“I’m not anything but tired, Michele,” he said, still refusing to look at the man.
“Well that much is obvious Kyle,” Michele snorted. “You’re also late though … at least that was what Reanna said a minute ago.”
A minute ago? How the hell had he talked to Reanna while she was at home? The man sure as hell hadn’t went upstairs.
Frowning and lifting his head, Kyle paused, suddenly finding himself lifting his eyes to look at the man. Michele was sitting on the edge of the short wall of bricks lining the walkway to the entrance of Kyle’s apartment building. As usual, the asshole was sitting back like he owned the place, a smug ass smile on his lips, and a cigarette burning in his hand …
Jackass.
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Kyle asked.
He still wasn’t quite used to the feeling, but he remembered it from when he’d been forced to witness Reanna in the arms of her ex … it was jealousy. And no, he wasn’t proud of it.
“Relax, Kyle,” Michele chuckled once again. “I gave her my number for emergencies, not social calls.” He waved his phone. “You happen to be atop her list of people to check on. She just wanted a heads up on your whereabouts. You haven’t been answering your phone. She was worried.”
Oh … Kyle lowered his eyes, feeling himself sober. He’d forgotten he hadn’t had his phone on him for the majority of the night. He’d been too busy making arrangements for Abrielle, to check his missed calls …
“Don’t look so disappointed in yourself, Blue …”
He wasn’t disappointed in himself … well, he was. But not for the reason Michele thought he was. He’d been so consumed by what was happening with Abrielle that he hadn’t even thought to call Reanna and Sofia. Tell them he’d be late. They were the two single most important people in his life … He should have called.
As for the jealousy. He was beginning to accept that as one of the downfalls of falling in love with a beautiful woman.
“She’s quite lovely, that one.” He heard Michele say just as he lifted his eyes to the man. “Beautiful, smart, successful, and a personality so intoxicating that she actually had me enjoying a conversation with her.” He laughed softly. “And that smile too …” He shook his head. Bringing the cigarette to his lips, Michele took a puff, then blew out a long breath of smoke. “She has a kind heart.”
“I know all of this,” Kyle replied, fighting to suppress another unwanted wave of fucking jealousy. Seriously what was wrong with him? Was he so weak that he couldn’t even bear hearing another man pay Reanna a compliment? “That’s why I’m marrying her.”
“I know you know,” he nodded, lowering his eyes and taking another quick puff of his cigarette. “I’m just surprised, Blue. That’s all …” He lifted his eyes. “She’s not your type … Good is not your type.”
Kyle snorted in response to the man’s words. “And your type is so much better than mine was.”
Michele had his fucking nerve talking about Kyle’s taste in women.
“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “And I would never claim it to be.” Taking one last long puff of his cigarette, Michele put out the fire with his fingers, then flicked the small bud into the grass. “But even still. How’d you find a nice girl like her?”
Rolling his eyes at the man’s invasiveness, Kyle sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “She and Carter are close. We met through her.”
“Of course,” Michele chuckled, nodding his head as if he should have known. “Carterina and her array of friends.”
It was true. Carter had no shortage of acquaintances, and friends that she enjoyed spending time with. Reanna happened to be one of her closest.
“How much you want to bet she befriended these women with the sole purpose of ensuring she had a say in whom you all choose to marry?”
Snapping out of his thoughts, and looking up at the man with a slight frown, Kyle shook his head. Not because he disagreed, because he hadn’t—he wouldn’t put it past Carter to do such a thing— but because he just hadn’t wanted to go any deeper into their little conversation. He was hardly in the mood.
“Do the men have all of my reports ready for me inside?” Kyle asked the man, promptly changing the direction of the conversation.
The talking would end much faster if they spent less time discussing personal shit. Though Kyle had known the slightly younger man since he was about ten years old, the fucker was still an asshole Salerno with a bad attitude. An exceptionally talented one, yes, but one nonetheless.
