My God. It was heavy. I didn’t even want to think about how much it was worth.
What did this mean?
Was it his way of telling me my opinions didn’t matter? That if he wanted to pay me, he would?
Or was this just another mind game?
I was leaning toward that option.
He wanted me to remember him. Which was the exact opposite of what I was trying to do.
For a fleeting moment, I considered texting him, demanding he take it back. But I dismissed the idea just as quickly. If Romolo Ferraro wanted to waste his money on me, that was his choice.
He could afford it.
But I’d never wear the damn thing. The necklace would spend its life tucked away. Just like my memory of him.
I opened the drawer of my vanity, lowered the necklace inside, and slammed it shut—like that would somehow lock away the tangled mess of feelings the man who'd given it to me had stirred.
CHAPTER24
ROM
THREE WEEKS LATER
I drummed my fingers against the wheel. “This the right place?”
“That’s the one,” Alessio said.
“It better be worth the twenty-minute drive.”
“You sure you don’t want anything? The reviews are saying they’ve got the best pour-overs.”
I huffed. “I’m good.”
My brother had a habit of hyper-fixating on things. Video games. Conspiracy theories. Now—coffee.
There was a Starbucks five minutes from the palace. I'd suggested we gothere, which had earned me the kind of look you’d give someone eating sushi with a fork. Apparently, Starbucks coffee was a notch above espresso-flavored piss. His words, not mine.
“You’ve lived in Brooklyn too long,” I said dryly. “You’re turning into a fucking hipster.”
Alessio smirked but didn’t argue. He patted his pockets. “Shit. I left my wallet behind. You got any cash?”
“Check the glove compartment.”
He rummaged through it and then stopped. “Since when do you wear makeup?”
I frowned. “The fuck are you talking about?”
He held up a tube of lip gloss between two fingers, inspecting it like it was evidence in a crime scene.
A sharp pulse went through me.
“I don’t,” I said. “Some girl must’ve left it.”
“Want me to toss it?”
“No.” The word came out too fast.
