Semua Bab Ruin me, Gently : Bab 161 - Bab 170

ISABELLE I pulled up outside Matt’s home in my old car.As I stepped out, my eyes drifted — and there it was. Parked perfectly. Gleaming quietly in the evening light like it wasn’t doing anything extraordinary just by existing.My dream car.I looked at it for a moment.“We’ll get there,” I told it quietly. “Don’t take it personally.”I made my way to the entrance, smiling at my own foolishness. Matt was already at the door watching me — and my smile got bigger without my permission. I loved when he waited.He closed the gap before I could — arms around me, mouth finding mine, warm and unhurried. A hello that said everything it needed to.“Hey you,” I said against his lips.“Hey.” He pulled me inside.We settled on the couch — me tucked into his side, his arm around me, my legs draped across his lap. His thumb moved in slow absent circles on my arm. I reached up without thinking and found the buttons of his shirt, fingers tracing them idly the way I had started doing without realizin

MATTEOThe knock at my office door was Charles.Which wasn’t unusual.What was unusual was the way he stood still in the doorway. Waiting.“Your mother is here,” he said.I frowned.I could count the number of times she showed her face at my office. Claire expected people to come to her, not the other way around.Which meant something had happened.I had a feeling I knew what.“Send her in,” I instructed.………………..I heard my mom before I saw her.The particular sound of her heels on the floor — measured, deliberate, the walk of a woman who had spent her life moving through spaces with intention.She appeared in the doorway.And I was on my feet before I had made a conscious decision to move.My mother, Claire Moretti, was the strongest woman I had ever known. She had raised three children largely on her own terms. Had never given her composure away cheaply. In all the years I had known her, I had never seen her like this.Her eyes were red.“Mom.” I crossed to her. “What happened? Are

ISABELLEMatt rang the doorbell with one hand, while the other was wrapped around mine.The door opened, revealing Lucia.She looked between us — at our joined hands, at Matt’s face, at mine, and something warm and quiet moved through her expression.“You’re late,” she said to Matt.“Four minutes,” he said.“Four minutes is late.” Her eyes moved to me. “Bella.”She stepped forward and pulled me in — properly, warmly, both arms — the kind of hug that meant something.“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said.“Me too,” I said honestly.She pulled back, looked at me briefly, taking everything in at once, and smiled.“Come in,” she said. “Both of you.”Matt’s hand found the small of my back as we stepped inside.The sitting room was already warm and full.Sage was on the couch, composed in the careful way of someone working very hard at it — and Pete was in the armchair. Sammie was at the far end of the couch, phone down now, watching us come in with those unmistakably Moretti eyes.Sage stood

ISABELLEMatt’s shirt was enormous on me.It always was, and super comfy. Which was exactly why I kept stealing it.I was sitting cross-legged on his bed, still replaying the evening in my head — the laughter, the food, Sammie’s face when she figured out who I was — when the bathroom door opened, and Matt walked out.Shirtless. Hair slightly damp. Moving through the room with that particular ease of a man entirely comfortable in his own space.He saw me smiling before I could stop it.“I hope that smile is about me,” he said, crossing to the bed. He pressed a kiss to the side of my head and sat down facing me. “Otherwise we have a problem.”I laughed. “Tonight feels like a dream.”“Does it?”“Your siblings. The way they welcomed Sage and me—” I paused. “I was so worried it would be awkward. That we would sit around the table making polite conversation and counting down to dessert.” I looked at him. “But it felt like a reunion. Like we had all known each other for years and were just g

ISABELLE I slipped back into the conference room.Rachel’s eyes found me the moment I sat down. I could feel them — that particular quality of attention that wasn’t interest so much as inventory.I picked up my glass of water and turned my attention back to the meeting.Nobody said anything.Fifteen minutes later the conference room door opened.Enrico.He was not a man who smiled easily. In the years I had worked under him, I could count his genuine smiles on one hand.He was grinning.The team looked up.“We have the deal,” he said.Silence.“What do you mean?” Rachel said. “What are you saying? An hour ago we were—”“I received a call,” Enrico said. “The right people got involved. Everything we’ve been pushing for — it’s confirmed.” He looked around the room. “The Crest deal is ours.”“What changed?” Priya asked.“I don’t have the full picture yet,” Enrico said. “But it’s done.”And then the room erupted.Chairs pushed back. Clapping. Someone laughed — relief more than humor. Week