Seemingly aware that Kyle was ending their conversation abruptly, Michele nodded, his expression annoyingly amused when he answered Kyle’s question. “Yes sir, they are. They know how much you don’t like to linger … apparently even when lingering means catching up with an old friend …”
Scowling, Kyle looked away from the man. “Goodnight Michele.”
“Sleep tight, Valente,” Michele replied sarcastically.
“Fuck off, Michele.”
“As you wish, Boss,” Michele chuckled, giving a slight bow of his head. Then he sighed, as he stood up to pull the door open for Kyle. “Have a good evening with your family, Kyle,” he then said, his tone almost sounding … thoughtful, genuine even.
Surprised by it, Kyle turned his head to look at the man.
“Was that,” Kyle frowned, “genuine?”
Of course his question was met with a glare from Michele, who often was not the genuine type, at least not when talking to Kyle he wasn’t.
“Get your ass inside, Kyle,” the man grumbled. “You’re late, remember.”
Chuckling, Kyle shook his head. “Good night, Salerno.”
With that, he turned to walk forward, surprised that his mood had actually been lifted a bit from his unwanted interaction with Michele. He had just been about to instruct the doorman to close the door behind him, when a familiar voice caught his attention, causing him to come to an abrupt halt.
“Kyle!” the woman called for him, sounding out of breath.
“Who is that?” Michele asked, stepping away from the door.
Frowning, and immediately turning to walk back outside, past Michele, Kyle looked up the sidewalk in the direction of her voice.
“Kyle wait—ahhh! No! Don’t touch me, don’t touch me. I’m family!”
“Stop!” Kyle shouted at his men before either of them put their hands on Tamara. “Let her come,” he commanded.
What the hell was wrong with them? There was protective, and there was over protective … Tamara Pierce may have been a little firecracker with that adorable attitude of hers, but the woman wasn’t very intimidating at all. How much harm could a woman dressed in a tight bright multicolored dress and sky high pink pumps do anyway … Well, Kyle took that back. That looked like something Carter would’ve worn back when he’d first met her. The woman had obviously scarred the men of the Salerno Organization; now no one was exempt from getting patted down if they tried to approach.
“Ohmigod ...” Tamara squealed, seemingly terrified as she scrambled down the sidewalk in Kyle’s direction, clutching her purse tightly to her chest.
Brows furrowing, a smile pulled at Kyle’s lips while he watched her run to him. What was she doing here?
When she finally made it to him, she immediately clutched on to his arm. “Oh my goodness, thank you,” she said in a breathy laugh. “Normally I’m not one for turning away gorgeous men trying to feel me up, but it’s dark out and everybody here scares me.”
She looked up at him, her eyes bright and so much like her sister’s that Kyle couldn’t even feel uncomfortable about the woman’s current proximity, nor by the fact that she was touching him. Normally he would, but it seemed the Pierce women had a bit of magic in their touch. The kind that made even a man as cold as Kyle melt like putty in their dainty little hands. So of course, Kyle pulled her closer to him, unable to fight off the urge to make her feel safe.
“You don’t have to fear, sweetheart,” Kyle assured
her. Noticing her shivering shoulders, he removed his jacket and placed it over her in effort to warm her. “No man here would ever harm you. They just get a little jumpy when something unexpected happens.”
“Like me showing up at this hour unannounced?” she asked, smiling up at him. Then she chuckled softly. “Well, you may want to get them used to that since you’re marrying my sister. I’m known for showing up unannounced at inappropriate hours of the night.” She raised her hands. “Mostly depending on the amount of drinks I’ve consumed in an evening of course.”
Smiling in amusement, Kyle placed a hand on her back, nodding his head as he gave her a light push in the direction of the front entrance to his building. “Good to know,” he replied, slight laughter in his tone. “You’re no different than my brother’s then.”
Judging by her laughter she seemed amused by his response, most likely thinking he was joking. He wasn’t.
“Let’s get you inside then,” Kyle said, giving her back a gentle pat. “I assume you’ll be joining us for dinner tonight. Perhaps you can help us break the news of our sudden upcoming nuptials to Sofia.”
