I watched as Mani left and only turned back when I heard the clearing of throats.
"Well, that was awkward?" Luca says, coming to stand beside me.
" fuck." I muttered underneath my breath. "I have no idea why she is acting this way. Everything had been perfect since we returned from Paris; now I have no idea why she is mad at me."
"I believe I might know the reason for that." Luca says, and I turned to look at him, my brows raising.
"And how exactly would you know that?"
"Well, I had wanted a late-night snack last night and had gotten downstairs for some." He stated, rubbing his chin with a finger, like he was in thought. "I am certain I saw Victoria coming out of your room with the slimmest nightwear, and I’m very sure Mani did too, since she was a couple of distances away from the door when Victoria walked out."
"Fuck," I said and wiped a hand down my face.
"Yeah," Luca said. "And just so you know. They did exchange a few words for a brief moment, but it was enough to have Mani change directions."
"Victoria had gotten the wrong impression that what we had in the past was still on. I had put her in her place last night and sent her away."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I was going to let Victoria know that what happened yesterday won’t happen again, and I hope to make myself clear."
"Well, good luck with that because Mani is beyond pissed." Luca says, tapping on my shoulders before making his way to the dining room.
I ran my hands through my hair, letting out a frustrated puff of breath. I need to rectify whatever misunderstanding Mani had.
Making my way in the direction of the kitchen, I was able to block Mani before she could walk in.
Her eyes narrowed. "Do you mind moving out of the way?"
"Whatever thought you have swimming around your head is wrong, amore."
She looked confused. "Thoughts"
"I know you had seen Victoria walk out of the room. I don’t know what you think happened between us, but trust me when I say this: Nothing happened."
Mani stiffened. "I have no claim on you, so you don’t need to explain yourself."
I scowled. "I told you already, I don’t want any other woman but you, and I mean it."
"You don't have to explain yourself; I honestly don’t care. You are free to bed any woman of your choice," she grunted out, a scowl on her face. "
I leaned against the door. "Oh, I think you do care."
"I don’t."
"And yet you cried last night," he said.
"What makes you think so?"
"Your face is puffy and your eyes are a bit red," she said, placing her hand on her cheek and looking away as she bit her lips nervously.
I took a step closer, taking hold of the hand on her cheek before bringing it to my lips.
"Let me take you out."
" What..." She stuttered out, confused for a second before speaking again. "Like a date."
"Exactly like a date." I kissed the back of her hand and asked. "And you don’t have to worry about Victoria; I plan on putting her in her place." "There is no way I would ever choose her over you." I lean down, capturing her lips with mine for a brief moment before walking past her to my office.
The earlier I get this sorted out, the better.
♤♤♤♤
It was getting late and time for our date. I was nervous, standing in front of the mirror as I took in my appearance.
I was dressed in a blue gown that fell below my knee with a black heel, and I packed my hair in a high bun to get the hair out of my face. There was little to no make-up on my face, since I wasn’t really a fan of such. After taking a satisfying look at myself in the mirror, I made my way out of the room.
When I got to Sin, he was on his phone, not paying any attention to me, so I made the decision to observe him. He was dressed in a black suit and pants, a white shirt, a black tie, and a pair of black shoes that appeared to be their first ever appearances in the sunlight.
I could not understand what he was saying since he was speaking quickly in Italian, but as soon as he turned to face me and smiled, my stomach was filled with butterflies and my heart melted.
"I will get back to you later; right now, I have something important to handle," he said in a threatening voice, which only made him look hotter.
"You look beautiful, love," he said as he walked up to me to place a kiss on my forehead.
"Thank you." I whispered, nervously fiddling with my fingers.
"Shall we?" He asked, and I nodded as his hands found their way to my back and we began making our way out of the house.
We drove for nearly an hour and thirty minutes before arriving at a fancy-looking restaurant.
Sin’s hand once again found its way to my back when we walked in. We were immediately attended to and given a seat with a better view of the city.