RedNovelPoker Face
F*ROMANY**
"I see," | say calmly, packing that information away for when I go back in the house. Right now, Alex's deceitful
heart is not what concerns me. It's not the reason for the sudden trembling in my bones. It didn't put this new
ache in my chest. An ache that chaseddown two flights of stairs and is tellingthat | may have just lost an
important piece of what makes my heart beat...and that it may be lost forever. No, that was Mickey. Even now as
we sit here and | scoot a couple of inches closer, it doesn't register. Not for him. He simply continues to stare
straight ahead and bounce his goddamned leg as if he cannot wait until his driver is back in the car, or else he
can kickin the chin. "Mickey," | whisper, fidgeting with the hem of my robe. "Do you remember when you
tookto your restaurant?"
He chuckles for a moment, shaking his head only once before looking atwith a half smirk and a pair of
chilling green eyes. "Yes."
"You never finished tellingthat story," | begin carefully, letting my gaze fall away to observe the rest of him.
The suit he's wearing compliments his frso well that | know it was tailor made just for him. The bulges of his
arms push against the sleeves of his jacket, creating an outline of muscle that haswishing he'd use them to
pullin close. | want to reach for him, but I don't. Not yet. "You know the one...about the owner and that girl."
His eyes are just as green and vibrant as they ever were when he laughs and his smile actually widens. What he
says though, puts a hole right through my heart. "It was just a story, doll. Make believe. Just a romantic way to
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtget you into my bed."
The sting is enough to makeflinch and I reel back a bit, pushing toward the door. Searching his gaze for
ssign of emotion, *any* emotion, quickly becomes pointless. When he sighs in frustration and then looks
away to resstaring straight ahead, I've finally had enough. The anger | thought | saw upstairs must have
been more about his ego than it was anything else, and I'm suddenly feeling more lost than | ever have. "My
mistake," | say softly, turning away to face the door.
I have my hand posed for the door handle when he says, "I have a contract too. I'm supposed to be getting
engaged to Paul Romano's daughter. It's probably best if | don't cback for a while." *Wow. So, Mickey and
Alex both.*
*| wonder if he would have even toldif he hadn't walked in on Alex andearlier.*
*Probably not.*
Nodding with my back to him so that he can't see the tears brimming in my eyes, | place my hand on the door
handle so that | can start to get out. Suddenly, | pause, my mind traveling back with the mention of Paul
Romano's nand remindingof something imperative. Something *else* from that very snight at the
restaurant that pulses in my brain like a hidden truth.
Mickey and his award winning poker face.
*Is he acting this way on purpose?*
* ust to hurt me?*
#If he only knew...*
Before | can stop it from happening, my tears begin to fall and once they start, they just keep coming. | release
the door handle to wipe them away, then with a slight glance over my shoulder | say, "Thank you for the story. It
really was beautiful." With a sad smile, | recall that first lunch Mickey and | spent alone together, when he offered
quick breath "-she had *hoped...*for a much different ending."
| catch sight of him, Mickey, in the car's rear view mirror as | turn back toward the door and | see him watching
me. Both of his feet are on the floorboard now and his leg has stopped bouncing. One arm lay stretched over the
middle of the bench seat, as if he started to reach forand then stopped.
He whispers, "Doll..."
But | continue on the path he set forand pull the handle on the door, letting it swing open before I slink
toward the open air. "Doll, wait!"
| start to step out of the car, careful to keep my robe closed as | push off the seat, but before my first foot can hit
the ground, one of Mickey's arms snakes around my waist and the other reaches for the door handle. He yanks
tit's done.
He releases his grip around my waist and sits back against the seat while | am still facing the back door and tells
me, "You were about eighteen the first t| saw you. | was twenty-eight. Little Ralphie Bruno - you know, Pinch
- he went to school with you back then."
Shocked, | spin back around in my seat as far as | can so that I'm facing the side of him. He's sitting a lot closer
tonow, but he still doesn't look at me.
"He was older than you, but you guys shared the sclass once a week. Usually Bruno would finish that class
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmand then head straight to me, to drop off whatever the take was that week. He ran a number of things for me
back then and before Tiny was made captain, he would have to deliver straight to me." Mickey sighs, glancing
down at my hands that | have resting in my lap before he continues. "On one particular day, he had a little bit of
an SOS involving a certain professor and | was forced to head down to your school myself, you know, just in case
things needed to be escalated." Finally, he drags his gaze upward to meet mine and my chest thumps when | see
the fear in his eyes. "That's when | saw you for the first time."
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