You can always snuggle in with me.
Can he read that thought in my eyes?
“Quit complaining,” Robbie says, shoving Kit’s arm. “Be glad you had a couch to crash on in the first place. Bet it’s more comfortable than a family dinner with your sister and her new boyfriend.”
Kit grumbles, but there’s no animosity in it.
We have coffee and a quick bite to eat, then get ready to head to my mother’s house. Round two of Thanksgiving dinner is starting, this time with the extended, extended family. By the time the weekend is over, I’ll have eaten so much they’ll have to roll me home.
Kit has an easiness about him. He moves in the house as if he’s lived here his whole life and doesn’t stop joking and talking with Robbie.
I watch them, realizing just how close they’ve gotten over the past few months.
I’m glad I didn’t kiss Kit last night. It would have been a mistake.
I’m just all messed up over Angelo, and I was craving some sort of male presence. It’s the lizard brain inside me, wanting to be safe and protected—and maybe the lustful part of me, wanting to know what another man’s touch feels like on my cold, lonely body.
The evolved parts of my brain understand it’s an urge. That’s all. I do my best to push it to the side and put on a happy face for a day with the family.
Urges can be suppressed, after all. My lizard brain can be whipped into submission.
Whipping things into submission—now that’s an idea.
I squeeze my eyes shut and gulp down more burning, bitter coffee.
When we get to my mother’s house, half the family is already there. Nonna hands me an apron and turns toward the kitchen, and I throw a glance at Kit. My eyes always seem to find his.
He grins, quirking an eyebrow. “Looks like you’ve got a job to do.”
“Don’t get any ideas,” I quip. “Only Nonna can hand me an apron and expect me to get cooking.”
Kit laughs, and I love the sound. Angelo never laughed at my jokes. He mostly made me feel stupid. I follow my grandmother to the kitchen, feeling Kit’s eyes on my back as I walk away.
It’s just an urge, remember? It’s my lizard brain.
Nothing more.
It’ll pass.
It has to.
But every time I head to the living room or hear Kit’s voice or his laugh through the kitchen doorway, my stomach flips and squeezes and sends fire pulsing between my thighs.
I drop potato peels and vegetable scraps in the compost, and my mother points to the overflowing garbage. “Take that out, hon.”
I learned long ago that whatever affectionate pet names my mother tacks onto the end of a sentence, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s given me a command, not a request. I nod, tying up the bag and hauling it up.
Maybe on my way back inside, I can steal a few minutes in the living room.
But as soon as I step outside, my stomach drops. A black Camaro pulls up at the end of the driveway as fear starts to grip my chest. It squeezes painfully, making me feel every thump of my heart. Icy tendrils start to wrap around my legs, and everything feels heavy.
Setting my shoulders, I walk to the end of the driveway where the garbage cans are. Angelo gets out of his silly, souped-up muscle car and leans against the roof, staring at me.
I arch an eyebrow as I toss the bag of garbage in the can. “What are you doing here, Angelo? Did your family finally realize what a piece of shit you are and bar you from Thanksgiving?”
Shut up! That’s the kind of sass that makes Angelo blow up. A month ago, I wouldn’t have dared say that. Hell, yesterday I wouldn’t have dared. Now, though? It chases some of the coldness away.
Angelo’s eyes narrow to slits. “I wanted to wish your family a happy Thanksgiving. We grew up together, Serena. I didn’t just lose you. I lost your whole family, too.”
Cry me a fucking river, bro.
I clench my jaw. “I thought Robbie made it very clear last night about what we think of you hanging around.” My voice is hard, but a tiny wobble on the final word betrays my true feelings.
I’m afraid.
I can’t help it.
Angelo makes me feel small. I wait for him to sneer at me and throw ugly, lashing words my way. They’ll sting as they whip across my face. They’ll flay my skin and leave me broken and bleeding. They always do. His words carve deep, red lines across my flesh. Ones that don’t scar or scab or heal—they fester.
I wait for his eyes to turn black as anger takes hold of his mind.
