“Chef,” Moretti says.
She smiles warmly.“Everything is ready.”
And it couldn’t be more perfect.
This is like dining at a five-star restaurant.Gleaming silverware, beautiful plates, fresh flowers.
If I was designing my own hideaway, it would look a lot like this.
Moretti pulls out a chair beside the table and looks at me expectantly.
I haven’t expected his old-world manners.And they make my heart flutter, just a little.
He offers wine, and I’m tempted to say yes.
But what if his seed has already taken root?
I sigh.I’m not prepared for that.Not on top of everything else.But there’s a possibility, no matter how remote.“Pellegrino.”
“Excellent choice.”Since there’s a bottle of that on the table, he pours and squeezes fresh lime into my glass.
He opts for a deep ruby Syrah from the estate vineyard.The bottle has already been opened for him.
Once we’re alone, with exquisite, fresh-baked bread and a shallow bowl of emerald-green, first-press olive oil glistening beside a dish of flaky sea salt, I lean forward.“All of this is beautiful.But I want to know what happened this morning.And why was my brother not there?”
ChapterTwenty-Four
Valentina
“Moretti?”It should feel peaceful here—too peaceful, perhaps—but the tension that settles between us is anything but.
“Your brother arrived in Houston this morning.”
My fingers tighten slightly around the stem of my glass.“He texted me,” I say quietly.“He said he was in the city.”
Dante nods once.
“He landed at a private terminal and left the airport with a small convoy.Security vehicles, no doubt the usual arrangement for someone in your family.”
That much is predictable.“So why didn’t he come to the cathedral?”
His jaw tightens almost imperceptibly.
“Because his convoy never made it.”
The words land like a stone dropping into still water.
“What do you mean it never made it?”
“One of the vehicles was forced off the road on the way into the city.There was a crash.”
My breath catches.
“A crash?”
He nods again, his gaze steady on mine.
“Near the interchange outside downtown.Traffic was already heavy.When the lead vehicle went down, the rest of the convoy scattered trying to avoid the wreck.”