“Yes, well while I love that idea, there is a chance that I won’t be alive after Reanna sees me walking into her new home tonight.”
She’d attempted to insert a bit of laughter in her words, but there was still an unmistakable tone of sadness that she’d done a poor job of hiding.
There was something wrong, Kyle could see it in her eyes.
Placing a hand on her upper back, Kyle led Tamara to the building. “Come on, Ms. Pierce,” he said, as kindly as he could. “Let us head upstairs to find out your fate then, shall we?”
Her answering giggle was genuine, but even still, Kyle could see the ever present somber look in her brown eyes. They were just as telling as her sister’s.
“We shall,” she nodded her head, allowing him to lead her forward. “Thank you.”
Kyle nodded while moving them forward to the entrance where, of course, the doorman had been dismissed, and the fucking smiling Salerno was standing at the door holding it open.
Animal.
Kyle had felt the horny bastard’s interest peak the exact moment Tamara revealed herself to be the woman calling out his name. Too bad Kyle wasn’t in the mood to give any formal introductions though …
“Don’t say a word,” Kyle commanded the man in Italian, making sure that his tone conveyed just how much he wasn’t fucking around.
He had saw the second the two single adults noticed each other. The attraction was probably instant, but there was no way in fucking hell that he was allowing his fiancé’s sister to even entertain the thought of being romantic with a womanizing asshole like Michele Salerno. Though the man was a far cry from the heartless fuck Kyle had once been, he still wasn’t good enough for Reanna’s sister.
It pleased Kyle to see Michele’s eyes immediately leave Tamara’s, and lock with his, the man’s annoyance at Kyle’s words more than evident.
Sadly, Kyle could care less about it.
He narrowed his eyes in Michele’s direction, daring him to speak as they walked by him and into the lobby.
Once they were safely through the doors, Kyle discreetly motioned for Michele to close the door behind them, to which he, of course, complied immediately.
“Was that man…?”
“Related to Nathan?” Kyle finished for the woman, having been expecting the question. Out of all of his cousin’s, Michele resembled Nathan the most. Even more than Lucca did. Nodding his head yes, he gave her back a light pat in silent answer to her question.
Not wanting to linger longer, Kyle pointed her into the direction of the elevator, instructing her to wait for him by it while he visited the security desk for his evening briefing before he headed back to her.
“That was quick,” she smiled, seeming pleased that he’d finished swiftly. “Did you get what you needed?”
Nodding and pressing the ‘up’ button for the elevator, Kyle lifted the beige folder in his hand. “Of course.” He gave the folder a light shake. “I get my briefing in paper form. They know how impatient I am.”
“Impatient, huh?”
He nodded once again, this time giving her a small smile. “One of my many charming qualities.”
She laughed softly, crossing her arms as she turned to face the closed elevator doors. “Well, my sister is the most patient woman I know so … makes sense …”
Gazing over at her, Kyle’s brows furrowed. “What makes sense?” he asked, curious.
“You and my sister,” she said softly, bringing her eyes back to his. “You’re opposites.” She giggled softly. “No wonder you two can’t keep away from each other.”
Kyle stared at the woman, a smile returning to his lips. He had never thought of it that way, but seeing as she was right, he and Reanna could not stay apart from each other, perhaps then her claim was accurate.
Once the elevator opened, they boarded the car, and Kyle entered the code for his top floor penthouse.
“Do you own this building?”
At the abrupt question, Kyle looked over to her.
“I’ve just always wondered,” she explained her question further, an uncomfortable laugh shaking the words. “Reanna said you lived on the top floor, and usually, top floor means owner.”
Kyle nodded. “This building, and every other from here to a few blocks over are all Salerno Organization property.”
“So that’s a yes?”
Kyle chuckled, leaning lazily back against the wall as the elevator began to rise. “Yes,” he answered. “My father and I headed the projects long ago. Designed the buildings.”
“You design, buildings?”
Kyle nodded again. “Residential homes mostly. It’s a hobby.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Designing houses is a hobby for you?”
