Billionaire Brothers 2 : Love Has A Name (39 page)

Lovello, feeling the break of connection, turned his face to me. That was all it took for him to recognize that I was hurting. Sighing, he snaked his arms around my waist, locking me to him. “Do you still want to take pictures of the cake before they cut it?”

The passivity in his eyes told me that I should just agree to his silly cake question so we could escape our fathers. Fearing my pain might be exposed if I spoke, I nodded. Lovello mumbled a few words to the men and whisked me away.

For the second time that evening, I had to question if Lovello was serious about me or not. He kept confusing me. Trevillo’s question, of course, had me questioning where we stood as a couple. And now Lovello’s plain out refusal to introduce me to his father — which didn’t even have anything to do with our relationship but manners.

Since I failed us both last night, I had assumed the position of a weak and spineless submissive. For the sake of regaining the man’s trust, I hadn’t really been Axia Blacksille. Or maybe it was because I’d allowed myself to fall in love again? And much
harder
this time around? Yep. You fall in love, and you set yourself up for hurt and pain. There would always be displays of weakness and vulnerability.

Now was the time to put a noose around my neck and stand on a block of ice for being so damn
stupid
! Stupid enough to inflict pain on my own heart by falling in love. Again. Harder. Harder. So much harder.

We were a good distance away from our fathers when Lovello stopped walking and peered down at me anxiously. “Axia, I don’t want you to think that any of that was about you, okay?”

“Really? Can you explain to me who or what it was about, please? Because you’ve just made me look like a complete idiot in front of my father!”

He released me and began pinching the bridge of his nose, a habit I’d noticed only recently. “I’m sorry, Axia. I didn’t mean to. It’s just him … the man is just…”

“Him who? Your father?”

“Yes.”

“What about him? He seems nice.”

Lovello ceased his nose pinching and looked at me through eyes that were bulging from their sockets. “
Nice
? Did you just say
nice
?”

“I don’t understand. He wasn’t mean to me, so I don’t get why you wouldn’t introduce me to him as your date.”

“Axia, there’s nothing nice about that man. He’s a domineering, intimidating, high-handed bastard. The only reason he’s
nice
to you is because you’re of rich roots, with further strength that you’re the daughter of his good friend. I didn’t introduce you to him because he would only think I brought you here to seek his approval. And I honestly don’t give a shit what he thinks.”

“Seek his approval? For what?”

“Of you being eligible to date or marry me.”

I tried to stifle a laugh and failed. “Are you serious? Isn’t that some ancient days thing?”

“The man’s seriously archaic, Axia. He refuses to succumb to modernization. We believe he was erringly born in the wrong time period,” Lovello laughed.

“You still could’ve handled the situation a little better than that, Love. My father was right there. And I imagine he’s just as embarrassed as I am.”

Lovello raked a hand through his hair. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just … you remember me mentioning an ex-girlfriend of mine, Nicole?”

Oh, the first love. “Yeah.”

“Well, I fell … I met her when I was around eighteen. Really liked her. We were together for about two years, going strong, until I made the stupid mistake of bringing her here. My father was rude and dismissive, making it clear she could never become a part of this family, accusing her of wanting me for money and all that. Both her parents were blue collars, so there was no possibility of him being
nice
to her. And because of his bullying, she left me.”

“Wow, um, well that sounds like a scene from a historical film,” I strangled out, as I tried not to laugh. “Sans the eloping and committing suicide together.”

Lovello narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t make fun of this, Axia. If you don’t believe me, ask Sadie. Father gave her a helluva challenge when Natalio first brought her here. But trust me, that beautiful, long-haired girl you see over there is a lot tougher than she looks. She fought back. And now she’s like his ultimate daughter-in-law.” He wrapped his arms around me, pressing me up against him. “I’m sorry, beauts. Forgive me? I promise I’ll find your father later and apologize.”

Forgive and you’ll be forgiven …
“You’re forgiven.”

With that, his lips crashed down on mine, blessing me with his sweet tongue that I hadn’t tasted in hours. He demanded. And I submitted. His tongue growing more acquisitive as the kiss lasted. Feeling my skin heat with sudden need, I threw my arms around his neck, tipping up on my toes to kiss him deeper while pressing my body harder against his.

Dios, lo amo.

When I felt his hardening arousal, however, I pulled back, mumbling against his lips, “We can’t get all horned up in the middle of a wedding reception, Love.”

“Who says?” he grumbled, slipping his tongue back inside my mouth and digging his hardness further into my stomach.

Pulling away for good, I smacked him. “
I
do, Pretty Boy.”

He smiled one of his ‘life will be good after all’ smiles. “Did I forget to tell you just how sexy you look today with your hair down and blown out like that? You’re
so …
breathtaking. And this dress…” he trailed off as his hands traveled down to my ass. “Hmm, this dress. When we get home, I’m gonna —”

“Hey, you two, knock it off! This is my wedding, not yours.”

We both jerked our heads up to see Natalio a few feet away from us, grinning from ear to ear, while Sadie stood with her bouquet raised in the air. “I’m gonna throw the bouquet now, Axia. You coming?”

Lovello shifted his eyes to me with a raised brow. He knew that was definitely
not
my scene. When he saw my expression, he laughed and waved off Sadie who just shrugged and assumed her position to toss the bouquet.

