Read Online Double Blind by Vanessa Waltz - Free Book Online Page A

in a skimpy outfit and her hand rubs the back of his neck.
    When he gives her a polite smile, I feel my world crashing. My guts are ripped out of my body.
    He’s mine. Get your filthy hands off him.
    He’s not anymore.
    Suddenly, that realization hits me hard. I feel sick. The weak walls I built up for this collapse, and an overwhelming wave of sadness crashes over me. I can’t take it. All the stress burns in my chest like a cancer. And then a sob shakes from my throat and I’m crying in front of my bewildered customers.
    Jesus. It’s a nightmare, but I can’t stop.
    Carmine notices me before Vince does, and then he turns away from the waitress to see me and his face falls. He looks like I’ve just kicked him in the stomach.
    Carmine is there in seconds, beside me. “What’s the matter, hon?”
    This couldn’t be going any worse. I wipe my eyes furiously, looking away from Vince. “Nothing—nothing—”
    He looks from me to Vince and seems to understand with a single glance. “Go take a break.”
    “What? But I’ve just started!”
    His hand falls on my shoulder and squeezes. His blue eyes wrinkle with sympathy. “Adriana, you can’t work like this. Go on in the employee’s room. I’ll be there in a minute.”
    “Thanks.”
    I get up as Carmine gives me a grim nod and I practically run towards the break room. The noise of the casino drops away when the door shuts. Inside, there are lockers and a single table. I sit down and cross my legs, shivering in the cold.
    I have to pull it together and act like it doesn’t bother me. He might even start seeing other women, who knows?
    Just the thought of it makes me sick.
    The scrape of the door makes me jump in my seat, and Carmine walks through, looking grim.
    I sit up straight. “Carmine, I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again, I was just a bit upset.”
    He straightens his suit and takes a seat next to me. “Stop apologizing. Vince told me you guys broke up. I’m sorry, I didn’t know or I wouldn’t have had him meet me here.”
    A frown spreads over his face as if he thinks it’s his fault.
    “He wasn’t there for me?” I ask in a small voice.
    “No, he was just here on business.”
    “Oh,” I say, a little crestfallen. So he’s already moved on.
    He gives me another sad smile and touches my shoulder while he takes a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and offers it to me.
    I’m really struck by his kindness. I take it from him and stammer thanks as I dab my eyes.
    “I know how you feel. Break-ups are always hard. I can’t imagine breaking up with someone I was engaged with.”
    “It’s really hard.”
    More than you know.
     “When I was young, I was crazy about this one girl. No matter what I did, she didn’t feel the same for me. I mean, I tried everything, but she could care less. It took me years to get over her. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m really over her.”
    A muscle jumps in his jaw as he tells me this, and there’s a faraway look in his eyes. Like he still thinks of her and misses her. It pulls at my heartstrings.
    It’s strange to hear a stranger talk so openly, but there’s something refreshing about that.
    “I thought I loved Vince,” I tell him, folding his handkerchief over and over. “I left him only a couple days ago. It’s still hard to see him, even if I’m better off without him.”
    Carmine makes an assenting noise in his throat. “Yeah, he strikes me as a bit of a hothead. He told me to go fuck myself when I said that he shouldn’t come around here anymore.”
    Horrorstruck, I look at him above my hands, but he merely looks amused. “I—I’m sorry—”
    “Don’t apologize for him, sweetie.” He pats my hand in a conciliatory gesture and gets up.
    “Carmine—the girl who you fell in love with—do you still think of her?”
    He traces his finger over the table before he looks back at me. “All the damn time.”
     

VINCENT
     
    Glittering cocktail waitresses strut by on stilettos, and aside from