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“Stop. Stay.”
“Give me a reason.”
“I didn’t make my offer lightly. Sit down and talk about it with me.”
She casts a glance over at the barista before slowly sinking down. I lean back, sipping my coffee, and give her a second to compose herself. I rattled her, said all the wrong things, and now I’m coming at this from a losing position already.
I don’t want to scare her away. Honestly, I don’t want to scare her at all. I can’t help myself when she’s around though—all I want to do is tease her, flirt with her, push her a little bit and piss her off. Allegra’s got a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, and I want to feel it all again. I’ve craved this feeling for so many years and now that I’m finally getting a taste, it’s like I want to bask in the glow for a while.
But I can’t act like things are okay between us, because they’re not.
Because I fucked it up.
“I don’t want to marry your brother.” She says it softly, not looking at me. She’s glaring down at her coffee like she wants to crack the ceramic mug with her willpower alone.
“I know you don’t.”
“But I can’t run away again either. Papa will track me down and this time it’ll be much worse.”
“You’re right. He won’t be happy.”
“Which leaves me with you.” She glances up, her mouth turned down. “How would it work?”
“Well, I’d put a ring on your finger?—”
“Now is not the time to be an asshole, Gian.”
A shiver runs down my spine. I love the way she says my name with her entire mouth, lips and tongue and all.Gian. Like a purr.
“Your father will be livid,” I say, putting on a straight face for her benefit. “You know that already. He’ll be beyond pissed. Renzo will be angry too, mostly because I don’t plan on telling him about this until it’s already done. But I can handle my brother.”
“It’s my father we need to be more worried about.”
I like thatwebut resist the urge to comment. “The thing is your marriage to Saul is only a means to an end. Renzo doesn’t care who you’re with as long as it means your family helps out more with the war.”
“And my father only wants your family’s business connections.” A rueful smile makes her face light up. Even when she’s bitter, she’s so fucking beautiful, it kills me.
How is it that I’ve seen thousands of pretty women in my life, but none of them ever affected me like this? And how does she still do it, even after all this time? We’re not kids anymore—that twenty-year-old version of me is long gone—but I’m still taken by her. She still makes my heart hammer in my chest.
“Which means if we can convince Renzo to accept it, I think your father will go along with it too.”
She grunts and hums to herself, considering. She makes a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. The same noise she used to make back when we really knew each other. All those years ago.
“Think you could do it? Can you make your brother accept this?”
“Probably.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring.” She leans closer. “I need you to give me more. If I’m going to risk my entire freaking life on this crazy plan, I need guarantees. I need to trust you, and right now, I’d rather jump out of an airplane without a parachute than put my life in your hands.”
“I don’t blame you,” I say quietly, and there are a dozen excuses I can make, but I keep them to myself. She’s not interested in my reasons. She only wants my results. “Renzo will accept it because Saul will have my back.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because when we get married, he’ll be relieved. Even though he’s willing to go through with this, that doesn’t mean hewantsto do it.”
She considered again, spinning her mug around in circles. “Let’s say your brother talks my father down and they both grudgingly go along with our marriage. What then?”
“Then we live together. You’re my wife for a year. Our families integrate their visions and goals, the alliance deepens, and then?—”
