricating.
"What would you have done if I hadn't showed up? Would you have let her crash at your place?"
The look he turned on me was real annoyance mixed with a healthy dose of affront. "Of course not. What are you even thinking?"
And just like that, I felt my anger deflating. I bit my lip. "Were you surprised to see me?"
And just like that, he let go of his own anger and smiled. "Yes. How long do I get you for this time?"
"Three weeks."
His smile grew. "Best news I've had in a year. Holy hell, let's go home and celebrate."
And we did. Oh yes, we did.
I woke up the next day with a nasty cold. Fucking airplanes.
If I'd been back in L.A. I'd have just ignored it until it went away. No such luck with Dante. He nagged me until I went to the doctor, who did nothing but give me a ten day round of antibiotics. I bitched and moaned about it, but three days in, I was feeling human again.
It was a minor thing, quickly forgotten, though I'd have reason to dwell on it later.
The three weeks went by in a flash, and it was harder than ever to leave him again, even knowing he'd be joining me in mere months.
Before I left, we went to a local jeweler and found a ring for him. We had it sized to fit his finger, but he wore it around his neck, right next to the key to the cabin we'd shared on our very first time.
I fingered the key as we said our goodbyes in the airport. "I wonder how that old cabin is doing," I mused.
"Gram tells me it's the same as we left it. The locks have never been changed and only we have keys. But it's not about the cabin. It's the memory this holds for me."
I smiled up into his eyes. I loved his sentimentality. It never failed to touch a nerve. A good one. "Oh yes, I know. And you're never going to take it off, are you?"
"Never." It was heartfelt, that one word, and I felt it deep in my chest.
CHAPTER