But something worse happens. His face softens, and he puts on the smooth, honeyed voice that used to work so well on me.
“What happened, baby?”
“I’m not your baby.”
He starts walking around his car, and I move backward. “Go away, Angelo. We broke up six months ago. There’s no reason for you to be here.”
“I’ve known your family since I was a kid, Serena. I’m not going to stay away.” The honey in his voice turns sour, and I know the breaking point is close. I get ready for the switch. The black eyes. The anger.
“I’m asking you to stay away,” I say, gathering all my courage. I’m still walking backward, though, and he knows he has the upper hand.
How could he not? His biceps are as big as my head. He towers over me by more than a foot. He could fling me across the yard if he wanted to. Even though he’s never done anything like that to me, I know he’s wanted to. I’ve seen the way he holds himself back. How he punches walls and destroys boxes of cannolis instead of hitting me. I know it’s only a matter of time.
I bite the inside of my lip until I taste blood.
“Come on, baby.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Babe,” he says, opening his palms toward me.
Then, like the sun’s rays warming my icy skin, a voice comes from behind me. “Is everything okay, Serena?”
I turn to see Kit in the doorway, carrying a bag of empty bottles for the recycling, and I silently thank my mother for putting him to work.
“Who the fuck are you?” Angelo’s eyes are hard, and my blood turns to ice. The sweetness in his features is gone. The honey in his voice has melted away.
This is the real Angelo. The hard Angelo. The guy I’ve been trying to break up with for six months. The guy who shows up at my apartment unannounced and invites himself over to my family’s Thanksgiving. The guy who just. Won’t. Leave. Me. Alone.
Kit puts the bag of bottles and cans down and moves forward. He takes a step in front of me, shielding me protectively from the angry man in the driveway.
Kit’s height doesn’t scare me. The size of his biceps is inviting, not terrifying. The raw power coiled in his muscles is a relief, not a source of fear. The flat, angular planes of his body look like they were made to protect me, not hurt me. Even the hardness in his eyes makes warmth bloom in the center of my chest.
I’m glad he’s here.
Angelo, on the other hand, looks homicidal.
7
Kit
My whole body tenses. Serena stands behind me, and I make sure to shield her from the brute in front of me. My hands hang loosely at my sides, and I try to stand as tall as I can.
I may look relaxed, but every instinct inside me is poised. Ready.
I really wasn’t expecting a fight on Thanksgiving Day, yet here I am. Waiting for the first punch to fly. When Serena’s ex huffs, his eyes darkening as he takes a step forward, I wonder if the awkwardness with Finn and Esme really would have been so bad. I could have stayed in Woodvale and had my stepmother Lydia’s pumpkin pie.
Can’t be worse than this, right?
But Serena lets out a soft whimper behind me, and I know I’m exactly where I need to be.
“Angelo,” she says. “Please, just leave.”
“Who’s this guy? Are you already fucking someone else? I always knew you were a slut.” The big man spits the words. I can feel Serena wince behind me.
“Don’t speak to her like that.” My voice is deep and steady. It sounds more confident than I feel. “If she wants you to leave, you should leave.”
“I don’t have to do anything she fucking says,” Angelo shoots back. His huge ham hock-sized hands ball into fists as my heart starts to thump. My vision narrows. Adrenaline and anticipation thicken inside me, sharpening my senses.
The last time I got punched was in the schoolyard when I was twelve. Finn’s fist connected with my jaw, and we both got detention for a full month.
I really didn’t think I’d be in this situation as an adult, but the need to protect Serena wells up inside me. I widen my stance.
“You need to leave,” I say, carefully enunciating the words.
“I don’t need to do shit,” he responds, taking a step forward. His lip curls, warm air huffing from his mouth. It blows in a cloud of mist, dissipating in the cool air.
“Go inside,” I tell Serena over my shoulder.
“No.”
My eyes widen and I steal a glance at her. Her jaw is set, her lips pinched in a thin line. She takes a deep breath and tries to step around me, but a noise behind us draws everyone’s attention.
