ISABELLE
I lay there on the couch, my head on Matteo’s chest, his arms wrapped around me.
Our breathing was still uneven. My body still humming.
But the anger was already creeping back in.
The s*x had been—
God, it had been exactly what I needed.
A release. A way to feel something other than the hurt that had been eating me alive for the past week.
But it hadn’t fixed anything.
“I’m still angry with you,” I said quietly.
“I know.”
“You can’t just—just kiss me and expect everything to be okay.”
“I know.”
I lifted my head, looking at him.
His expression was serious. Guarded. But there was something else there, too. Something that looked almost like fear.
“Then talk to me,” I said. “Explain. Tell me what happened. All of it.”
Matt took a breath.
For a moment, I thought he mig
