“Ooh, you!” I punched his arm. “You said there was no gossip! What was her name?” I asked excitedly, sitting up straighter in my seat and looking straight at him.
“Okay, you can take it down several fucking notches. This isn't a teenage sleepover. We're not swapping dating stories.”
“Spoilsport,” I muttered, flopping back in my seat and folded my arms.
“Pouting might work on Dante, but it's not going to work on me.”
I pouted harder.
“For fuck's sake!”
Pouting always worked!
“Her name was Gabriella. That's the end of it.”
“She was the one that got away, was she?”
“Something like that,” he said with a soft smile. A soft smile he quickly replaced with a frown when he noticed my wide-eyed gaze.
“You loved her!” It wasn't a question, and he didn't reply.
I sat back and mentally sifted through every conversation I had had with Dante, trying to place the woman's name. I wanted to bring some happiness to Vienna's life. He deserved it. Surely if I could find her, I could talk to her and let her see this club wasn't such a bad place and she would be happy here.
My, my, my, how the tables have turned! You couldn't wait to get out of here when Dante brought you. Face it, Rachel, you’re falling for him. You can lie to everyone else, but please don’t insult us by lying to yourself.
I wasn't going to dignify myself with an answer.
Although, I couldn’t put off that conversation forever. Even I could recognise that the ice block where my heart lived was melting faster than I could keep it frozen. I didn’t want to feel anything for Dante, but the prospect of never seeing him again had brought up feelings I wasn’t ready to face yet.
At least not before I figured out where I stood with him.
Relationships were fucking complicated. No wonder Vienna wanted to stay away from them. Although, I was still determined to bring happiness to his life, and Gabriella was the key. I just knew it.
“No, Rachel,” Vienna said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“I literally did not even say anything.”
“It's written all over your face, clear as day!”
“Well, maybe you should be concentrating on the road instead of my face.”
“I don’t know what Dante meant when he said you were blank and boring. Your facial expressions give everything away.”
“Dante called me boring?” I asked, my mouth dropping open. “Yeah, well, he’s shit in bed.”
“Whoa. We went from nought to a hundred real quick there. You take offense to being called boring?”
“No. Do you take offense to someone wanting to bring happiness to your life? If Gabri—”
“There's nothing you can do. Just drop it.”
“But—”
“No buts, just drop it. It would be an impossible relationship.”
“Nothing is impossible!”
“Since when were you a regular old Pollyanna?”
