Silvano's pov She stood there, flushed, her lips red, her dress too damn short for her, and still, somehow, she looked like the only real thing in a room full of noise.“I have people watching,” I finally said.She scoffed. “You had someone follow me?”“I have someone following everyone I care about, Grace,” I snapped.“So you make them feel like prisoners?” She asked.“You don’t get it, do you? I am not just some boyfriend you sneak out on. You should tell me where you are going before you leave the house.”Her eyes narrowed. “So I am your prisoner now?”“No,” I said, trying to keep my voice low. “I am saying you should tell me where you are going next time so I can be rest assured,” I felt like I was talking to a little child while trying to make the child understand the meaning of safety. “But Valentina and Harper don't need to tell you where they are going,” she pointed out. “Because they can take care of themselves,”“So you are saying I can't take care of myself,” I let out
Grace's povLiam and I stayed at the bar, talking lightly. It was the kind of conversation that didn’t demand anything from me. Just small and easy talks.He asked about my favorite music, my least favorite movie genre, and whether I liked cats or dogs more.Those were simple questions. Normal ones I could easily answer. And I couldn’t remember the last time I had a normal conversation with someone, a stranger or not.I was already tipsy but was struggling to keep up with him. I was surprised I wasn't falling off my chair already in a drunk state but I guess that was what the lime was for. At a point, I glanced at the dance floor again, half-searching for Harper and Valentina and I saw Valentina making out with a guy on the dance floor. Well, it seems like one of us is getting some and enjoying her night. I looked again to see if I would catch a glance of Harper but I didn't. “The last time I did that, I almost lost an eye in the ring,” Liam said and I chuckled. “No, you didn't,”
Grace's Pov The bartender brought the shots and left but not before brushing fingers with Valentina and winking at her.Valentina blushed and took a shot. Harper handed me a shot and took hers. “Cheers to letting loose,” she said, raising hers.Valentina clinked her glass against ours. “And to forgetting whatever jerk had ever had us down.”I smiled faintly at that, thinking of Silvano, then tilted my glass back and drank it in a go. I lick the lime, squeezing it in my mouth and grimacing at the sting of it all hitting at once.“That is it,” Harper grinned, tossing hers back. “You are officially one of us tonight.” I coughed a little, laughing through it. “That stuff is brutal.” Valentina slid the second shot toward me. “Brutal but freeing. Just one more.I blinked. “Already?”“You need at least two to relax,” she winked.I hesitated but nodded. “Okay. Just one more.” We clinked again and downed the second shot. Warmth buzzed through my chest. The music pulsed harder now, lik
Grace's povMy chest burned with frustration.No. Hurt. Real, raw hurt. I wasn’t expecting a love confession from Silvano. Hell, I didn’t even know what we were. But I also didn’t expect him to throw me into the same category as every woman he has ever slept with. I don't even know how many women they were or his type of women and I didn't even want to know.I wiped my cheek roughly, trying to pull myself together, but the sting of his words echoed in my head. “There is no difference in you all.” He was classifying me with them. And it was cruel and disgusting.I don't even know why I was crying. Pathetic, Grace. You are not a kid who just cries at any emotional stress. “You shouldn't let things get to you. You are not the same as other girls,” I muttered to myself, reassuring myself.I walked down the hallway with no real direction, just needing space. Needing air. I don't need to feel so damn stupid. I found myself outside by the poolside with the night's fresh breeze br
Grace’s povI sat on the bed, staring at the floor like it held all the answers to my emotional confusion.But the truth was my mind wasn't present. It was in what happened earlier in the living room.He kissed me.No, we kissed.Multiple times. And I let him. And I liked it. Every second of it. Every breath-stealing, heart-melting, spine-tingling second.My body reacted to his touch like my body was on fire that needed to be quenched.He affected me as much as I do affect him. But even worse was how much I liked it and how much I wanted more. That realization alone scared me. Because Silvano Morelli wasn’t safe. Not to my heart. Not to my peace. Not to my family.He was chaos dressed in charm, trouble wrapped in a fine face, and mouthwatering body.And yet here I was sitting with tingling lips and flushed skin like some schoolgirl who just got kissed for the first time. This isn't my first kiss but it did look like it. I feel like a high school girl who just got her first ki
Silvano's PovI didn’t hesitate.I kissed her again softly. Then slower the second time. The third was deeper. Like I was trying to tell her I was sorry.When I finally pulled back, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dazed, and her lips slightly parted.“That is three,” I whispered. “Am I forgiven now?” I asked her.She didn’t speak immediately, she just looked at me like she was trying to figure me out all over again.“You are trouble, Silvano Morelli,” she finally said.I gave her a half-smile. “You are just figuring that out now?”Before she could respond, Harper walked into the living room and Grace quickly stepped back from me, giving distance between us. She brushed her fingers through her hair like nothing had just happened between us, and she was just having a harmless communication with me. But that wasn't the case. We were making out and she was liking it. Harper looked at me before moving her eyes to Grace who was looking anywhere but me and Harper. And right now, the s