After I'm back in my room and in bed, the minute I start to doze off, my phone dings.
I glance at it, and it's a text from him.
SV: Thank you, gorgeous.
I type back before I can stop myself.
Me: For what?
SV: For staying.
SV: For seeing me.
SV: For not running when you had the chance.
I stare at the screen, heart pounding.
Me: Go to sleep, Salvatore. Doctor's orders.
SV: Is that concern I hear?
Me: It's exhaustion. You're exhausting.
SV: Goodnight, Valentina.
I set the phone on the nightstand and roll onto my side, pulling the covers up to my chin.
But sleep doesn't come easily.
Instead, I lie there in the dark, thinking about a man who shakes when no one's watching, who built walls so high even he forgot what was behind them, and who looked at me today like I was the first person in thirty-six years to see him clearly.
I think about six months.
I think about choices.
For the first time since I signed that contract, I think about what it might mean to actually stay.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Salvatore
Ican’t get Valentina out of my mind. Her quiet defiance. Those green eyes that never look away, daring me to flinch first. The fall of her dark hair against her shoulders, soft where everything else about her is sharp. She looks at me like she’s studying my weaknesses instead of fearing my power. Like she knows exactly how dangerous I am, and stays anyway.
Tonight, she meets my brothers and I can’t wait to see how it goes. Rosa was instructed to prepare the red dress I had purchased for her the first week in the house. She would have met my brothers already but the incident with the rat delayed my plans. No more delays. Time to show Valentina what it’s really like to be mine.
Dinner isn’t until later in the evening so Elio and I decide to visit one of our shell companies downtown to meet with a few… investors.
We meet with three men and a woman we’ve been working with for several years now. I’ve managed this operation since my father was don as a personal asset while Matteo handled everything else. Now that I control everything, he manages them all but I show up every now and then.
I finish reviewing the first set of documents before handing them to Elio.
“How much is this going to cost?” he asks.
I sense the nervousness before the investor answers. “About twelve million.”
“Holy shit,” Elio blurts out. “You can’t get this shit done for 6?”
“I’m afraid I can’t get it down to that. Your brother Matteo really wants this property, and that’s the least I can get it for, trust me, I’ve tried exploring other avenues, it’s the best offer he’s going to get.”