Kyle shrugged.
It wasn’t the most normal of hobbies, but he enjoyed doing it whenever he got the chance. It relaxed him.
“Wow,” she shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest once again. “Reanna was right.” She smiled. “You are quite a complex man.”
Complex? That was an adjective he’d never heard used to describe him before. He liked it. It was a lot better than cold, mean, and heartless.
“You know,” Tamara said softly, re-capturing Kyle’s attention.
He looked over to her.
“I’m really happy for the two of you … despite what you may have heard about my,” she cleared her throat uncomfortably, “initial reaction.”
“I haven’t heard much, Tamara,” Kyle said in effort to make the woman feel a bit less uncomfortable. “Reanna didn’t give any specifics. She just mentioned that the two of you had a disagreement.” She’d done so in a text she’d sent him earlier, that he’d just read not too long ago.
Nodding her head, Tamara’s eyes lowered. “Yeah,” she whispered. “It was more like me being the unappreciative brat I’ve always been, and Reanna suffering because once again, I said or did something stupid.” She looked up with a sad smile. “In other words … I fucked up, and now I’m here to beg for my sister’s forgiveness and hoping that she doesn’t hate me for all of the stupid and incredibly insensitive things that I said to her today.”
Kyle watched as what looked like unshed tears welled up in Tamara’s eyes before she quickly wiped them away, then looked away from him once more.
She was sad; that much was obvious to Kyle. And what surprised him the most was that he, cared about the woman’s sadness. He empathized with her. And in a show of this empathy, Kyle reached over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look back in his direction.
At first she looked a bit taken off guard by his gesture, to which Kyle took absolutely no offense. This was still new to him as well. There were very few women that Kyle had ever felt close enough to offer his comfort, two of them were blood related, and one of them was to be his wife, so he hadn’t really expected to offer
such a gesture to Tamara either. But here he was, offering her his support in her sadness, offering her comfort. He even said a few words, hoping that it would ease her sadness. He almost didn’t recognize himself; he was turning into Nathan …
“Don’t fret, sweetheart.” No wait, that was Lucca. Definitely Lucca. “Reanna is your sister.” He smiled warmly. “There is no bond greater than the bond between siblings. Words by which my brothers and I live by, and they have gotten us through a lot of rough times.” More rough times than Kyle could count. But even still, the love he had for his four brothers was impenetrable. “She’ll forgive you.”
“Yeah,” the woman said in a breathy cry, nodding once again as her eyes fell to the floor. “I know she will.” Tears fell down her cheeks. “That’s what upsets me the most … She’s not even going to think about it, she’ll just forgive me and …” She shook her head, “I don’t deserve that.”
Dammit. How was she doing this? How was she making him feel shit? She was breaking his heart, and not only because she was crying either, but because … he got it. From one fuck up to another, he understood what it felt like to be the family member that was always saying and doing dumb shit. Shit that he’d never be able to undo, or unsay; shit he’d never be able to take back. It had taken becoming a father to a child that he refused to fuck up to get Kyle to stop being so much of a fuck up himself. And even then, even today, he still didn’t understand how his family didn’t just say ‘to hell with him’ and drop his ass off somewhere and desert him after all the hell he’d raised in the past.
“Trust me,” Kyle said, giving Tamara’s shoulder a comforting squeeze, and an understanding smile. “I know exactly how it feels to feel … undeserving of the forgiveness loved ones seem to give so easily.”
“Right,” she cried, lifting her teary eyes back up to his. “And the worst part is, I don’t even agree with any of the shit that I said to her. It isn’t what I feel; it’s not even what I wanted to say to her.” She sobbed softly. “It was just fear,” she wept. “I let my stupid fear and selfishness control me. Again. And I didn’t even say what was …” She brought a shaky hand to her chest. “I didn’t even say what was in my heart. I love you guys together,” she smiled, laughing softly even as the tears continued to fall down her face. “I think your story is the most twisted … most beautiful fairytale I’ve ever witnessed in my life.”
Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken Page 50