And yet, the truth couldn’t have been more opposite. Matteo was no knight in shining armor. He belonged to shadows and power, to an underworld that thrived on control and danger. He was a man people feared, a man whose name alone could still a room.
But standing there, barefoot on the sand with the moon painting him in silver – he looked like he’d come to fight back the darkness for me.
I couldn’t move.
All I could do was stand there, the hem of my dress fluttering against my legs, my hair caught in the night breeze, watching as Matteo slowly closed the distance between us.
Each step he took seemed to echo against the quiet beach, steady and sure, like he’d been walking toward me all along.
The sound of the waves softened as Matteo finally reached me, his steps slowing until he stood just a few feet away. The night air carried the faint scent of salt and hibiscus between us. His voice broke the quiet, low and rough from the sea breeze.
“Princesa… I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“What are you doing out here?”
“Couldn’t sleep.” He frowned then, really looking at me – his golden-brown eyes scanning my face like he was trying to read a language he hadn’t learned yet. His brows pulled together, soft but concerned. “What’s wrong?”
Something in his tone – gentle but grounding – unraveled me. I took a slow breath, the kind that shivered its way into my chest.
“I… Don’t know.”
The words slipped out before I could build my usual walls. Honest. Bare.
Matteo tilted his head, that familiar, maddeningly charming frown deepening. “I don’t think that’s entirely true,Donna.” He stepped closer, the sand crunching softly beneath his feet. “What’s upsetting you?”
The distance between us narrowed, and suddenly I was acutely aware of everything – his warmth against the cool breeze, the sound of his shirt rustling faintly in the wind, the way the moonlight curved along his jaw.
“I… I…” The words tangled in my throat.
Matteo’s voice softened even more, a firm hand coming to settle on my upper arm. “It’s alright. Take your time.”
My gaze dropped to the sand between us. My breath came out shaky. “I don’t want to go back to New York.”
I whispered it like it was a confession, like saying it too loudly would make it real.
Something flickered across Matteo’s face then – elusive, unreadable. It wasn’t surprise, exactly. More like recognition.
“When’s the last time you went on vacation?” he asked gently. “Took time off?”
I bit the inside of my cheek and glanced away, suddenly feeling small beneath the vast night sky. The honest answer was too long ago to remember.
He gave a soft, knowing huff. “Well, that’s it. You burned out, baby.”
I froze.
His hand tightened the smallest fraction on me with awareness.
Slowly, like my body moved on its own, I looked up at him. His eyes widened a fraction as the realization of what he’d said hit him. He cleared his throat, a little rougher this time.
Matteo Di’Ablo just called me baby.
“I’m sorry – I… Didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay,” I breathed out before he could finish.
The night settled around us again. The ocean whispered against the shore. A warm gust of wind curled between us, carrying the scent of the sea.
We stood there in silence, just looking at each other – no games, no defenses. Just us, under the moonlight, somewhere between everything we were and everything we hadn’t dared to be yet.
