“You should think about putting the marina in Rosalie’s name.”
I gave her a look, and she continued.
“Liam wouldn’t kill his own daughter to get the marina back, but he would kill you. He doesn’t have a plan yet, which will make him impulsive. He’s running out of time, and your wedding is in a week.”
“What’s the point in that, huh? You think I’d hand it back over to the Clarkes that easily?”
Assigning the marina to Rosalie was risky. It could jeopardize everything. Her father would undoubtedly take drastic measures if he discovered the marina was no longer in my name.
Perhaps this was all a setup.
A setup I didn’t have the time for.
I shot her a look before turning on my heel to leave.
If I spoke with Valentina any more, she could gain leverage and completely backstab me. Talking with a snake always came with consequences, and Valentina was venomous.
Trusting Rosalie with something so crucial felt like handing over my heart on a platter. My life was already in her hands. If she refused to go through with the marriage, Giovanni would have no choice but to deal with me. My life and everything I’d worked for would be in Rosalie’s hands.
Love. It was such a fragile, volatile thing to hinge my life on, especially when I was certain she didn’t feel any of that for me. She couldn’t love me if she didn’t trust me, and trust was something we were still building, piece by precarious piece.
Once again, my trust was being tested.
CHAPTER 44
ROSALIE
ONE WEEK UNTIL THE WEDDING ...
Morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow across the room. It would’ve been the perfect way to wake up—only, something was pulling at my legs.
A sharp tug jolted me from my drowsy state, and before I could register what was happening, I was lifted into the air and onto a set of broad shoulders. My world spun around, and I blinked rapidly to clear the sleep from my eyes.
The second I saw theRolex, I knew it was Max.
“What on earth are you doing!” I shouted.
He didn’t respond, his stride steady and purposeful as he carried me down the hallway. I looked down, my hair cascading over his back as I clung to him to keep my balance. Duke sprinted after us.
Slowly, I remembered everything that had happened last night. Anger, confusion, desire—they’d all swirled together, making it impossible to think straight. How had we gone from yelling and throwing things to ...that?
When I confronted Max about the bet he’d made with Sean, I was furious. But Max, with his infuriatingly smug smile and those damn eyes that could see right through me, had managed to turn my rage into something else entirely.
The moment I kissed him, I’d felt every barrier break inside of me. All the frustration, all the tension I’d been holding onto, had melted away in the heat of our kiss. I hated him for making me feel this way; for making me want him despite everything he’d put me through.
I was still upset with him for last night. I’d had to finish it myself, and all I could do was picture him in my head, which only made me even more frustrated.
Once we’d made it downstairs, he walked through the patio doors and set me down in one of the chairs. The morning sun was bright and warm. Max took a seat next to me, arms crossed, watching me with an unreadable expression. His gaze made me feel exposed and vulnerable. Then he glanced down at his watch.
Max hated when I was late. He was always punctual and precise, exactly like clockwork. You could set your watch by his routine: 7 a.m. jog, 8 a.m. shower, 9 a.m. breakfast, 10 a.m. work. I, on the other hand, operated on what you might call a more ... flexible schedule. And by “flexible,” I mean utterly unpredictable and mostly dependent on how many times I hit the snooze button.
Obviously, I had some work to do.
Max thought I was testing him, but really, I was justnota morning person. No matter how hard I tried for him, I failed to wake up for my alarms. Those incessant beeps at 9 a.m. were more of a suggestion to my sleepy brain, not a command.
I stayed silent, hoping he wouldn’t bring up the time—or last night, for that matter. My eyes darted around the yard, and I watched Duke roll in the grass as I popped a grape into my mouth.
I chewed.
