I stared at the phone like it had grown fangs.He was here.Liam was in Italy.In the same country. On the same damn continent. Breathing the same air as me.My stomach twisted into a thousand knots, and something sour crawled up the back of my throat.I couldn’t breathe.I couldn’t think.The silence stretched, thick and unbearable.“Em?” he said again, softer this time. “Don’t hang up. Please. I know I’m the last person you want to hear from, but—”Without a second thought I ended the call and threw the phone onto the bed like it had just burned my hand.My whole body trembled. I stared down at my fingers like they didn’t belong to me. What the hell just happened?How dare he?How could he think, for even a second, that I’d want anything to do with him?Not after everything he did. Not after the way he shattered me and left me bleeding with a smile on his face.And now he was showing up like some lost soul on a romantic pilgrimage? Did he think this was some kind of movie?No.I was
“Really?” I breathed, eyes wide, lips still tingling from his kiss.Lorenzo nodded, that signature smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I need to spoil my woman.”God, the way he said it… my woman—like I was some rare, precious thing only he was allowed to touch.My insides fluttered.I kissed him again—quick, greedy. “Where are we going?”“It’s a surprise,” he murmured, brushing a thumb across my lower lip.I groaned dramatically, tipping my head back. “You know I hate surprises.”“That’s exactly why I’m doing it,” he said, voice smug.I rolled my eyes and pushed off his lap, only to feel his palm connect with my ass in a swift, stinging slap.A gasp escaped my lips.I turned halfway, eyes burning into his as I bit down on my bottom lip. “Lorenzo…”He groaned low, the sound vibrating in his chest as his hand reached for me again. “You know what that sound does to me.”Laughing, I danced just out of reach and bolted toward the door. “Then catch me, De Vito.”“Brat,” he muttered,
The second I slid into the backseat of the car and let the door thud shut behind me, I exhaled like I hadn’t breathed properly in hours.Matteo caught my eye in the rearview mirror and offered me a quick, reassuring smile. “Long day?”“You have no idea,” I muttered, sagging back against the seat. The soft leather cradled my spine, and for the first time all day, I felt like I could actually relax.We pulled away from the construction site, the sun casting golden streaks through the tinted windows. I closed my eyes for a moment and let the familiar rhythm of the city wash over me—the hum of traffic, the distant honk of a Vespa horn, the rustle of wind through the olive trees as we turned off the main road toward the mansion.Home.God, I never thought I’d call that place home, but somehow, it was.And as the gates of the De Vito estate opened with their usual low groan, I felt something tighten in my chest and then loosen again—like I’d been carrying a weight I didn’t even realize unti
The numbers on the screen blurred.I’d been staring at this proposal for an hour now, but not a single word was sinking in. My hand tightened around the mouse, dragging it across the desk with just enough restraint not to fling it at the glass wall.It wasn’t the numbers.It wasn’t the deal.It was the empty chair in the corner of the office.Emily’s chair.I raked a hand through my hair and leaned back in my chair, staring up at the ceiling, jaw clenched so tight it ached.I missed her.Hell, missed wasn’t even the right word. I felt her absence like a goddamn injury. Like someone had taken a knife and carved her out of the room, leaving only the ghost of her laugh and the memory of her perfume.And the silence?It was deafening.I didn’t realize how much she filled this space until she was gone from it.The click of the door interrupted my spiral. I didn’t look up, assuming it was Angelo with a file or maybe a reminder about lunch. But then I saw something move in my periphery—somet
The sun was brutal against the white stone of the hotel’s future facade, glaring down like it had something personal against me. Sweat clung to the back of my neck as I stood in the middle of the construction site, clipboard in one hand, phone in the other, mentally ticking off the delays we couldn’t afford. The contractors were fast—but the marble delivery was late again. I stepped away from the workers, ducking under scaffolding to get a moment of quiet. My phone buzzed in my hand, and I glanced at the screen.Jane.Finally, a reason to smile.I swiped to answer. “Took you long enough to call me back, traitor—”“I’m going to kill him, Emily. I swear to God, I’m going to fucking kill him.”I froze.Jane’s voice was sharp and furious, every syllable laced with white-hot rage. My stomach dropped like I’d missed a stair.“Jane?” I straightened, gripping the phone tighter. “What’s going on? Calm down—talk to me.”“I can’t calm down!” she snapped, voice cracking. “Not when that bastard h
I woke up wrapped in Lorenzo’s arms, his chest pressed firmly against my back, one leg thrown over mine, like he was afraid I’d disappear in my sleep. The morning sun streamed through the massive penthouse windows, casting a golden glow across the bed and illuminating his face in a way that made me forget how to breathe.God.He looked unfairly good in the daylight.His hair was a tousled mess from sleep and sex, his beard a little scruffier than usual. But it was the calm on his face that stole something out of my chest—a rare softness most people never got to see. It made him look younger. Sweeter. But still, unmistakably dangerous.I turned slowly in his arms, careful not to wake him, even though the movement made my thighs ache in the best way. Every part of me still buzzed from last night—from the way he claimed me like I was oxygen and he was suffocating. I smiled, letting my fingers trace the sharp line of his jaw, down to the dip of his collarbone.How the hell is this man for