I smiled a little at that when she stopped right in front of me, close enough that the tips of our shoes nearly touched.
“But that’s not what I’m worried about,” she said softly.
“Then what are you worried about, sweetheart?” I asked.
She moved another inch closer to me. Alarm bells started ringing inside my head. I took a deep breath and tried to put more distance between us, but the car was in the way. Why the hell did I suddenly feel trapped, and by nothing more than a tiny girl who barely reached my shoulder?
“Elio?”
I didn’t answer her, suddenly fearful of where she was going with this. Fucking hell. I’d faced off men twice my size before and had never broken a sweat, but this was making me sweat?
“We need to get back,” I said.
She shook her head and peered up at me. “But I have to say this.”
I narrowed my eyes when I got a whiff of the alcohol on her breath. “Have you been drinking?”
She shrugged. I took that as a yes.
“What the fuck, Isa?”
She let out a small smile. How the fuck had I missed this? Drinking at her age? At a fucking party full of strangers who could have taken advantage of her?
“Don’t use that tone,” she said, sounding a hell of a lot like she was admonishing me. “It makes me feel like a little kid.”
“Youarea little kid. Now get in the fucking car,” I said.
She shook her head. I was this fucking close to helping her in myself.
“I’m not a little kid.” She stubbornly shook her head. “And I don’t want to get in the car. Not before I say what I need to.”
“No—”
“I like you.”
I took in another deep breath. “You’re drunk.”
“Not that drunk. And I’ve had these feelings for a while.”
I grabbed her shoulders and waited for her to look at me. “Listen to me. You don’t know what you’re saying. You have these feelings because of proximity. I’m close by. You go to an all-girls’ school. You don’t interact with other boys your own age…” Which was probably a good fucking thing, since I had no doubt Valentino would have killed them all. “So you decided to put all those feelings onto me. It’s not real.”
She shook her head and glared at me. “Are you really trying to tell me how I feel?”
“I’m telling the truth. And come morning, you’re going to regret saying this. So let’s just forget you said anything, okay?”
She pulled away from my grasp. “No, not okay. I know how I feel. I’ve had these feelings for a while. Are you really telling me you don’t feel anything for me?”
“I don’t,” I answered truthfully. “I see you as nothing more than a sister. Now get in the car.”
I softened my voice at the last sentence.
Her eyes shimmered a bit, and I looked off to the side, feeling my heart pinch. At this point, I think I would much rather be tortured by the fucking Russians than have this conversation with her.
Wordlessly, she moved inside the car and shut the door quietly behind her. I stayed where I was for a moment, wondering why the hell I was feeling this uneasy pressure sitting on my chest before walking to the driver’s side and getting in.
We drove the rest of the way to her family’s house in awkward silence. The entire time, I felt like I had broken something precious, even if I knew it had to be done.
Fuck.
