“There is no time or place where it would be appropriate for you to talk to her like that. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t be talking to her at all.” My voice is calm, and my tone is flat.
However, when Ross finally looks at me, he takes a small step back. I don’t smirk or show any type of amusement because he needs to feel as terrified as the woman sitting across from me.
“Wh-what are you doing here…” Ross clears his throat and starts again. “I can speak to mywifehowever I choose.”
Ross’s eyes quickly slide from me back to Mindy, but she’s looking down at the ground, clearly embarrassed. I snap my fingers at the asshole to make him stop making Mindy uncomfortable. He’s done enough damage as it is. I refuse to let him torment her any longer.
“Eyes on my dipshit.” Once Ross looks at me again, I continue with my threat, “I’m the new man in her life now. I know you remember my face from the last time we met. If you so much as breathe her name, you will fucking regret it.”
CHAPTER
EIGHT
PLATONIC
MINDY
Finding Luca casually sitting in the coffee shop across from my job was almost shocking enough that I thought it was a dream. Too bad when Ross showed up, I knew that not only was I fully awake, but my nightmare had just walked in.
I suspected Luca was a powerful man. I’m not blind to the fact that he has bodyguards everywhere he goes, but he doesn’t seem to actually need them. He has a calm way about him that intimidates everyone, including me. Maybe it’s because he looks like an avenging angel with his gray eyes that look almost silver and chiseled features. The man is unbelievably beautiful, but he radiates a don’t fuck with me aura that’s hard to miss.
“Mindy,” Ross growls again.
I take a deep breath, push my shoulders back, and raise my head. I haven’t gone to therapy because, honestly, in my family, church, and God were the cures for everything, but my cousin has been telling me to remember who I am. I wasn’t always this pushover person, and until recently, I would’ve never imagined I’d be an abuse survivor.
However, nobody ever talks about the shame that comes with surviving trauma. I mean, I wasn’t raised to put up with thattype of shit. It never even crossed my mind that I would be in this situation. My parents would kill behind me. And for those reasons, I feel so much guilt.
I don’t want my family to know I fell into a love bombing, narcissistic, red-flag-waving trap. It would kill them to know what I’ve been going through, so I suffer in silence. But like Karlie said, just because I fell doesn’t mean I can’t get my ass back up.
“I told you not to fucking talk to her. Are you hard of hearing?” Luca’s calm voice interrupts.
I can’t say that I’m surprised at how protective Luca is because he’s already done it once. But I am surprised that he’s not backing down even though I obviously have a shit ton of baggage.
“I told you I was her new man. You talk to me.”
My eyes go wide because I thought I was hallucinating when Luca said that. I look at him closer, and I can’t tell if he’s serious or not. It’s not like I know this man from Adam. Hell, I didn’t think I would ever see him again.
“Her new man? What the fuck are you talking about? She’s my WIFE!” Ross shouts.
The coffee shop goes quiet, and without turning around, I can feel the stares heating the back of my neck. If there’s one thing Ross knows how to do, it’s cause a scene. He’s notorious for wanting all of the attention to be on him.
“I suggest you find something safe to do, Ross. Because you’re really starting to irritate me.”
There’s an accent to Luca’s words that wasn’t there before. His calm demeanor is still draped over him like a well-tailored suit, but that tranquility does not extend to his gaze. The fire I see blazing in those silvery depths makes me hold my breath.
“I don…”
Before Ross can respond, three large men coolly walk behind Ross without saying a word. I recognize one from Luca’s house, and he apparently recognizes me too because he smiles and nods. I return the gesture before turning my attention back to Luca.
“It’s time for you to leave, Ross,” Luca says. Ross, like the name, leaves a bad taste in his mouth.
When Luca moves his head slightly to the side, one of the men steps up and places a heavy hand on Ross’s shoulder. His lip instantly curls, and he whips around to stare at the man. I know that this could end badly, but I can’t turn away from the train wreck that’s about to happen.
“Get your fucking hands off of me! Do you know who the fuck I am? Do you know who you’re fucking with?” Ross questions, his bravado in full effect.
I’m not sure if Ross was blinded by his ego, but everyone else could see that Luca is the one not to fuck with in this scenario. Luca gives boss energy without even trying. Ross, on the other hand, was acting like an entitled idiot, and it’s barely even noon. Now that I can see the walking red flag that he is, I can’t understand how I was so infatuated with this man.
Never again. Never.
