Chapter Fourteen
Dante felt something tugging at his arm, and for a moment, he thought he was in a dream. He cracked open one eye, his blurry vision clearing slowly. A small figure stood next to him on the bed, and he realized it was Hannah.
He tried not to panic. Holly lay next to him, cuddled on his other side, dead to world. And of course she was. As he had promised, he made a quick trip to the store and grabbed more condoms, then came back and made love to her until she was exhausted. It was a struggle to keep quiet, but they managed somehow. He had meant to get up before Hannah did, but he overslept.
“Good morning, hon,” he said, his voice still raspy. “Uhm, everything okay?” It was a good thing he had put on his sweatpants before he went to bed.
Hannah’s face was bright with excitement. She didn’t seem bothered by the fact that he and Holly were together in bed, and she continued to tug at his arm, pointing to the door. She had probably seen the decorations and the presents already. Killian and Luna had outdone themselves, and he sent them a text in the middle of the night letting them know they could have a week of free meals at the restaurant.
“Did you want to show me something, Hannah?”
She rolled her eyes impatiently, and then pointed at the door again.
“Er … let me wake up your aunt first. Can you go ahead and give us a minute?”
She nodded eagerly, and then ran out into the living room, the door slamming behind her.
“What?” Holly quickly sat up, having been awoken by the sound of the door. Her hair was messy from sleep, her lips were still swollen, and her breasts were bare when the sheet fell to her waist. Dante thought she looked stunning and tugged her down to him.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said as he kissed her temple. “I think Hannah saw the living room. She probably wants to open presents.”
“Oh …” He waited for her to berate him for being caught in bed with her, but the lecture didn’t come. Instead, she let out an impatient sigh. “I guess we should go out there …”
“Do you need a minute? I’m sure she can wait.”
“No, it’s fine.” A loud thumping on the door made her wince.
“Listen,” he said. “I’ll go first. You go get cleaned up.” He kissed her on the cheek.
“Thanks. I owe you one,” she said as she rolled over to the other side of the bed. “I’ll make breakfast.”
He chuckled.
“What’s so funny,” she asked, looking over her shoulder.
“See? I told you yesterday you’d be making me breakfast today.”
That earned him a pillow to the face, which he playfully pushed away. “Hey, watch the goods, lady!”
“Ha!” She laughed. “C’mon.”
Dante took a deep breath and then got up. Last night had been incredible, to say the least, and he wanted nothing more than to join her in the bathroom. However, Hannah was waiting, and he knew what it was like to be a kid on Christmas morning. Besides, seeing Hannah’s face would be worth it.
He padded out to the living room as Holly quietly crept to the bathroom. It looked even better than he recalled from the glimpse he got of it last night. The curtains were drawn to the side, and, outside, snow was falling. He peered out and saw the trees were covered with it. A true white Christmas.
“Did Santa come and bring us gifts?” he asked, pretending to be surprised.
Hannah was sitting next to the tree, inspecting all the gifts underneath. Dante sat next to her, looking at the labels. There were several boxes, all addressed to Hannah from “Santa.”
“Wow, you must have been nice all year,” Dante commented, picking up a particularly large box and shaking it.
“Oh, Hannah,” Holly exclaimed as she entered the living room. She was dressed in her blue robe, her face freshly washed and hair up in a loose ponytail. “Santa came, can you believe it? Do you want to open presents?”
Hannah’s head bobbed vigorously.
“Let me grab my phone.” She reached for her purse, which she had left on the couch, then fished out her cell. “Okay, I just want to take a couple of photos and videos, then you can open your gifts.”
Hannah’s lips curled down into an adorable frown, but Dante coaxed a smile from her as Holly began to snap away. Finally, when Holly was satisfied, Hannah began to rip into the boxes. It didn’t surprise Dante that all the gifts inside were Princess Arya merchandise.
“Those must be expensive,” Holly whispered as they sat on the couch and watched Hannah open one present after another. The largest box contained a complete play castle. “You have to let me pay you and your friends back.”
“Absolutely not,” Dante said flatly. “Besides, these didn’t cost a thing. Evie and Connor get them by the truckload from the movie company, all free. Her daughter’s too young to play with them, and her boy probably wouldn’t want to play with pink toys.”
She frowned. “Still …”
Hannah let out a gasp when she opened the smallest box. It was the size of a DVD case and inside was a copy of the Princess Arya movie. Taped on the front was a publicity still of Evie, complete with signature. The little girl let out a squeak and then bounded over to the couch where she planted herself between Dante and Holly.
“Wow, that’s a great gift, Hannah,” Holly remarked. “Good thing you were on Santa’s nice list this year, huh?” Hannah beamed. “Why don’t you start cleaning up the wrapping paper and boxes while I make breakfast, all right? Dante can help,” she said with a smirk.
