For Angelo(33)

He answered her readily, telling her about the meetings he had, and when he was done, she wrinkled her nose, saying, “That’s all about work, though. What about personal stuff?”

He thought about Jaike’s call early this morning and said slowly, “Nothing interesting happened outside work.” And this time, it was his turn to carefully avoid her gaze, murmuring, “Your punishment has come to an end.” Without waiting for her to answer, he gently lifted her off his lap and settled her on her feet.

She looked down at him, blinking in surprise since she had expected him to have her sit with him.

Angelo glanced up at her. “Tesoro…”

The way he spoke made her feel uneasy. “Yes?”

“You’re not invited to the party.”

Oh.

“I would have canceled this, too, if I could but that’s out of the cards unfortunately. These parties are…important for some people. It’s only when and where they can be themselves.” When she didn’t answer, he said quietly, “You understand, don’t you? I’m not letting you go for your own good.”

She said tonelessly, “I understand.”

He sighed. “No. I can see you don’t.”

“I’m not a baby.” Her heart started to ache, but she wasn’t sure if it was the kind of pain she wanted. All she knew was that she was hurt.

“I promise, tesoro. It is only because I’m concerned about you that I’m doing this.” When she didn’t answer, he took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss.

“Don’t be mad, my Lane.”

And softhearted fool that she was, she just couldn’t make herself stay upset when he was like that. “You win,” she said glumly. “I’m not upset anymore.”

“Even if I tell you I’ll need to lock you in your room?”

“Angelo!”

“I’m afraid I’m not joking.”

“But—”

“Precautionary measure,” he continued. “While I’ll do my best to ensure none of my guests bother you, there will always be the smallest chance that someone could slip past, and I want to ensure you’re safe at all times.”

She remembered what Julieta said about Angelo needing to be in control, and she muttered, “You’re not just a sadist, are you? You’re a control freak, too.”

Smiling, he only brought her hand to his mouth again for another kiss.

She sighed, saying glumly, “Alright, you win this round, too.”

He said gallantly, “Thank you for being understanding, tesoro.”

“What time is it going to end anyway?” she muttered.

“The earliest would probably be around six—”

“In the evening?” She looked hopefully at him.

“Tesoro.”

“It was a joke. Ha. Ha.” But inside, she was aghast. His parties lasted until six in the morning?

Angelo’s lips twitched at the dismay on her face. “Stop worrying, my Lane. I promise I won’t kiss anyone in the party.”

“Ha!”

His tone contemplative, he continued, “However, if they choose to kiss me—”

She looked at him in acute torment.

He tried repressing his amusement, but it was impossible.

The moment he smiled, she realized that he was just being sadistic, and she cried out, “Angelo!” But she wasn’t really mad, and she knew he knew it, too.

Angelo flashed a grin at her, and her toes curled.

Oh gosh, she was so easy where this man was concerned.

“Promise me, will you, my Lane?”

Promise what?”

“That you won’t worry.”

She shrugged.

“If you promise me you won’t worry, I’ll drop by your room and read you a bedtime story before you sleep.”

She said immediately, “Deal.”

He laughed. “I was joking.”

She shook her head. “But you already said it, so you can’t take it back.”

Angelo was exasperated and amused at the same time. “It was a joke.”

A mulish look entered her eyes.

He sighed. “Alright, my Lane. It’s a deal.”

“And you won’t pretend to forget your promise?”

He knew she was just teasing him, but the words backfired on both of them.

A sliver of a memory came to him.





Jaike, a tremulous smile on her lips, her gaze filled with hurt confusion at the way he kept standing her up—

And during their last phone call as a couple, on what would be the night of their breakup, she had asked haltingly, ‘You promise you won’t forget this time?’





“Angelo?”

Lane’s voice drew him back to the present.

I’m a goddamn fool, he thought. Returning Lane’s smile, he said lightly, “Of course I won’t forget.”

And he didn’t.

He simply chose to break it.





****





Lane sat on the floor, her back against the door. It was close to one in the morning now, and there had been no sign at all of Angelo coming anytime soon. Biting her lip, she reached up for the knob and tried it for the nth time—