His eyebrows rose, obviously not expecting that.
“I already got the lecture from Valentino. I don’t need another one.”
“Yes, and I’m sure Valentino put the fear of God in you, and you’re definitely not going to do it again.”
My eyes narrowed at the slight sarcasm in his voice. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you have Valentino wrapped around your little pinkie. Whatever lecture he might have given you wouldn’t be enough to deter you from doing it again.”
I placed the bitten donut back in the box. “That has nothing to do with you.”
“Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but everything you do has to do with me.”
I frowned. “What? You’re not my boyfriend, so I don’t see how that can be the case.”
Why would it have anything to do with him? At best, I was an annoyance he had to tolerate because of his friendship with Valentino. At worst, I was like an annoying little sister he felt obligated to look out for. The last thing I wanted from Elio was brotherly feelings.
I grimaced slightly at the thought. I’d much rather be an annoyance to him than “like a sister.”
Whatever it was, though, I knew it would never be what I wanted from him.
It was something I had long ago accepted, even if it hurt.
His jaw clenched at my words.
He stepped in closer to me, making my heart beat erratically. I resisted the urge to back away from him. We stayed like that for a moment.
“Go get ready.”
“I need a shower,” I said, wrinkling my nose a little. I didn’t exactly stink, but I didn’t smell nice either. I would be horrifiedover the fact that Elio was so close to me, but right now, the pounding headache was taking too much from me.
Elio walked over to one of the cupboards and pulled out some painkillers. He shook out two pills into his hand and moved back to me.
“Take these.”
“How did you know?” I asked, taking the pills from him.
His mouth twitched. “You’ve been squinting since the moment I arrived. You should take this as a lesson and hold off on the alcohol from now on, but I have a feeling that’s not going to be the case with you, is it?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. He said it like I had a problem. I could count on one hand how many times I actually drank, and most of them had happened recently.
“You’re not the boss of me,” I said.
One eyebrow rose from my words. I almost felt like a petulant child being scolded for eating sweets before dinnertime.
I stood up, forcing Elio to take a step back, but not far enough. I still found myself pressed up close to him.
I tilted my head back and met his eyes.
He didn’t say anything for a moment. Neither did I.
His eyes flared for a brief second, and for the first time, I saw something on his face that wasn’t the tightly held apathy he tried to present to me and everyone else around him, and it wasn’t the look of disappointment he had been giving me lately, but something else.
Something entirely different.
Something potent and dangerous and unfamiliar.
He had never looked at me like this before… like he was…interested?