“Let’s go, hon.” Dante stood and helped Hannah up. “Let’s see if we can find a place for all your new toys, shall we?”
***
Holly made them a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and sausage. She hadn’t had time to stock up on groceries and was grateful that she had at least enough ingredients until today. Hopefully there would be some stores open later, but, if necessary, she supposed they could pick up Chinese food or order a pizza for dinner. Not exactly a world-class Christmas dinner, but it would have to do.
As soon as they started putting dishes away, Dante suggested they all go skating at Rockefeller Center. Before Holly could protest, Hannah’s face lit up in a way that seemingly only Dante could make her. Holly grumbled and headed to her room to get dressed.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go skating with Dante. But her mind was still reeling from last night, and it wasn’t just the mind-blowing sex. This morning, when she realized he was still with her in bed and Hannah had seen them together, there was a moment of panic. But she couldn’t seem to bring herself to be mad.
Still, there was that small, niggling thought in the back of her mind. Because if she was truly honest with herself, she wasn’t worried about confusing Hannah; she was worried about confusing herself.
Dante Muccino could have any woman he wanted. In fact, based on his dating history (which was splashed all over the internet), he already had had most of New York’s supermodels and celebrities. So, why would he want to be tied down to a woman who came with so much baggage? Dante would probably want children of his own, too. A picture of a cute little boy with Dante’s eyes and his smile popped into her head, as well as one of him with his arm around some leggy blond actress or model. The second thought made her stomach curdle like she had eaten bad seafood.
Before she could think about it further, Dante called her to tell her it was almost time to go. Holly quickly finished dressing, and they all piled into his car to drive to Rockefeller Center.
***
“I thought all Lycans were super agile?” She smirked at Dante. He was struggling to get to his feet in his skates on the ice. Meanwhile, a few feet away, Hannah was already learning to skate backwards.
“How is this even physically possible? It’s like standing on frozen slippery water on two dull knives,” he said as he grabbed the railing. He let out a long sigh. “Sorry ladies, I think I’m going to sit this one out. I’ll watch and take pictures okay?”
“Quitter!” Holly called after him playfully as Dante hobbled back to the waiting area, pulling himself along the railing. “Great job, sweetie!” she said to Hannah, who waved back.
She joined Hannah, skating around the rink laughing and enjoying themselves until their time was up. As she helped Hannah out of her skates, she realized she hadn’t seen Dante since he left the rink. She looked around, trying to spot him, and finally her eyes landed on a familiar dark-haired figured. Then her heart sank.
Dante was on the other side of the rink, leaning against the railing, but he wasn’t alone. A tall, blond woman stood next to him, chatting and laughing with him. She leaned forward, obviously familiar with him, and whispered something into his ear as a hand slid up his chest. The woman was so close her lips were nearly touching his ear, and Holly saw her slip something into the pocket of his shirt. Dante didn’t even pull away or push her off.
It was like shards of glass pierced right to her heart, cutting it into a million pieces Holly thought if that did really happen, it would have hurt less. Anger and humiliation burned through her, and she quickly stood up and grabbed Hannah’s hand.
“Let’s go, sweetie,” she said, trying not to let the lump in her throat choke her. “We’re going home now.”
She dragged Hannah along and marched them out of the waiting area and away from the rink.
Hannah stopped, planting her feet on the ground, and Holly nearly tripped. “What is it?” she asked in an impatient voice.
Hannah looked around and pointed back toward the rink. Despite herself, she turned around. At that same moment, Dante looked up and away from his “friend.” Surprise flashed on his face. It was obvious he didn’t think she’d see them canoodling.
Tears burned at her eyes, but she bit her lip to stop them from falling. Picking Hannah up, she pivoted to get as far away from the rink as possible. She didn’t know where to go, but she just kept walking, ignoring the pain in her arms from Hannah’s weight.
“Holly! Holly!”
She didn’t turn back, just held onto Hannah tighter. Maybe she could flag a cab down on Fifth Avenue before he could reach them.
“Holly, stop!” Dante caught her only a few steps later. She pulled away.
“Get away from us,” she hissed.
“Holly, what’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter?” she whispered. “I can’t talk about this now.” She looked at Hannah, who had a puzzled expression on her face. “We’re going home.”
“Fine, but the car’s this way.”
“We’ll take a cab,” she said.
“You left your purse in my car,” he pointed out. “Your wallet and keys are in there.”
Holly cursed silently in her head.
“Please, Holly … let’s not do this out here,” he pleaded.
“Fine.” She put Hannah down. “Are you okay to walk sweetie?” Hannah looked up at Dante, then Holly. “It’s okay. I’m sorry if you were startled. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just tired okay?” She pasted a smile on her lips. “Let’s go.”
