“No one, princess.”
“Not anymore,capo.” Stella brushes her lips against mine, and it’s so achingly sweet and fiery, the layer of frost around my heart shatters.
I want nothing more than to give in to this woman, to make her mine forever. I know I don’t fucking deserve her, but there is nothing I want more. Except her safety. For her to live a long, happy life. After all the shit she’s been through, she deserves so much better.
As if she’s read my thoughts, her mouth releases mine. A tear traces the perfect curve of her cheek, and I reach out to wipe it away. “Don’t do this, Luca.”
“Do what?” A jagged edge lingers in the air between us.
“Pull away from me in some misguided attempt to protect me.”
The ghost of a smile tugs up the corners of my lips. She knows me too well. It’s all at once disturbingly frightening and yet oddly satisfying.
“I’ve lost so much in my life,” she whispers. “And at some point in the last four weeks, you became one of the few remaining things I can’t bear the thought of losing. Please don’t leave me. Especially not for my own good. There’s nothing good left in my life without you.”
Her words gut me. They carry the weight of all the pain she was forced to bear. Largely because of me. When Vinny died, not only had I robbed her of her brother, but also her substitute protector. I ran like a coward. Even after I’d heard her grandfather had died, leaving her truly unprotected, I never went back to check on her. I left her at the hands of fucking drunk Liam McKenzie. Somehow, I thought she’d be safer without me.
I was a completestronzo. Seventeen and stupid.
No wonder she completely erased me from her memories.
“Promise me, Luca. Swear I won’t lose you.”
“I promise to always protect you, no matter what happens.” It’s the only vow I can make right now.
She eyes me for a long minute as if she’s understood the difference in what she’s asked and what I’ve promised. But she finally nods, somehow making peace with it. I press my lips to hers and show her how much I need her in the only way I know how.
CHAPTER40
TIME’S UP
Stella
I stand in front of the mirror, gripping the marble vanity because it’s the only thing keeping me upright. Time’s up.
Today, my father is supposed to contact Tony to make his first monthly payment to repay the debt. Luca and I have expertly danced around the subject for the past two glorious days. We haven’t emerged from the penthouse, have barely left his bedroom. It’s like some unspoken pact we made to enjoy our final days together without any expectations.
But inside, inside I’m hollow.
BecauseDio, I’ve gone and done the stupidest thing ever. I’ve fallen in love with Luca Valentino.
Every moment I spend with him I only fall deeper. He declared me his girlfriend at the gala, and I’ve stared at the shiny spread of the two of us inThe New Yorkerfor hours. We appear to be the quintessential happy couple, but it’s all based on a lie, on a debt owed.
A soft knock at the door shoots my heart up my throat. “Ready?” Luca’s voice sounds garbled, but I’m fairly certain it’s only a result of my thundering pulse across my eardrums.
Shit, Tony must have gotten the call. “Just a second,” I squeeze out. A part of me aches to see my father, that’s how stupid I am. I wonder if he’s okay, if he’s been drinking himself to death, if he held onto his last crappy job….
“Stella?” Even through the thick door, I can hear the concern in Luca’s voice.
“Almost ready,” I call out. Staring at my reflection, I take in my appearance. Despite the tears staining my cheeks, I look happier and healthier than I did a month ago. My dark hair is soft and sleek from the super-expensive hair products Luca spoils me with, my skin is practically glowing from the designer facial creams, and the dark hollows beneath my eyes have filled out from dreamless nights spent in the safety of Luca’s arms.
The click of the doorknob twisting sends my heart aflutter. I hastily sweep away the remaining tears and splash some water on my face. Luca’s arms weave around my waist, and he drops his chin on my shoulder. Through the mirror, his concerned gaze tightens my ribcage.
“You know I would never hurt you, right?” he murmurs against my bare shoulder. “That even if your father doesn’t have the money, we’ll come to some other agreement?”
“With him in a body bag?”
He shakes his head. “Thatbastardodoesn’t deserve to live for what he’s put you through, but I won’t be the one to put him underground.”
