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“I…yeah.”
I heard the bing sound of the elevator and turned to see Hugo walking in with a bunch of papers and a yellow envelope.
“Here are the things you asked for, boss.”
He went straight to Gino without even breathing in my direction, and I had to wrestle with my impulse to clutch his hand and beg him not to leave. Oh, my Goodness, this was torturous. Five minutes my brother was home. Five minutes of secrecy. Five minutes of Hugo being away from me, and I was already feeling kindled by the flames of Hell.
“You move fast, Mustafa.” I watched them exchange something. Hugo gave Gino the papers, and my brother handed him a stack of cash and a black shoe box. “Will you drop this for me?”
“Will do. Welcome home, Don. Muse.” But his voice was as dry and hollow as I felt inside.
Nope, not ready to say goodbye.
“Ah, you’re on your way out. Great, you can drop me off at Bloomingdales. I have a dress to pick up.”
No one was paying attention to Hugo, but I saw him go rigid.
“Cat,” my brother cut in. “Hugo has been here for days. Let the man go to his own home. I’ll call someone else to take you later. Ignazio likes to shop; he can keep you company.”
“I can take her,” Muse offered, and I wanted to yell at her to keep it shut.
“No, baby, you’re tired after the flight. I want you in bed all day.”
“Oh, come on!” I cut them off. “The jackass is going anyways. Can’t he drop me off?”
I looked straight at Hugo, silently begging him to help me out, and finally, he jumped into the conversation.
“It’s fine, Gino, I can take her.”
“Good man, Mustafa.”
I gave Gino and Muse another hug, telling them that I was happy to have them back – and half of me was – and then turned on my heels to go and get ready. Forty minutes later, I walked out of the house, and Hugo was already waiting for me next to his Rover.
I walked straight to him but stopped when I was welcomed with the hardest look I’d ever seen on his face.
“Do not touch me; do not reach for me. Don’t even think about it, Cat. Just get in the car.”
“Ok.” I nodded, and for the first time in my life, I did exactly what Hugo Mustafa told me. He’d better not get used to it.
When he was behind the wheel, and we were turning onto the main street, I started to feel a little more relaxed. It was just us again.
“Hugo.”
“What time do you finish at the store?”
Ha? Oh, right.
“I don’t have to pick anything up.”
He looked at me quickly before turning to look at the road ahead.
“Then where the fuck are we going, Cat?”
“I wanted to talk to you after the Gino surprise. Don’t do that.”
“Do what!” he roared, but I dismissed it.
“I fell asleep on your chest last night, Hugo. Don’t turn into an iceberg and freeze me out just because my brother is back.”
