"Really?" Pietro's eyebrow arches. "Because this morning you two left for the hospital looking like actual lovers. Holding hands, her fussing over you, you letting her. Then got back like strangers."
"The hospital was for appearances. People were watching."
"There were no photographers at seven in the morning."
I shift my weight, hating how he sees through everything. "Alberto's starting treatment this week. They'll know by Friday if the transplant takes."
"I don't give a fuck about Alberto right now." Pietro stands, moving around his desk. "I care about my brother acting like an idiot."
"I'm handling the situation."
"By doing what? She looked ready to cry when you got back."
"She's young. Emotional. She'll get over it."
Pietro's fist slams onto his desk. "You think I'm blind? You think I don't see how you look at her?"
"How I look at her is irrelevant."
"Jesus Christ." He runs a hand through his hair. "You're doing it again. The same shit you pulled after Luna."
"This is nothing like Luna."
"You're right. It's not. Because Sophia actually gives a damn about you, and you're too much of a coward to admit you feel the same."
The word 'coward' makes my jaw clench. "I'm protecting her."
"From what? Yourself?" Pietro laughs, but there's no humor in it. "You're not Dad, Lorenzo. You're not going to destroy everything you touch."
"You don't know that."
"I know you've been different since she got here. More focused. Less reckless with the business. You actually give a shit about something besides your restaurants."
"She's twenty years old."
"So? Nora's twenty-three. You think three years makes that much difference?"
"It's not the same."
"Why?"
I don't answer. Can't answer.
Pietro moves closer. "You know what I saw this morning? My brother letting someone take care of him for once. Do you know how long it's been since I've seen that? Since anyone's seen that?"
"It was an act."
"Bullshit. You don't act that well. None of us do." He pauses. "She makes you better, Lorenzo. And you're throwing it away because you're scared."
"I'm not scared."
"Then what are you?"
Terrified. The word sits heavy in my chest. Terrified of wanting her. Terrified of losing her. Terrified of becoming the monster that destroys her innocence.
"What the fuck do you care?" The words rip out of me, raw and angry. "You wanted her dead. All of you did."
Pietro laughs and the sound makes me want to put my fist through the wall. "That's what you all wanted from Nora too, if you can't remember."
