“I said, dinner’s—”
I shot up from the bed and poked my head out the door. “I’m either down there in a second, or I’m not at all. Take your pick.”
The second I heard his footsteps coming up the stairs, I grinned. I knew that would get him up here, and I needed him away from that slimy little brother of his. Now that cooler heads had prevailed—especially after hearing him and Giovanni laugh their asses off downstairs for the past three hours—we needed to talk. And the last thing I needed was his brother listening in on things. There weren’t many things that were sacred to men like Israel’s brother. But, the sanctity of a bedroom was rarely violated. And if kicking up an attitude got Israel up here, then I knew it was necessary.
Because this bedroom was the only safe place we had right now.
Giovanni’s voice wafted up the stairs. “Everything okay, Iz?”
I wanted to grab Israel’s bedside gun as his footsteps padded down the hallway.
“Yep,” Israel said. “Just fine. Bonnie and I will be down in a second.”
“Anything I can do? Maybe I can talk some sense into her,” Giovanni said.
I marched to the door and swung it open, yelling down the hallway. “You aren’t stepping anywhere near this bedroom. Understood?”
Israel glared at me. “Bathroom. Now.”
I heard Giovanni chuckle. “Whatever you guys need. Just thought I’d help, is all.”
I felt my heart rate already skyrocketing. “What I need is for you to stop trying to get me to cheat on my husband.”
Israel bent over, pressing his lips to my ear. “We’re not technically married, so cut the act.”
As I peered around his body, glancing down the hallway, I watched as Giovanni grinned at me from the top of the staircase. I felt Israel grab my arm and yank me away from the door as if I were some rag doll he could toss around. But, not before I got the chance to slam the bedroom door right in his brother’s fucking face. I stumbled along behind Israel as he tugged me toward the bathroom, forcing myself to choke back tears as his grip tightened against my skin. He didn’t keep a grip on me for long, though. Because the second he slammed the bathroom door behind us I wrenched away from him and pointed up at his face.
Keep your cool, Bonnie. “I don’t care how you view us right now, but you will not drag me around like some kept woman. You put your hands on me like that again, and I’m leaving. Understood?”
He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “What do you want?”
I blinked, feeling my whole body freeze. “What?”
“You obviously pressed every single button you could have to get me up here. So, talk. What is it you want to say?”
I paused. “Well, since you’re here, I’d like to talk about the fact that I’ve been up here for four hours—”
“You could’ve come down at any point in time.”
“Says the man who told me to come here and stay here.”
He leveled his eyes with mine. “If we’re going to talk, you’re not going to pick fights with me over semantics. Understood? You and I both know you’re a bull-headed woman that doesn’t listen unless she wants to. That’s why I told you to get up here, because I knew you wanted to get away from the situation.”
“Don’t act like some sort of God, as if you’re doing me some sort of favor. You know damn good and well--.”
He growled as he took a step toward me. “If you think for one second you call the shots around here, you’re wrong.”
I shook my head. “I’m not asking to call shots, Israel. I’m asking you to treat me like a person instead of one of your employees. Because the last time I checked, you didn’t pay me squat.”
“Nope. Only your uncle did that. Right?”
I drew in a sobering breath. “I’ve been up here for four hours, and I’m sure you were completely unaware of the fact that Giovanni’s been up here five times now.”
He blinked. “What?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Your brother. He’s knocked on the door three times and tried jiggling the knob twice.”
“That could’ve been anyone.”
My head fell off to the side. “Has there been anyone else in the penthouse for the past four hours other than the three of us?”
He blinked again. “Get to your point, Bonnie.”
“He’s here to try and make me trip up. I know all about the luncheon you had with your father, and what you guys talked about. Giovanni filled me in on it. How your father doesn’t trust me and how he couldn't talk you into not trusting me. Not just yet.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Giovanni told you this?”
“Yes. While you were off thinking I was already cheating on you, what he was actually doing was filling me in on why he’s here. He’s here at the behest of your father to try and convince you that I’m no good to stand at your side.”
“He said that to you.”
“Yep.”
He pointed to his chest. “My brother.”
“Uh-huh.”
His eye twitched. “Word for word?”
I paused, wondering how much breadth I actually had in this situation. “Well, those weren’t his exact words.”
His shadow fell over my body, blocking out the light of the bathroom shining above us. “Then, tell me what his exact words were.”
I racked my brain for the exact conversation we had, but I came up with nothing. All I had was the summary of the transaction that took place. “Israel, I’m telling you—”
He turned his back to me. “I should have known.”
“Known what?”
He started for the bathroom door. “That you’d try to slander my brother’s name while he’s here.”
I gawked. “What!?”
He whipped around on me with a glare so strong it robbed me of the breath in my lungs. “You don’t like the fact that you’re being questioned. You don’t like the fact that your choices have put you in this position, and now you’re
