The Santinis: Marco, Book 2 by Melissa Schroeder Page A

turning over in her chest.  
    With a sigh, she decided to take that chance Colin talked about. When she thought of never seeing Marco again…of being a stranger to him…that hurt worse than even thinking he wouldn’t be there all the time.  
    A few minutes later she was frowning. His car was gone. He had run off. Damn him. If he didn’t come soon, she might lose her nerve and it would be all his fault. When she realized she was crying again, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes. If he was going to be like that she would use different tactics. She marched back to her house. She had a plan and when that man got home he would have to answer to her.

Chapter Ten
    Marco was pissed. Beyond pissed. He wanted to smash something, to beat people up. But, he couldn’t. Part of the reason was because it was his own fault for upsetting Alana. Part of the blame was hers, but he shouldn’t have pushed her. He pulled into the driveway and forced himself not to look at her house. When he parked in front of his cottage, he saw a light on. He thought he had turned it off, but then, he wasn’t in the best frame of mind.  
    Marco walked up the stairs to the front door, but it was unlocked. He frowned and opened the door. She was sitting there in his kitchen. Just seeing her there made his heart ache.  
    “I don’t think you’re allowed in my kitchen without my permission.”
    She gave him a nasty look. “I own the house.”
    Oh, so that’s how it was now. “What are you doing here?”
    “I came to talk to you, but you had ran away like a little girl afraid to fight.”
    “And so you decided to break the lease and come into my house without my permission?”
    “Maybe for my next tenant I’ll add a clause for when he acts like a coward.”  
    For a second, he didn’t know what to say. First, she was yelling at him. And she was pissed. He didn’t think he had ever seen her pissed before this. Where was the sweet woman he fell in love with?
    “I did not.”
    She stood up then poked him in the chest. “Yes. You. Did.”
    Damn, that hurt. He rubbed his chest. She had some damn strong fingers for a woman.
    “And another thing, Santini, I am not in the mood for you to be telling me I’m holding things back from you. Do you realize how much you hide from me?”
    “There are things I can’t tell you.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Or what? You’ll have to kill me?”
    He said nothing. His head still couldn’t function. She was yelling at him like he had done something wrong.
    “You know what? When you get the nerve to be truthful with me, you get back to me, okay?”
    With that, she brushed past him and stomped out of his house. He stood there stunned, trying to figure out just what happened. He had been the one mad because she had been mean to him. Not mean, but secretive. Okay not that. But…shit, he had no idea why he was mad now.
    One thing he did know was that she had no right to be mad at him. Wasn’t that just like a woman? Irritated he strode out of his house and made his way to hers. Then, he heard her walking down to the beach. He should probably wait until she got back, but he was too irritated to listen to his better judgments. He followed her and found her with her arms crossed and frowning out at the ocean.
    “I have a bone to pick with you, woman.”
    He ignored the interested looks from bystanders. People in the area knew Alana, and there looked to be a few locals hanging around. He didn’t care.
    “Go away.”  
    “No. I don’t feel like it. I want to have this out. You think I hide things from you. What? You know my family, you know me.”
    “You don’t talk about work, ever. You don’t tell me what’s going on, or that you might have to deploy at sometime. You act like I can’t know anything.”
    He hadn’t talked about work because he had worried that she would run the other direction. Women weren’t always comfortable knowing what being involved with him would be