Pretty Boy Nelson tilted my chin, and dropped a soft kiss on my lips before whispering, “You don’t need to catch a bouquet to
hope
you’ll hold your own one day, beauts.”

XXI

“
I
just don’t understand. You don’t look, act, or speak like a lesbo. Forgive me, but I’m still in shock.”

Trudy laughed, wagging her head at my bedazzlement as our feet pounded against the running belt of the treadmills. We were doing our customary early morning workouts, while rekindling our friendship that had been on a two-week break, due to the implacable anger I’d had towards her for keeping her sexuality a secret from me. She’d tried to explain, and I’d yelled and shouted disparaging things and had even slapped her. We’d infuriatingly lied about how much we hated each other and had been malicing for all of fourteen days.

Our ire was now cold dead, and we were friends again. I loved Trudy to pieces, and not having my best friend to yap with had been murdering me. So there we were, back to our old selves as if nothing had happened.

“You really want to rehash that argument, Axia? Just believe it, and shut up about it. I’m gay, okay? Never slept with a man in my life. Never been curious about it, either. And I go barmy for chicks. It’s that simple. I don’t need to have ‘lesbian’ slapped across my forehead. We know our kind. Now, can you just get over it?”

“But I just don —”

“Oh God, Axia.
Please
. Stop. You’re killing me,” Trudy groaned, cranking up the speed on her treadmill.

“Okay. I’m done being shocked.” I cranked up my treadmill speed, too, and muttered, “
Lesbo.
“ We both burst out laughing. It was good to have my friend back. Just with a new quirk. “So, are you really gonna throw away two years of relationship with Carla just because she messed up
once
? I think you’re being unfair. You’re the one who was slutting around.”

Trudy shook her head. “Carla’s more of a nuisance to me now, in all honesty. I’d grown bored with our relationship since we were nine months in. But I’d continued with it anyway, because I knew she loved me a lot, and I didn’t wanna hurt her. This mess-up of hers was the perfect opportunity for me to end it without looking like the bad guy. Sweet.”

“That’s why you’ve been sneaking around with those other girls?”

“Yep.”

“And Tish?”

Trudy’s face hardened, almost looking pained. She cranked the treadmill speed higher and started running faster so she couldn’t talk to me. Was she
hurt
by what Tish did? Did she have deeper feelings for Tish than the others? I slowed my treadmill to walking pace and leaned over to slow hers also, ignoring her scowl. “Tell me, what’s up with Tish? Are you hurt by what she did?”

“I don’t wanna talk about her,” Trudy snapped bitterly, holding her gaze straight ahead.

My eyes expanded in realization. “Holy shit. You love her, don’t you?”

A long silence stretched between us, before Trudy finally admitted, “Yes. I do. She’s tough, focused, demanding and reminds me a lot of … you.”

“Whoa.
Whoa
. If this is the part where you start telling me that you have or had a crush on me, then I don’t wanna hear it. Keep that tidbit to yourself.
Please.
“

Trudy’s lips curved into a chagrined smile, and instead of denying it, she just said, “Okay.”

Awkward.
“Um, back to Tish.”

“What’s there to say? Tish was a game-changer for me. I fell for her. Hard. Broke it off with the other girls and was gonna break up with Carla. Then she effed up. End of tale.”

“Trudy, I think you’re being a bit unreasonable. You weren’t Mother Teresa. You were a supreme slut! Or in Love’s words: ‘a beast’. If anyone should be understanding, it should be you.”

Trudy shook her head, her blonde ponytail wagging. “You don’t get it. I wasn’t cheating on Tish with anyone. I was cheating on everyone
with
Tish. She cheated on me with the same woman I was gonna break up with for her. She shouldn’t have cheated on me, just like I’d never cheated on her.”

As much as I tried, I couldn’t stop myself from howling in laughter. “I’m not even gonna pretend that I understand any of what you just said. ‘Cause none of that makes any damn sense.”

“Good, I’m glad it doesn’t. That way you’ll stop badgering me. Besides, that stalwart new trainer you have is making me rethink my sexuality,” she said, nodding in the direction where the new trainer I’d hired was heading towards us. I knew she was trying to throw me off the topic of Tish, and it worked.

Cody had started working here just a week ago, and I’d be a lying scumbag if I said I hadn’t been stealing glances at him when he wasn’t looking. He was of average height, around six feet, with buzz-cut brown hair and sea-blue eyes. Of course, his athletic body was thoroughly built. He’d quickly become the women’s rewarding treat at the end of their vigorous workouts each day. They showed no shame in staring the poor guy down.

“I know he’s nowhere in comparison to your lover boy, Axia, but you can’t deny that this guy is scrumptious,” Trudy muttered.

“Will you stop contaminating me with your ‘wandering eye’ disease?” I hissed at her as Cody neared us, which made her guffaw.

Cody stopped at my treadmill, wrapping his long fingers around the handle. “Axia, I was won —”

“Miss Blacksille, please,” I corrected.

Cody laughed nervously and ran a hand over his shaved head. “Okay,
Miss Blacksille
. That girl over there on the pink workout mat, is she yours? She’s doing everything wrong and I want —”

“So what are you saying? That I’m a lousy trainer?”

“No, I —”

“You said she’s doing everything wrong. Which implies that everything I teach my trainees are wrong. You think you’re better then, right?”