I slammed the door shut, and the car pulled away. Grabbing out my phone, I dialed the pilot to tell him to prepare the jet.
A deafening roar ripped through the air, vibrating the stained-glass windows of the church. The limo’s side crumpled inward like tinfoil. A mangled, metallic scream against the pristine black paint. The acrid smell of burnt rubber and gasoline stung my nostrils. The sight of Carina’s ride, once sleek, now a mangled wreck, made my stomach churn.
“Mamma!” Lucio shouted from the top stairs. “No!”
All the blood drained from my face. Unease sank in my gut. My words moments ago crashed into me.You’re dead to me. I cursed her. “What have I done?” My phone smashed to the ground, and I raced alongside my brother to the scene.
Chapter 29
Gemma
Six months later.
I nudged my fork into my pasta, the spaghetti a reflection of my tangled thoughts. What a hectic day. Chloe and I had our work cut out for us—a nasty virus worked its way around the neighborhood. Like usual, the preschoolers caught it first. We had four unhappy children come down with fevers before lunchtime.
“Not enjoying your meal, Gemma?” Larry, the server asked, his frown deepened at my untouched plate. “The meal’s lovely, like usual. I think I’m too tired to eat.” I forked a few more bites before I gave Giorgio—the chef who owned this restaurant across from my apartment block—a reason to storm out of the kitchen and scold me for picking at my meal.
The restaurant buzzed. Typical for Monday night Happy Hour to attract a frenzy of couples and families. In the far corner, a lone figure sat, all in black, like the first time I’d seen him. Wineglass in hand, his green gaze fixed on me.
I sighed at my plate. Bad enough I obsessed about him. Now I was seeing things.
The chair opposite me scraped back. Enzo plunked into the seat, making me jump. I darted a glance toward the corner.Empty. Then back to him. My hallucination had grown flesh and bones. “Enzo?”
“Hello, Gemma,” he said, voice low, rougher than I remembered, a desperate edge beneath the familiar tone.
His gaze held mine a beat too long, the intensity making my skin prickle. I shoved my plate away, no longer trusting what I ate. He’d laced my meal again, hadn’t he? I wouldn’t put it past him. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.” His hand brushed over mine, sending a jolt through me.
Too real. Too solid to be a mere mirage.
I ripped my hand from under his, the sharp withdrawal made him wince. The memory of the last six months—a raw, aching brand. “What now? Are you and your crazy mother still not done playing with my life?”
His jaw tightened at the mention of his mother. Rougher than before, hair a mess, he scrubbed a hand over his dark stubble, the rasp of his palm loud against the hum of the restaurant. His gaze skittered around the joint—not hunting for someone, but as if grappling to orient himself in an unfamiliar place. “I know I hurt you. Gemma, I messed up. I’m here to ask for your forgiveness…” His voice was hard, sure. “I… I want you back.”
I slumped back in my chair. Six months. Six months he dumped me from his life and now wanted me back? “You’re kidding, right?”
His gaze bore into mine, pleading.
“Where’s the new wife?” I spat, the words laced with a bitterness that surprised even me.
His gaze narrowed. “There is no wife. I swear.”
“You lied,” I bit out.Again.
“I would have married Bianca De Luca to stop my mother from killing you. A marriage clause had been established to initiatea truce between the two families…” He held his hands up in surrender. “Thank God Lucio stepped in.”
So the war between his mother’s family and the De Lucas settled once and for all… on a marriage deal no less. Anger, a beast rising within, threatened to overwhelm me. I slammed my hand on the table, so hard the silverware jumped. “Someone like you wouldn’t fall for someone like me. Your words, not mine. So what changed?”
His hand shot out, then hesitated, hovering inches from mine as if remembering he didn’t have the right to touch me, and I wanted to scream. “My mother,” he said, his voice grated and urgent, “she threatened your life! I was protecting you.”
Trust Carina to intimidate Enzo with my life. Another reason to reject him. Besides, as if I could ever trust him not to hurt me again.
He clamped the edge of the table. “Believe me, Gemma. I’m still just as crazy about you as the day I met you.”
“You have the crazy part right, at least,” I uttered under my breath, then collected my handbag. As if the truth mattered anymore. Standing from the table, I dropped a few bills to cover my meal. “Thank you for your honesty, Enzo.” I fastened the leather strap across my shoulder. “You want forgiveness? Consider yourself forgiven. As for another chance… I can’t. I’m sorry you wasted the trip out here.” I didn’t make it more than a step outside when his hand clamped my arm.
“Gemma, don’t…”