“Angelo!” Serena’s mother appears in the doorway, her arms spread wide. “What a wonderful surprise!”
I glance at the beast in the driveway, frowning. His whole demeanor has changed in the split second that I looked to see who was behind us.
Now, he looks like he nurses newborn kittens in his spare time and helps old grannies with their groceries. His face is soft, with a kind smile plastered over his lips. All the coldness gone from his eyes.
Serena, on the other hand, looks the same as she did before. Her brows are drawn together and when I reach over to touch her lower back, I feel how much she’s trembling.
Angelo’s eyes flash when I reach for her, but I ignore him.
“Come in, Angelo. I saw your mother at the grocery store this morning. How is your sister?”
“She’s fine, Mrs. Russo,” Angelo says, his voice smooth as molasses and just as sweet. The change in his personality is dizzying.
“Come in!” Mrs. Russo repeats, laughing. She swats at Serena to get out of the way and gestures for Angelo to enter.
Mercifully, he shakes his head. “I shouldn’t, Mrs. Russo. But thank you.”
“Nonsense. I’ve known you since you were in diapers, Angelo. Even if Serena won’t see what a catch you are, you’ll always be welcome in my house.”
Serena stiffens, and I splay my fingers wider over her back. She leans into me as the pulse in her neck thumps.
Angelo gives her a smile, running his hand over his slick-backed hair. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” His sickly smile widens. “But I really should respect Serena’s space. I just wanted to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.”
He raises one of his massive hands as Mrs. Russo clicks her tongue, and I watch the big man turn around and head back toward his car. Mrs. Russo gives Serena a disappointed stare.
“I can’t believe you let him go, Serena. He would have made such a good husband, and I know he was going to ask you to marry him. Mrs. Berretti said he’d picked out a ring and everything. Why did you have to push him away? I can tell he still loves you. He was so heartbroken after the baby…”
Baby?
Serena’s shoulders round as anger sparks deep in my gut.
A good husband? Really? Does she not see the effect Angelo has on Serena? Does she not think him showing up here, unannounced, is a clear violation of Serena’s privacy?
It’s an act. He wanted to show her that he can still get to her, even where she feels safest. I glance over my shoulder, meeting Angelo’s eye as he slides back into his car. His car roars to life and accelerates down the quiet street, and Serena lets out a breath.
“Just drop it, Mom. Please.” Serena picks up the bag of recycling I’d dropped, avoiding her mother’s eye.
But Mrs. Russo isn’t done. She plants her hands on her hips and takes a step toward Serena. “I just don’t see why you had to break up with him. Everyone makes mistakes. He said he was sorry about that girl and he even fired her! I think—”
“Is there anything I can help you with in the kitchen, Mrs. Russo?” I interrupt, taking a step toward the older woman.
She looks at me with wide eyes, registering my presence. “That’s nice of you, Kit, but no. You just take a seat in the living room. Do you need another drink?”
Patting her dark, dyed hair, Mrs. Russo turns to the door and walks inside. I glance at Serena, who mouths a silent thank you before heading for the recycling bin. I walk back inside and take a seat on the couch, not hearing any of the thousand conversations happening at once.
Robbie appears beside me, handing me a beer. “Everything okay?” He speaks quietly, so only I can hear. The couch shifts as he takes a seat beside me, his eyes serious.
“Angelo was here,” I say. “He’s gone now.”
“Fucker,” Robbie spits, making as if to get up. “How’s Serena?”
“She’s okay, I think.” I take a deep breath, glancing at my friend. “I think it’s a good thing for her to come to Woodvale. She can stay at my place as long as she needs.”
Robbie’s eyes soften, and he puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. He lets out a long breath, nodding. He doesn’t have to say how grateful he is. I can see it in his face.
I know I’d already agreed to let her stay with me, but even Robbie can feel a shift. I mean what I say. I want her to stay with me. She needs to get out of here and go somewhere safe.
