Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
I closed my eyes. “Getting harder every fucking day.”
He laughed loud and hard. “That’s not what I asked.”
“She is every-fucking-where,” I admitted. “In my house. In my head. With Matteo.” I watched her brush crumbs from Matteo’s shirt, heard his laugh through the glass. “And every instinct in me is screaming that she is a fucking liability.”
“But?” he added, because he’d always been able to read me so well.
“But I can’t stop thinking about her, and I want her as bad as I ever have.”
Luca kept quiet for a long minute, and when he finally spoke, he was careful. “You know how that ends.”
“Yeah,” I knew exactly how it ended. “But I didn’t love Sofia, and it ended that way anyway.” And I’d had to deal with a heartbroken toddler, which wrecked me. “Knowing that doesn’t make me not want her, Luca.”
“Didn’t think it would. That’s why it’s a liability.” Luca wasn’t a man for lectures, just practical advice. “Just make sure she knows the danger and takes every precaution. No shopping trips because she’s tired of being stuck inside.”
Fuck. “Yep.” That was the last word I said before ending the call, returning my gaze out the window where Ren and Matteo had packed up and were probably in the kitchen making a mess they would happily clean up afterward. Together.
Joining them was tempting, but temptation was dangerous.
Fuck that, hope was worse because hope disappointed.
And with two possible threats against my family and my business, I couldn’t afford to let hope or temptation in right now.
Chapter 15
Serenity
Sleep refused to come.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The house was too still and too quiet, and my nerves were stretched thin from a day spent constantly on edge. I’d felt Enzo’s gaze on me and Mattie all afternoon while we did lessons, played, and even enjoyed a picnic lunch. He watched—I imagined longing in his eyes—from afar, on and off all day. I’d seen him pacing the length of his office, his brows dipped in concentration and his jaw clenched with tension. At dinner, he’d been quiet and distracted, barely paying any attention to his food.
I hadn’t asked. I wanted to ask, badly, but I figured if he wanted me to know, then he would’ve told me. My priority was Mattie, not Enzo or his emotions, and right now Mattie was safe.
As long as that was true, I could manage everything else.
Eventually, I gave up on sleep since it didn’t want to be bothered with me anyhow.
I slipped out of bed and padded downstairs, making my way to the kitchen on the off chance a warm mug of tea would help settle me long enough for sleep to claim me. The lights in the kitchen were low, bathing the room in a warm golden hue that was oddly comforting. I went through the motions of filling the kettle, pulling out a mug, and picking out a teabag before I plated a few of the cookies Mattie and I had baked earlier today.
The air grew thick and charged slightly before the whistle of the kettle even sounded. My heart pounded as anxiety crept up my spine.
“Ren.”
I knew it was Enzo—of course it was—but the scream escaped before I could pull it back. I whirled around with one hand against my chest. “Holy fuck, you scared me.”
“Sorry,” he answered in a quiet voice that was completely free of apology. The closer I looked, the more I realized he wasn’t just not sorry—he was tired and tense. “Couldn’t sleep?”
I shook my head. “I guess it’s going around. Tea?”
He nodded.
I felt his gaze on me as I pulled down the assortment of tea bags, ignoring the heat that pumped through my body. His gaze was heavy—too heavy—and the harder I tried not to look at him, the more I wanted to.
When I turned, Enzo was right there, moving closer until his hands bracketed my hips, effectively trapping me between him and the countertop. “How are you holding up?”
“Fine,” I answered automatically and then sighed, shaking my head lightly. “No, I’m not. But I will be.”
“If you’re not, let me know. I’ve got broad shoulders, strong arms, and a very bendable ear.”
I laughed and gasped at the same time. Those words were so fucking familiar, something he used to say all the time when I kept my problems to myself. “I will be fine,” I said, repeating the words more for my sake than for his.
His gaze sharpened, taking in all the details I had easily been able to hide from Mattie all day. “Have you thought about what you’ll do when the thirty days are up? It’s almost here.”
The question landed heavily against my wobbly resolve. I’d thought about it a lot. Honestly, I’d thought about little else for the past week. “I have,” I answered carefully. His scent, so masculine and familiar, made it difficult to breathe. “I’m scared; I won’t pretend I’m not. But,” I sighed, shaking my head, “it wouldn’t feel right leaving Mattie on his own and forcing him to start over with someone else. Not now, and not just to make things easier on myself.” That was the truth I’d come to realize earlier today. Yesterday. And the day before.