All he does is squeeze tighter, making me grind my teeth as the metal of my rings digs into my skin.With his eyes darting over my face, he whispers, “Everything I’ve done the past four years, I’ve done it for you.To be worthy of you.I told myself I would walk into your father’s house one day and show him he was wrong about me.And now I come back, and you’re?—”
“Excuse me.Am I interrupting?”
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse.I’m sure I must look guilty from Dante’s point of view as he strides our way, especially when I yank my hand out of Enzo’s grip when surprise makes him loosen it.But the truth is, my husband couldn’t have shown up at a better time.I’m not sure what would have happened if he hadn’t.
Dante extends a hand toward Enzo.“Dante Santoro.I understand you’re an old friend of mywife’s.”The word hangs in the air thanks to the way he emphasizes it.
Enzo keeps him waiting an endless moment before accepting a handshake.“Enzo Amato.Yes, we are old friends, seeing each other for the first time in years.Forgive me if I kept her from you.”
“Not at all.What have you been doing with yourself?”Dante asks with a friendly smile that I don’t believe for a second.There’s a charge in the air.His jaw is tighter than usual when he asks, “Are you looking for work within the family now that you’re back in town?”
Oh, fucking hell.Could he be more condescending?I wish I could vanish.
Enzo chuckles and rubs the back of his neck before shrugging.“As it turns out, I don’t need to work within any family.I have my own business now.Things are going better than I hoped, and definitely better than anyone expected from me.”The look he gives me is full of meaning, and I really, really wish it wasn’t.
He did it all for me?I never asked him for a thing.
Am I supposed to be grateful?Is that what he wants?He didn’t say a word for four years and could have been dead.I searched for him online, but he deactivated every account, and my emails bounced back.Was I supposed to wait for him?
“That’s good to hear,” I offer while my skin crawls with anxiety.Something tells me this could go badly if it doesn’t end soon.“Please, Enzo, consider my offer.I would love to catch up at another time and learn more about your business.”
“I would love to hear about it too.”That’s when Dante does it.He fires a warning shot across the bow by sliding a possessive arm around my waist, the way he did when we were having our pictures taken.Only this time, he leans down and brushes his lips against my cheek, letting them linger before nuzzling me affectionately.
Enzo’s face hardens before he gives us a quick nod.“I’m sure you have more glad-handing to do tonight.I have a few folks I’m looking forward to seeing, myself.If you’ll excuse me.”He doesn’t look at me again before walking away, quickly disappearing into the crowd.
All I can do is stare after him, but not because I’m longing for him or anything like that.Strangely, there’s none of the old feeling stirring in my chest.I had always imagined that there would be, if I ever saw him again.Like everything I stored up for so long would come busting out, filling the world with light, color, and magic.
Enzo’s not what I’m concerned with.I’m only staring after him because I’m afraid to look at Dante.
And not because I’m afraid of him.
I’m afraid if I take a look at his smug face, I’ll have to kill him, and there are too many witnesses.
Barely moving my lips, I whisper, “Why didn’t you piss on me to make sure you marked your territory?”It’s a miracle I can get the words out, trembling the way I am, while a cold, sick feeling spreads through me.
“Don’t be so dramatic.You sound like Guilia.”
Yes, that’s what I want to hear at a time like this.No wonder Dante was still single in his early thirties.“Let go of me,” I warn, mindful of the people wandering in and out of the ballroom only feet from where we’re standing.“I need to get out of here.”
He lets go but won’t leave my side while I do my best to make a graceful exit.Lifting a hand and smiling at a man who’s a stranger to me, Dante mutters, “You can’t leave this early.”
“Funny, because I am.”And he’ll let me, unless he wants to watch me dissolve in a puddle of tears in the middle of the hotel lobby.Looking up into his eyes, I whisper, “Let me go.Make excuses, I don’t care what you tell them.”
Something finally gets to him, facing me in the middle of an ornate hotel lobby.It could be the tears I’m trying and failing to blink back.His expression shifts from irritation to concern.“I’ll go with you.It’s both of us or neither of us.”
“No,” I whisper, heart sinking.That isn’t the point.“I’d be better alone.”
Either he doesn’t hear or doesn’t care.In a flash, his phone is out of his pocket and held against his ear.“We’re leaving.”Wrapping an arm around mine, he practically pulls me closer to the ornate doors leading outside.From where we’re standing, I see one of the guards who came with us waiting by the curb, watching for the car.
“I’m going to need you to tell me the truth.”As he speaks, Dante keeps his gaze trained on his guy, waiting until it’s time to go out.I guess we can’t take risks.I watch a muscle twitch in his jaw before he asks, “Who was that guy to you?Because he looked like he was about to rip my head off.”
“It’s in the past,my private past.”Can’t I have anything of my own?
“I don’t care personally,” he retorts.“I care whether some whack job is gunning for me.”
My mouth opens to protest, but snaps shut when I remember how different Enzo is now—chiseled and hard.What sort of business is he in now?What did he have to do to get where he is?Maybe I don’t know him anymore.
“We wanted to get married.”My voice is flat, emotionless.It’s the only way I’ll be able to get through this.“On the night of my twenty-first birthday, we told my dad we were in love, and Enzo asked for my hand.Dad went ballistic and told Enzo to leave and never step foot over our threshold again.Tonight is the first time I’ve set eyes on him or spoken to him since then.”I’m breathless, drained by my confession, but there’s something like relief behind it.
