The Game (Wagered Hearts Series, #3)(28)

We left the party after dinner and dessert, Emilia citing an early business meeting the next morning. Her family seemed reluctant to see us go, and for a minute I was half afraid they somehow manage to convince us to stay the night, but Emilia stood her ground. We were on the road back toward Emilia's Manhattan apartment just before midnight.





Chapter 13: Rob



"That was quite interesting," I said, turning to her once we were on the road.

She let out a weary sigh and closed her eyes. "Maybe for you," she said. "It was exhausting."

Her voice reverted back to her crisp, neutral accent, and I was partly sad to see it go.

"You didn't enjoy yourself?" I asked. "Your family seemed so nice and welcoming."

"No, I did. I haven't seen them for a few years, and it was actually nice to see some familiar faces, but there's only so much I can take. Every time I'm around them, I feel like a kid again," she said.

I laughed. "I noticed that, but I liked them. I actually enjoyed myself more than I thought I would. Especially the walk down memory lane."

"I'm sure you did," she said wryly.

"It's true, I learned a lot about you. You really are another person when you're around them. It was nice to see."

"You mean I was loud and obnoxious," she said.

"No, I didn't say that. You were genuine, not trying to pose for the cameras or put on a fake persona for the press. I don't know why you choose to hide behind this persona you've created. I think the real Gina Marie is much more interesting," I said.

"You have no idea what you're talking about. I learned very early on that if I wanted to get ahead in life, I had to lose as many of those traits as possible--especially the accent."

"Your family must have been very surprised. I can't imagine what they must have thought about their little Gina Marie transforming herself into this whole other person," I said laughing.

She opened her eyes and looked at me. Her expression was grave and I felt the smile slip off my face. "You might think it's one big joke, but I don't really think my relationship with my family is a laughing matter. There's a very good reason why I don't go home that often," she said.

I waited, expecting her to elaborate, but she just sat there staring out the window. "What reason?" I finally asked, unable to stand the silence.

"You only saw one side of my family tonight. They weren't always so loving and gracious. When I was younger, my parents kicked me out of the house after I got caught drinking and expelled from school. I was only 14 years old at the time. I stayed with friends, hopping from couch to couch, but they didn't give a f**k."

She stopped to take a breath and then plowed on, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "My dad was a raging alcoholic and I remember these loud, knockdown, drag out fights he and my mom used to get into. She threatened to leave him so many times and take us with her, but she never did. I wished she did though. I grew up hating the both of them. So when I was 15 and got spotted by a modeling scout, I left and never looked back."

"It doesn't sound like it's all water under the bridge to you."

"It was a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I don't ever want to be like them."

"I had no idea," I said quietly.

"No one usually does," she said. "Anyway, I don't like to talk about it much. They seemed to have gotten their shit together now and it's all in the past, I guess."

I admired the strength it took for her to get past her upbringing and become the person she was now. There was a lot more to her than I initially gave her credit for. She had managed to make a life for herself and accomplish so much at such a young age, and all while having to overcome so many obstacles. I felt almost ashamed of the things I'd complained about growing up, like not being able to go to parties and clubs when I was a teenager. She'd been homeless.

I don't know what made me do it. Maybe it was the conversation we'd just had, or the way her hair was swept over her shoulder, exposing her delicate neck, or how she bit her lip and looked up at me with such luminous blue eyes, or the fact that we were stopped at a red light, but I kissed her then. There were no cameras or witnesses around to capture the moment. No purpose to the kiss other than the fact that I wanted to do it. I'd wanted to do it all night, maybe even longer than that. Probably since our last kiss.

She rounded her lips in shock at the unexpected contact at first, but then relaxed and opened up to me. I could feel her hesitation melting away, and a voice in the back of my mind warned me I was treading on dangerous ground. But I ignored it. This felt too right, too good, for me to stop. I couldn't do it even if I wanted to.

She pulled back first and looked up at me with a dazed expression. "Wow," she said.

I felt the same way. That kiss was unlike any I'd ever experienced before. Even the few times we'd had to put on a show for the public couldn't match up. This felt real.

A honking horn snapped my attention back to the road and we continued the drive in silence. I felt pulled toward Emilia in a way I'd never felt before. It was both scary and thrilling. By the time I pulled into the parking garage under her building, the tension between us had become unbearable. I knew something had to happen.