They walked to the car, neither saying a word, the air around them thick and tense. Holly wished she could lash out at Dante or just walk away. But she couldn’t, not with Hannah here. God, she knew sleeping with Dante was a bad idea. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours and she was already regretting it.
They reached the apartment and Dante barely cut the engine when she stepped out. Dante followed suit, but before she could open the door to let Hannah out, he clicked the remote on his key fob to lock the door.
“Really?” she said. “Are you going to keep my niece locked up in your car?”
“I will if that’s what it takes to get you to talk to me,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Holly, please. I know what you’re thinking. Just let me explain. Then if you don’t believe me, I’ll leave you alone, okay?”
“Fine,” she relented. “But let’s go get Hannah inside and talk out here.”
“Fine.” He unlocked the car and helped Hannah out. The three of them walked into the building and made their way up. She was silently fuming the entire time, mentally berating herself for falling for Dante Muccino’s charms.
However, as soon as they reached their floor, Holly felt the hairs on her arms stand up. Something was not right. She looked up at Dante, who narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. Did he feel it too?
“Stay here,” he said, his voice dead serious.
She didn’t protest; instead, she grabbed Hannah’s hand and watched as Dante slowly moved down the hallway to their apartment. With a cautious hand, he pressed against the door, which swung open with a loud creak.
“You need to leave,” Dante said, turning his head toward them. “Holly, take Hannah and go. Now.”
Holly hesitated. Despite her feelings, she didn’t want him hurt. But Hannah’s grip on her hand tightened, and she knew what she had to do. Gathering Hannah into her arms, she held on tight and jogged down the stairs, all the way outside until she reached Dante’s car. She was panting and her lungs and legs burned from the exercise, but the cool air was refreshing.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetie,” she cooed to Hannah after she caught her breath. The little girl’s arms had tightened around her neck, nearly choking her in a death grip. Was she scared, too? “Don’t worry, I’m sure Dante just left the door unlocked and wanted to make sure it’s safe.”
A few minutes later, she heard the front door of her apartment slam open and Dante strode out.
“Get her inside,” Dante said as he yanked the car door open.
“What happened?”
“Just get her inside first,” Dante said, his voice tight.
Not wanting to argue, she urged Hannah into the backseat of the car, prying her arms away from her neck. “It’s okay, sweetie. See? Dante’s here. It’s fine. We’re just going for a ride.”
It took some more coaxing, but Hannah finally relented and allowed her to strap on the seatbelt. Holly scooted out of the car and then marched up to Dante. “Tell me. What happened?”
Dante glanced at the car, as if making sure Hannah was safely inside. “Let’s talk later. Right now, I need you two safe.”
“Safe? What do you mean safe?” She grabbed onto his arm. “Tell me now, Dante.”
“Get in the car, Holly.”
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Tell me now or go without me. Take Hannah, if you think she’ll be safer away from here, but I’m not moving an inch until you tell me what you saw inside the apartment.”
“God, you’re a stubborn woman!” Dante kicked the curb and let out a frustrated sound. He ran his fingers through his hair, then faced her. “Someone broke in. Kicked the door down. Everything inside … they ransacked the place. Made it look like a burglary.”
Her heart pounded in her chest. She knew already knew what he was saying, but she asked anyway. “What do you mean?”
“They didn’t take anything valuable, as far as I can tell. Your TV, your computer, the DVD player, they were all still there. Do you keep cash or jewelry there?”
“No, I don’t have any of that in the house.”
“Someone broke in, probably looking for you, thinking you’d be home because it was Christmas. Then, when they realized no one was home, they covered it up by making it look like a robbery.”
She was dumbfounded. “The fire …”
“Could be connected. It can’t have been a coincidence.” He faced her and gripped her upper arm. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you and Hannah. You’re coming with me now. Both of you will be staying with me from now on until we know you’re safe.”
“No way,” she seethed with mounting rage. “We are not staying with you.”
“Why the hell not?” He gnashed his teeth, and she could feel the fury building within him. “I have round-the-clock security at my building, plus you’ll have me for protection. You don’t even have a doorman.”
“I’m not going to stay at your home! We’ll go to a hotel.”
“You’re being ridiculous!” When she tried to wiggle away, he held her tighter. “Why are you acting like this?
“I … I …” Rage sputtered in her. “Dante, this is all going too fast! I have to protect Hannah.”
“From what? My apartment is the safest place …” His eyes turned stormy, and realization must have kicked in. “You don’t mean protect Hannah from who’s out to get you. You mean protect her from me?”
“I … She’s already getting too attached!” She finally wrenched away from him. “And I can’t have her heartbroken when you leave.”
