"Why were you crying last night?"
Her breath catches. She tries to look away but I hold her steady, thumbs stroking her cheekbones.
"Sophia. Talk to me."
"It's stupid."
"Nothing about you is stupid."
She closes her eyes. A tear escapes down her cheek. "Luna."
The name hangs between us like a blade.
"What about her?"
"She's alive." Her voice cracks. "She's alive and she's been watching us and—" She pulls away from my hands. "I know what you're going to say. That it doesn't matter. That she's just a threat to eliminate. But Lorenzo, you loved her. Really loved her. And now she's back and I'm just?—"
"Stop."
"I'm just some girl you got stuck protecting and?—"
"Stop." I grab her shoulders. "Look at me."
She does, tears streaming freely now.
"I would rather be dead than love Luna Torrino. You hear me? Dead. She could walk through that door right now, and the only thing I'd feel is rage. Not love. Not longing. Just fury at what she did to my family."
"But—"
"I don't want her, Sophia. Christ, the thought of her makes my skin crawl. You think I'm distracted because of her? You think I'm pulling away because some part of me still wants her?"
She nods, barely.
I damn myself for taking so long to handle this. For always waiting until the damage is done before dealing with what matters.
"I'm not like this because of Luna." I release her shoulders, running my hands through my hair. "I'm like this because Giovanni mentioned Riccardo."
"Riccardo?"
"Giovanni said Luna mentioned him." The pieces I've been trying not to see click together. "I don't know what Riccardo had to do with the Luna situation. He never said anything, but now..."
Sophia's hand finds mine. "We'll figure it out."
"That's what's eating at me. Not some lingering feeling for her."
She squeezes my fingers. "Why didn't you just tell me?"
"Because I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to talk about things that matter."
A small laugh escapes her, wet and broken. "You're doing okay right now."
I pull her against me, her head fitting perfectly under my chin. "I'm trying."
Sophia
I spread fabric samples across the coffee table while Marinaholds up two different shades of white. "Ivory or pearl?"
"Pearl," Vittoria says without looking up from her laptop. "Ivory will wash you out."