When Serena walks back inside, her body crumpled in on itself, I know it’s the right thing to do. Judging by her mother’s reaction, no one understands. No one sees the truth. I saw the switch in Angelo, and I know I saw a side of him he hides from them.
When I worked at Woodvale Skydive, I saw lots of guys come through our doors with their girlfriends. They’d get territorial whenever Finn and I were around, and hated when Finn or another male skydive instructor strapped themselves to their girlfriends for the jump.
I could see the dark looks in their eyes and heard the low comments they’d hiss to their significant others.
Guys like Angelo? Like the territorial dudes who hated another man looking at their girl?
They don’t want what’s best for their girlfriend. They didn’t want her to enjoy the jump, and I was pretty sure some of those girls hated being strapped to Finn for the simple reason that they’d hear about it later.
So, yeah. I know Angelo’s type. I know the corner Serena’s backed into, especially when her family is pushing her to get back together with him.
She needs to get out of here, and I have a spare bedroom. What kind of guy would I be if I refused? I’m not even there most of the time.
Plus, I want her there. I want to keep her safe. It’s an involuntary instinct. A need. A primal call to the male side of me, wanting to make sure nothing and no one hurts her.
As Robbie stands up and follows his sister out of the room, I let out a sigh.
He’s been a good friend to me over the past couple of months. At a time when I felt like I could trust no one, he’s been reliable and consistent, and I’ve even looked forward to our flights together whenever I’m not in the air.
The least I can do is provide a safe space for his sister.
And one thing I won’t do is entertain these thoughts about her attractiveness. I won’t go down that road. I won’t act on my desires. I won’t be like Finn, breaking my friend’s trust and taking advantage of the situation.
It’s not the type of guy I am.
Someone shoves a plate full of appetizers at me. Dinner hasn’t even started, and I’m already full, but in the interest of not insulting anyone’s nonna, I accept the plate with a smile, trying to push the thought of Serena out of my head.
8
Serena
My old bedroom door opens behind me and Robbie steps through. He closes the door gently
, arching his brows.
“Sorry I wasn’t there when Angelo arrived.”
I shake my head, trying to brush my tears away as stealthily as I can. “It’s okay. Kit was there. I think he scared Angelo away.”
Robbie nods, letting out a long breath. “Kit told me you can stay at his place as long as you need. I think you should come with us on Monday. I can get you on the standby list for our flight back.”
“Monday?”
That’s soon. I wasn’t planning on leaving until after New Year’s, but the thought of heading to Woodvale on Monday has definite appeal.
“I don’t want you staying here without me around. I don’t trust that animal.” Robbie’s brow darkens, and his eyes are drawn to the window—as if he’ll catch Angelo trying to sneak back here.
Tears cling to my lashes and I nod, wrapping my arms around my brother. He rests his chin on top of my head, holding me close.
“I’m sorry no one understands, Serena,” he says quietly.
“You do,” I murmur, my voice muffled in his shirt. “And Kit does.”
“Yeah,” he answers softly. Pulling away, Robbie lets out a long sigh. “Sometimes I feel like Kit came into our life for a reason, you know? Right when you got a job offer in Woodvale, I found out that’s where he lives. He only started flying commercial after shit went down with his own sister. It just…I don’t know.”
“I feel it too,” I answer, sniffling. And I do feel it. The gravity of Kit’s presence. The way he slid into our lives so effortlessly. How right it feels to have him here.
Outside, when he put his hand on my back, I could tell it wasn’t just because of Angelo. He was protecting me from my mother, too. From her doubt and her words. From her lack of understanding.
His hand was a lifeline, and I used it to pull myself together.
Robbie jerks his head toward my Himalayan pink salt lamp, snorting. “Maybe there’s something to all your woo-woo meditation bullshit, after all.”
“What are you calling bullshit?” I grin. “Meditation is proven to help with all kinds of things. Plus, it’s the one thing that gave me the strength to break up with Angelo.”
Don't Need You: A Brother's Best Friend Romance (We Shouldn't Book 3) Page 6
