“A slight change in plans?”
He just smiles and nods for me to board the plane. As I walk up the steps, my heart beats erratically.
Who did Teo send if not Tito?
When I step into the large cabin, I turn the corner and am stunned when I see two men already seated.
“Massimo? Gui?”
“Surprise,mia moglie,” Massimo says, sitting in a seat by the window in the middle of the plane.
I snap my gaze to his brother, who’s sitting toward the front.
“Hey, Liana,” he says with a small wave, then diverts his gaze back down to his phone.
I stomp over to Massimo and glare at him. “What are you doing here? Tito was supposed to come with me to Sicily.”
He smiles at me. “When were you going to tell me you’re going to Sicily?”
I was never planning on telling him, and he obviously knows that.
He scoffs out a laugh. “This seems to be your MO. Running in the opposite direction when things take a turn against what you expected.” He shakes his head. “You didn’t think I was going to let you go to Sicily without me, did you?”
I raise a brow at him. “Letme?”
“Oh, come on, Liana. You’ve been avoiding me, and you know I’m not a man that can be avoided for long.”
“Clearly,” I mutter. “I told you I needed space to think. It’s pretty obnoxious of you to hijack my work trip. How selfish can you be?”
“Selfish? You thinkI’mthe selfish one when all I’m trying to do is get you to come to your senses about the two of us, but you’re too busy running away every chance you get. Do you know howobnoxiousit is that you’re so damn stubborn?”
“I amnotstubborn.”
“That’s fucking laughable, Liana. You evensayingthat just proves how stubborn you are. You’re willing to let the best thingthat could ever happen to you slip out from between your fingers just because of it.”
“The best thing that could ever happen to me? Wow, you think awfully high of yourself.”
Someone clears their throat from behind me. “If you two are ready, we’ll be taking off now,” Jeff says, gesturing to the seat across from Massimo. “If you could take a seat and buckle in, Monique will be by to get you all some refreshments once we’re in the air.”
Smiling politely at Jeff, I thank him then take the seat across from Massimo.
While the plane takes off, I do my best to ignore him by gazing out the window every chance I get. But I feel his eyes boring into me the entire time, surely trying to get my attention.
I shouldn’t be surprised he figured out I was leaving, but I still can’t believe he’s here with me now. I was counting on having this space to get the thought of us out of my system, but as he sits across from me, all I can think about is the opposite, no matter what I just said to him. Fighting him—fighting thisthingbetween us—is becoming too much.
When we’ve finally settled in the air, Monique stops by our seats. “Can I get you both something to eat or drink?”
“I’ll just take an ice water, please.”
“Absolutely,” she says with a sweet smile. “And for you, sir?”
Massimo’s eyes are still on me when he says, “I’ll take the same thing.”
“Sure thing,” she says, then walks away, leaving me and Massimo in what seems to be a staring contest.
“Why’re you looking at me like that?” I finally say.
He puts his elbow on the armrest, sets his chin in his hand, and looks at me curiously. “Like, what?”
