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"Then I'll tell you what I think, and you'll tell me what you think. We'll figure it out together."

I nearly laugh. "You? Lorenzo Moretti? Negotiating instead of issuing orders?"

"I'm willing to learn."

"That would be a first."

"You're worth the effort."

I look down before he can see how much those words affect me.

"And the gifts?" I ask. "The bracelet, the books, that ridiculous cat tree?"

He winces. "I kept trying to give you things because I didn't know how to fix what I'd done."

"You can't buy my forgiveness."

"I know. I should've respected your request to leave you alone."

He reaches for his right hand, then stops and looks at me.

"There's one more thing."

I watch as he slides the gold band off his right ring finger and places it on the table between us.

The same ring I noticed at the wedding. The one I touched in Malibu, when I still believed it was some sentimental family heirloom.

"It's my wedding ring," he says.

"No kidding."

"When Valentina and I separated, I moved it to my right hand. I told myself it was simply easier to keep wearing it that way. But I also knew what people assumed when they saw my left hand was bare."

I stare at the ring. "You knew what I thought it meant."

"Yes."

"And when I asked about it, you let me believe it was something else."

"I did."

"Taking it off doesn't make you single, Enzo."

"I know. Only the divorce can do that." He leaves the ring where it is. "I started the proceedings before Valentina came to your apartment. She received notice that I was finally ending the marriage, and she began demanding more money."

"Because you wanted to marry me?"

"Because I wanted the freedom to ask you someday, if we ever got that far. I should've ended my marriage years ago, regardless of whom I might meet."

I fold my hands in my lap. "And if I don't take you back?"

"The divorce still happens. I don't want that marriage anymore. I haven't wanted it for a long time."

"What happens to Valentina now?"

"The police have her and the men she hired. They know about the kidnapping, but the investigation isn't finished. Marco is working with my divorce attorney, and none of those settlement papers were signed."

I think about Valentina's vicious smile as she explained exactly how much my life was worth.