“That’s funny, I thought jewelry and art history was your passion,” I say, giving Estelle a confused look. “At least it was when you begged me to go to Paris in the first place.”
Sloane turns to me wide-eyed, completely appalled.
“I knew you wouldn’t—!”
Once again, Giorgio calms my sister by placing a hand on hers. This silences her, but the hostility is still there in her eyes.
“Her jewelry designs and love of art carry over perfectly to fashion. Your sister is quite talented. My family agrees with me.”
I can only wonder if it’s his eye for fashion or some other part of his anatomy that is so impressed with my sister’s talents. I feel my anger begin to surge as I think of what kind of warped ideas he’s put into her head about her own abilities, if only to get her into bed…and then into an interview with me. Perhaps in the hopes I might back a failing fashion house?
Prior to this meeting, I called up a contact in Italy, Lorenzo Damiani. His bank backs the Conti Fashion house, and he assured me that they were completely solvent. However, I have yet to find a company that wouldn’t welcome an additional injection of cash.
Whatever fantasies this Giorgio has filled my sister’s head with, it’s best I burst that bubble sooner rather than later. She’s already half in love by the looks of it.
“You do realize that she has no money of her own, correct? Everything she has is because I’ve paid for it. So whatever it is you hope to get from her or me financially, you can forget about it.”
“Magnus!” Sloane gasps.
“I told you!” Estelle practically screams at Giorgio, standing straight up. She turns her rage to me. “I knew you would react this way. Throwing it right back in my face. The one time I’m in love, and you spit all over it. Tossing it in the trash like it’s nothing. Embarrassing me in front of everyone, my friends, the man I love—just because you’re incapable of love doesn’t mean the rest of us have to put up with your shit! I should have never come back here. I hate you, Magnus! I always will!”
“Estelle, per favore,” Giorgio says in a pleading voice, trying to take her hand.
She swipes it away. “No! I’m done! I told you this was a horrible idea. Now you know why.”
Estelle, awkwardly makes her way around the other two couples who have been watching us with growing discomfort. In her heels and tiny white dress, she looks ridiculous trying to traverse the tight area.
I simply sit back and watch, used to this explosive reaction from my sister. In a few days, when Giorgio makes up some excuse as to why they can no longer be together, she’ll get over it. If I were a true gambler, I’d even put money on it.
Giorgio turns to me, his eyes now blazing. “That was unnecessary and cruel.”
With that, he makes his way out from the area we are stuck in, far more gracefully than Estelle did. Before leaving to follow her, he turns back to me one more time.
“Your sister and I are in love. One day, you will have to accept that.”
A nice touch, I’ll give him that. I’m almost fooled.
Almost.
When they are gone, the other couples find excuses to leave the table as well, now that the show is over. I can understand why they wouldn’t want to remain in the presence of the party pooper.
I sip my champagne, satisfied that I’ve done my deed for the night until I feel Sloane’s gaze on me. I turn to her, mostly to explain why I did what I did.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she says, raising one hand as she glares at me. “You, Magnus Reinhardt, are a fucking bastard.”
Chapter Forty-Six Sloane
I stand up to walk out, feeling used and disgusted.
Why in the world would he make me a party to such a despicable display of being a complete asshole? As thrilled and excited as I was making the trek through the Buddha Bar and the steps and terraces outside, where people are only getting more and more hyped, now my heart accelerates for an entirely different reason. I find Estelle and Giorgio tucked into a corner of one terrace. She is animatedly ranting at him while he tries to bring her into an embrace to comfort her.
I storm over to them.
At first, she glares at me, which I completely understand. He gives me a tight smile.
“I’m so sorry about what happened in there. No one deserves to be treated like that. I swear I had no idea what he had planned.”
That seems to declaw their resentment.
“It’s fine,” Estelle says, then twists her lips before continuing. “That’s Magnus’s modus operandi, catching people when they’re off guard, then attacking. If I were you, I’d get out now. I wasn’t wrong when I said he was incapable of love. He’ll chew you up and spit you out before you know what happened.”
I swallow hard at that bit of advice.
“Well,” I say, taking a deep breath. “Again, I’m sorry.”
As I continue on, now on legs that are a bit less steady, I see Magnus exiting from the building up above. That spurs me on, and I quickly descend the stairs to the street, hoping there are taxis making their way past. I don’t want to have to walk back to the hotel in these heels, and I’m certainly not taking the car back sitting next to him.
Unfortunately, when I get to the winding street below, it’s nearly impossible. At least before Magnus finally catches up with me. I see him roughly push his way through a crowd of people, and I wander down the street, trying to escape.
“Sloane! Wait, dammit!”
“Don’t,” I shout behind me as I try walking faster. “I don’t even want to look at you right now.”
“Sloane!”
“No!”
“Sloane, you won’t be able to out-walk me, especially in those heels.”
I reach down
