He has a heart of stone... but for her he's burn the world.
Kieran Diaz has thought about one thing since he was seven years old: killing the man who murdered his father. He doesn't have time for love and that's just the way he likes it.
But when he...
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"HOW WAS YOUR DATE?" CAMILA LOOKED UP from her notebook when I entered the living room. I wasn't surprised to see her. We all had a key to each other's homes and Camila has been spending almost every night here in an attempt at avoiding breathing the same air as Niko.
"Kieran scared him off." I unbuttoned my coat and sat down next to Camila on the couch. I needed a minute to catch my breath.
It's the champagne. Not the man who sat across from me at dinner tonight or the moment outside my door where I-
Stop. Dad would kill you.
Camila's eyes widened. "Wait, what? What the fuck happened?"
I cracked a smile. Camila rarely cursed, and with her European accent, it just sounded wrong coming out of her mouth.
"It's okay. I dodged a bullet. He has a girlfriend that he was okay with cheating with. Kieran overheard him confessing." I explained. "I honestly think it's for the best. I didn't feel anything when I was with him." I toe off my heels and moved from the living room to the kitchen, avoiding my friend's stare while trying to control my heart rate.
I hadn't argued with Kieran when he told me Sean had a girlfriend because I honestly felt relieved that I wouldn't have to sit through my thoughts for another hour which just kept comparing Sean to my grumpy watchdog. Still, even after Kieran explained, the feeling of being unlovable resurfaced memories I thought I buried deep down.
Needles digging into my arm. Sterile air clouded my lungs. Latex gloves-
"Dolly."
I startled and almost shut the fridge door on my fingers.
Her brow creased. "Are you okay? You've been standing in the same spot with the fridge open for a minute. I called your name twice."
"I'm fine." I pasted on my most convincing smile. "I just spaced. Too much food."
All I was able to stomach at dinner tonight was a ceaser salad, but Camila didn't need to know that. She tilted her head, her gunmetal gray eyes narrowing. As a public figure and future queen, she was used to composing her reactions, but with people she trusted, she allowed her emotions to show.
"Your stomach's been growling since you walked through the door."
Damn it.
"Seriously, I'm okay." I upped the wattage of my smile. I had no qualms about talking to my friends about everything that happens in my life, but that was only if there was actually something to tell, which there isn't because we didn't kiss. So I didn't feel the need to share with the class because they would just make it a bigger deal than it really is. "I just want to eat, watch a movie, and forget all about Sean the Snake."
A spark of suspicion remained in Camila's eyes, but thankfully she didn't push for any more answers. "I can have a chicken alfredo pizza delivered in half hour," She said. "Friends marathon while we eat?"
"Sounds perfect." I never got tired of watching Ross make a fool out of himself to get Rachel's attention. "I'm going to change into my pajamas. You finish what you were doing."
"Writing my speech for tomorrow." She sighed. "If I could ever get through it."
"It's nothing you haven't done before."
Camila has spoken at a dozen events and charities, and I can't imagine how nerve-wracking it has to be to speak in front of a live audience and have it also be broadcast for the entire world to view.
"I know, but I still want to sound perfect. Go ahead and do what you have to do. I'll order the pizza."
While Camila returned to her speech, I entered my bedroom, and stripped out of my dress, my smile slipping along with it.
I wasn't a young, sick girl confined to the inside of my home anymore.
I was an adult, healthy, and living on my own, experiencing things I once could only imagine I would.
