Squeezing the door handle, she didn’t want to turn back and look at him, afraid she would lose her composure.
“I’m telling you right now, any love I had for Bella is gone, and I’m willing to look past any love you might still have for Lucca.” Angel tried one last time to get her to take him back. “You didn’t deserve what I did to you, and for that, I’m sorry, Adalyn. It’s no excuse, but I’m fucked up. It’s how I’ve survived. I can’t promise you much of anything because of that, but I’m willing to try to make you happy, if you’ll let me.”
She looked back at him as more tears streamed down her face. This time, I need promises.
Shaking her head, she made up her mind. “I don’t think I could ever trust you again.”
Angel gave her the only promise he could while watching her close the door on him. “I can wait. I’m not going anywhere, sweetness.”
Tuesday morning, after calling Lucca and telling him that she wouldn’t go to school with Angel, she was taken off guard to find both the Escalade and a black car parked outside.
Seeing Angel waiting as he leaned against the hood of the car, and then looking at the Escalade that held all her friends, she realized she was being given a choice.
Adalyn took a breath and walked down the driveway. She came up to Angel’s car first but didn’t even turn her head as she walked right past him, not even the slightest bit tempted. It was almost like he didn’t exist.
When Wednesday came, she was met with the same two choices. Still, she found the choice easy. Escalade.
Thursday, Angel was still there. She was starting to get a bit annoyed, which made it the tiniest bit harder to walk past him again.
Her eyes drifted as she passed, glancing at the bad boy before she snapped them forward. Still Escalade.
When Friday rolled around, she found her resolve starting to slip. Thinking it would only get easier to pass him, she found the opposite was the truth; it only got harder. She promised herself she wouldn’t look at him, but again, her eyes slightly drifted. However, that wasn’t the worst part. This time, something else happened within her.
She felt her skin cry out for his; the missing pieces they had stolen from each other with each encounter were still there. It felt like a tether that was impossible to walk away from, but somehow, she did and got into the big SUV. Thank you, God.
Thirty-Four
A Man Who Was Made
After the weekend, she felt refreshed when she opened the door on Monday morning. There was no way he would still—
Why?!
Biting her lip hard, she started the journey down the driveway, beginning to pray. Dear God, please give me the strength to walk past this unbelievably arrogant man. She repeated the prayer over and over in her head and, with only one little glance, she was able to walk past a still patiently waiting Angel.
The Escalade door was opened, and Maria stepped out of the back seat to allow her to squeeze in. She couldn’t help noticing the strange look Maria gave her as she got in and climbed into the third row between Elle and Lake.
The tall blonde paused for a moment before she finally got back in, closing the door behind her. She sighed as the car started to pull away, then Maria’s voice filled the confined space. “Wait.”
They all looked at her when the car suddenly came to stop.
“Everyone out,” the mafia princess commanded, and she was instantly obeyed as the doors flew open and they all started to exit. When Adalyn started to leave, Maria pushed her back. “Not you. You stay.”
What the—
Her eyes grew wide when her butt immediately fell onto the seat beside her.
Vincent didn’t want to shut the door, clearly assuming what she was going to talk about. But when Maria gave him a threatening glare, he slammed the door shut.
In the now private space, the princess stared her down. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Well, I was going to schoo—”
“I meant, what the hell are you doing riding in here?” she hissed. “I can’t watch you turn him down anymore.”
To say Adalyn was stunned by the words coming out of the princess’s mouth would be an understatement. Never in a million years would she have thought Maria could care about something that involved a Luciano enough to meddle; yet she could tell by looking into her eyes that, deep down, for some reason she did.
Trying to keep her voice strong, she told the blonde, “He left me, Maria.”
“Well …” The blonde raised a brow. “He’s here now, isn’t he?”
“Yes … but he hurt me. How am I supposed to trust him again?”
Maria’s fierce gaze bore into hers. “He’s been here every day for the past week, and even though you continue to turn him down, he keeps coming back. Open your eyes and look at him. If you think he’s going to give up, you’re wrong, Adalyn. Men like Angel never lose,” she promised her, her eyes growing more captivating the longer she spoke. “If you can’t find it within yourself to trust him, then I was wrong about the type of man you were looking for, because I thought you wanted a man who was Made.”