“When?” he asked. “When I leave? Jesus Christ, this is about Janine, right? What you think you saw at the rink?”
The name tore at her, and she suppressed the urge to hurl something at his head. “Look, I understand. Hell, I was the one who invited you to my bed. Last night was fun. But I know that’s all it was to you and—”
“Holly, goddammit, stop!” Dante said. “Look … Janine … yes, we had a thing. A one-time thing, and I didn’t think I’d run into her there. She just kind of … ambushed me. She used to be a model, and now she’s married to one of my biggest clients, this movie exec who books the entire restaurant for his parties. She was friendly and tried to give me her number in case I wanted to hook up, but I tossed it away after she left. For God’s sake, her kid was there in the rink.”
She stared at him, wanting to believe his words. Could she trust him?
“I don’t want her, Holly. I want you. Yes, I have a past. You probably have one, too. And I can’t even think straight when I try to imagine you with other men. But that’s behind us now. I’m sorry you were hurt, but I’m not sorry about my past because I can’t change that anymore that you can yours. And if you can’t handle my past, tell me now and we won’t sleep together anymore. But I’m going to protect you and Hannah, even if I have to lock you both up.”
“Dante …” She searched his eyes, trying to find a flicker of deceit. Her mind was screaming at her to run away, but her heart knew he was telling the truth. “Dante, I’m sorry. For jumping to conclusions.”
His shoulders sagged with relief, and he wrapped her in his arms, then kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I don’t blame you. If it had been me …” A deep growl rumbled from his chest. “Anyway, we need to get out of here. I’m going to take care of everything, okay?” He glanced over at the car. Hannah had unbuckled her seatbelt and had her nose pressed to the window, wide blue eyes staring at them. “Just worry about yourself and Hannah.”
She buried her face in his chest, inhaling his comforting scent. “I will. But what will we tell her?”
“Whatever you think is best.”
She nodded.
“Let’s go.”
As she got into the passenger side seat, Holly looked back at Hannah and shot her a reassuring smile. “Sweetie, there was some … water damage to our apartment.” She hated to lie, but it was still Christmas, after all. “I’m afraid we can’t stay there, so we’re going to stay with Dante for a bit until we get it fixed, okay?”
Hannah looked placated and nodded.
“You’ll like my apartment,” Dante said as he started the car and slid out of the spot. “I have a big living room and TV, a nice couch, and you’ll have your own room. We’ll get someone to grab your things okay? Or we’ll buy you new ones.” Dante glanced at Holly meaningfully, and she suppressed a smile. “Oh! And guess what? You’ll meet some new friends, too. My neighbors, Lizzie, Anthony, and Jacob. They’re friends with Adrianna and Lucas, and just as nice.”
Although the tension had passed, Dante still seemed uneasy. His grip on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles were white, and he kept glancing behind them. The streets were clear, but they drove for at least thirty minutes, and when they arrived at his building, she realized they must have driven around in circles because they weren’t far from Muccino’s and Petite Louve. He probably did that in case anyone was following them. She didn’t press him, but she would ask later.
“Welcome to my home,” he said as he opened the door to his loft apartment.
Hannah stepped inside first. Holly followed behind her and, as she looked around, she realized it was exactly what she thought Dante’s apartment would look like. The loft had tall ceilings, giving it a light and airy feel. The furniture, including the large sectional sofa and the dining table at the other end were top of the line and probably cost a small fortune. Everything was sleek and modern, but still had a homey feel. She supposed after a long day at work, it was nice to be able to come home to a comfortable place.
Or impress all those women, a voice inside her head said.
“Let’s go see your room, honey,” Dante said, as he led them down the hallway on the right. There were two doors, and Dante opened one and let them inside. “It’s not as nice as your room, I think, but we can decorate if you want. Go ahead,” he nodded to Hannah, “why don’t you look around.”
Cautiously, Hannah walked into the room. It was modern and sleek, just like the rest of the apartment, and she looked like she was afraid to touch anything. She put her hand on the bed, feeling it, before climbing on top.
“So, do you think you can stand living in this dump with me for a bit,” Dante whispered in Holly’s ear as he came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.
She let out an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose I’ll have to slum it for a while.” He chuckled and then she turned around in his arms to face him. “It’s a nice place, really. I’m sure you worked hard for it.”
“You’re the only girl I’ve brought here,” he admitted. “Well, now you and Hannah.”
She smiled, the voice inside her silenced. “Now you have to show me the most important room.”
“The kitchen?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
She let out a laugh. “No, the other most important room.”
He leaned down and kissed her soundly on the mouth. “I think Hannah’s ready for a nap. Let’s tuck her in, and then we can have our nap. The one that doesn’t involve any sleeping.”
Well, it was still Christmas Day, after all.