It is so good it makes me want to cry.
Lorenzo watches me, a faint smile on his face. “See?”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak until I’ve swallowed.
We eat in a comfortable silence that should be awkward but isn't. The only sounds are the rustle of the paper bag and the quiet city hum from the window.
He is not trying to get information. He is not trying to charm me into something.
He is just… here.
Sharing a sandwich.
It is more unsettling and comforting than any of the other meetings I've had this week.
“Did Diego send you?” I ask, gesturing to the food.
“Diego suggested someone intervene.”
“Intervene?” I ask amused.
“You have apparently alarmed him,” he says. “Diego is hard to alarm.”
I rub my forehead with two fingers. “I’m fine.”
“No one who says that this often is fine.”
“Just a busy week,” I say, trying to brush his concerns off.
“Ms. Murray,” he starts. “Victoria. If the amount of work is causing you to—”
“Oh, no,” I say quickly, then I flush because I realize I interrupted him. But I can’t have them thinking the work is too much for me. I set the sandwich down. “It’s not the work. I love the work. It’s not too much. It’s exactly the kind of work I want my firm doing.”
Lorenzo studies me for a moment.
Too closely.
Like he already sees it and is deciding whether to mention it.
“I believe you,” he finally says.
I exhale quietly, relieved that he didn’t ask for more details.
“But I also believe there is something else keeping you awake,” he continues.
The bite of panino turns to stone in my stomach.
“It has nothing to do with the work,” I assure him. “And it’ll pass.”
I hope.
“Only a short-term worry,” I continue.
Lorenzo’s mouth curves faintly. “That sounds like a phrase lawyers use when they do not want to explain themselves.”
“We’re very good at those. Occupational hazard,” I say, attempting to lighten the mood and get him off the subject because I would rather eat glass than tell Lorenzo Conti that the short-term worry currently destroying my sleep schedule is his older brother’s mouth in places it has no business being, even in my imagination.
But apparently, he’s not to be deterred.
