over. And meeting you? You made me focus on the present, and focusing on the present, with you, felt so good I never wanted to leave it. Not for two seconds. So yeah, when you asked me questions about my past, I may have changed the subject,” he says. “And I’m sorry that it hurt you. It was never intentional. I was never trying to shut you out.”
I exhale, getting lost in his penetrating blue-green stare.
“And another reason why I kept you at arm’s length,” he continues, “is because the last woman, I loved her so hard she slipped through my fingers. I loved her so hard it pushed her away. It was a goddamned blessing in disguise, but I didn’t want to do that to you, Aidy. You’re a free spirit. I’m not. I didn’t want to scare you.”
My shoulders fall, and I breathe him in again, my resolve softening by the second.
“But in trying to hold back,” he says, “I lost you anyway.”
I place my palm flat against his chest, feeling the steady drum of his beating heart. “I hear you, Ace, and I appreciate what you’re saying, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m always going to be second to Kerenza.”
His expression darkens, his brows furrowing.
“No. No, no, no. That’s where you’re wrong.” Ace inhales, his shoulders rising and lips forming a straight line. “God, I have so much to tell you.”
Ace cups my chin, tilting my lips toward his, and I can feel myself beginning to tremble. He leans closer, depositing a kiss on the top of my forehead, and I listen as he drags the scent of my hair into his lungs.
“Kerenza stopped by tonight,” he says, his words crushing my hopeful spirit. “The journal? It was written by my best friend. She left it at my door a couple months ago, thinking it would help me find peace with the situation.”
“Wait, so . . .”
“She thought it would give me closure,” he scoffs. “Why would I want to read about how my best fucking friend was sleeping with my fiancée? We grew up together for Christ’s sake. He was like a brother to me. And that self-absorbed asshole had the nerve to keep a diary of his affair, like it was his latest art piece.”
I blow a deep breath between my lips.
Ace stops talking, breathing hard like he needs a moment. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together one by one. Ace was never the one in love with a woman he couldn’t have. He wasn’t obsessed with Kerenza. He wasn’t sneaking around with another man’s woman – they were sneaking around on him.
“Fucking Gianluca,” he says, shaking his head. “I could give two shits about losing Kerenza. Marrying her would’ve been a huge mistake. I realize that now. And in retrospect, she was probably always going to fuck me over. Just never thought she’d do it with my best friend of all people; the one person who was closer to me than all of my brothers combined.”
“Gianluca?” My eyes search his. “His name . . . is Gianluca?”
It’s not a name a person hears everyday, but this is New York, and there are millions of people living in this area. It wouldn’t be unusual for there to be a couple of Gianlucas in the mix.
“You know him?” Ace breathes harder, faster.
“I . . . I don’t know?” I lift my brows. “Is he a photographer?”
“Jesus.” Ace exhales, stepping away, dragging his hand hard across his face. “Have you worked with him on set or something?”
“No,” I shake my head, knowing this isn’t going to end well. At least not for Gianluca. “Just met him tonight. He . . . he came with Topaz . . . he’s in there.”
Ace turns from me, staring hard into the reception room.
“Figlio di puttana,” he mutters under his breath, fists clenched at his sides. I’m not sure what it means, but I’m sure it’s nothing pleasant. He looks like a bull getting ready to charge, but I can’t let him ruin Wren’s reception.
Placing my hand on his arm, I grip tight. “Stop. Don’t go in there. Please. Whatever you need to say to him, please save it. Or take it outside. I can’t let you cause a scene. Not here. Not tonight.”
Ace’s eyes are dark, his jaw tensing as he stares hard, eyes trained on his laughing, carefree ex-comrade putting the moves on my best friend.
Topaz glances up, and I wonder if she’s been checking