“She will hate that,” I reply.It comes out before I can stop it, as if my thoughts pour straight out of my mouth without the benefit of a filter.
Luca snorts but says nothing.
Dante, perched on the corner of the desk, clears his throat.“We know she won’t be happy about it, but it will be temporary.Until the end of the semester, probably no longer than that.”
I’m not sure what bothers me more—the idea of watching her crumble under this disappointment, or the cold feeling that washed over me when I immediately imagined losing the excuse to be alone with her three days a week.I’m like a kid who just found out he’s not getting what he wanted for his birthday.
“Do you think she is in any danger?”Rocco asks.
“Like he would be honest with you if she were,” Luca mutters.“Like he wouldn’t welcome it.”
“Do us both a favor and don’t speak for me,” I warn quietly.Dante shoots Luca a dirty look—I enjoy the sight.I like watching the little shit getting put in his place.“And no, I don’t think she’s in danger at school.She barely has time for lunch between classes, and until now, she’s stayed on campus for that.She lets me know when she’s ready to leave, and I have the car ready.There’s minimal opportunity for anyone to get to her.”
Besides me.Poor Luca’s head would explode, wouldn’t it?Just when I thought I’d faced all the temptation I could handle today, I would love to watch him melt down if it didn’t mean blowing up my life.
And giving her up.I don’t like how much weight that thought carries.
“I do think she would be miserable if she had to give up seeing the friends she’s made.I’ve gotten a look at all of them…” I explain, “… and they seem like decent girls.She’s enjoying herself as much as she can.”My chest hurts when I remember her drunken tears.She wants to be normal, and it’s not too much to ask.
The truth is, I would say whatever it takes as long as I don’t lose what I’ve got.As much as I dread trying to discourage her from a repeat of what happened in the garage, the thought of getting reassigned somewhere else in the family is much harder to swallow.
“You really think we can believe him?”Luca stands, glaring at me in a silent challenge.“How much changed while I was away?”
Rocco waves a hand in his general direction without looking his way.Now I have another moment to fondly look back on later when I’m alone—watching Luca being dismissed so carelessly.
“All right.We’ll have it your way,” Rocco decides.“But I want you to think over any potential gaps in her schedule that could leave her vulnerable.She doesn’t step out of the building until her class is over and you’re ready at the curb, that sort of thing.Until things cool off,” he concludes, exchanging a nod with Dante while Luca silently seethes.
He isn’t so silent once I’ve left the study, his footsteps ringing out behind me.“Hey,” he grits out.“I meant what I said.We’re going to talk about what I learned in Sicily.Big surprise, younottelling us the full reason why you came back.”
My pace slows, my thoughts churning.I’ve fought to control my hair-trigger temper—that was never a problem for me in the old days, when I never bothered.It would be so easy and feel so damn good to unleash it on him now.To remind him who he’s screwing around with.
Until I think ofher, and not of the bastard I blew away on a yacht off the coast of Sicily before throwing his body overboard.Not even my family.I think of Giulia and the trust she somehow has in me.She knows who I am and what I can do, and she still threw herself into my arms and begged me to touch her.
“It’s a good thing I came back when I did, isn’t it?”Looking over my shoulder, I offer a smile with no humor.“Your brother might never have gotten his wife back without me.It seems like I’ve done this family some good.”
His face darkens, and hatred burns in his gaze as he mutters, “Don’t kid yourself.If Papa didn’t have more than enough on his mind, he would already know what I know.”
There’s no way.He’s bluffing, going off rumors and a thirst to see me suffer.“Is that a fact?”I ask.
He nods.“But I can wait.This isn’t over.”
“I didn’t think it was,” I tell him, nodding my head before continuing on my way.It’s not lost on me that I heard the same thing from his sister earlier.
And I hate to admit it, even to myself, but they’re both right.The bad blood between Luca and me isn’t going anywhere.
Neither is my hunger forher.
11
GIULIA
Ican’t believe it, but it’s true.
I spent the entire weekend waiting for Monday morning to finally get here.
There must be something broken in me.How many girls my age count the hours until they have the excuse to go to school?I’ve gone through my entire closet at least three times since Friday afternoon, after I threw myself face-first onto my bed and screamed into my pillows because yes, it finally happened, and even though he hit the brakes before we did very much, he only did it to protect us.
That’s not the kind of thing somebody just magically forgets because they tell themselves they need to.Now I know he wants me, which means nothing matters more than making myself as irresistible as possible.
