I yank it out, simultaneously disgusted and grateful at the timing of the disruption, and in my rush to check the caller, I fumble, dropping the damn thing to the wood beneath our feet.
Rafe chuckles as he lowers to his haunches swiftly, scooping it up with ease, but when he stands to pass the device into my palm, his face is devoid of all the tenderness of moments before.
My eyes drop to the cell, noting Nico’s name flashing on repeat, and I can feel my cheeks heat as I silence the ringtone.
“Someone important?” Rafe’s voice is flat, his jaw tight when I meet his gaze. “You can take the call if you need to.”
I shake my head and force a carefree smile. “Nah. It’s just my…boss.”
Technically speaking.
I inject enthusiasm into my voice as I continue. “Besides, I’m on vacation until tomorrow.”
Rafe’s eyes flicker between mine, as though searching for answers to questions I’m unaware of.
“In that case…” He trails off when a car pulling into the parking lot grabs his attention. When he looks back at me, he’s smiling again, though I’m not quite sure that this one reaches his eyes.
“How about a nightcap before we part ways, hmm?”
RAFE
The bar areaof the boutique resort on the shores of Lake Garda is quiet when we enter, and I smile at Elodie when she turns to me with a questioning look.
“How about over there?”
I nod toward a secluded booth in the corner of the room, the hair on the back of my neck bristling when I feel more than hear Emiliano and several others make their way inside after us.
He’s my boss.
My gut twists uncomfortably at the lie Elodie had so easily told on the veranda. The moments prior to seeing Domenico’s name pop up on her cell phone had been filled with a longing I haven’t felt since the last time I laid eyes on her.
A longing that was quashed both then and now by the reminder that she belongs to Domenico Conti.
Andthat’sher singular value to me.
Elodie slides into the booth, tucking her silken blonde hair behind her ear with a smile. A waiter fills two water glasses, depositing them on the table as I stand stock still, knowing what comes next as Elodie angles her head to one side in confusion at my inaction. Her eyes caress my face as surely as she’s physically touching me before she picks up her water glass, taking a small sip while a frown plays across her brow.
Rather than draw this out any further, I do what I should have done back at the restaurant instead of trying to steal something that isn’t mine to take.
I slip into the seat opposite, holding her gaze as I delicately place my gun on the table between us. The light in her blue eyes falters and dies, turning the navy hue to a dull gray and making me grit my jaw in consternation.
Why do you affect me so fucking much?
Sheer terror fills her face as the water glass tumbles from her fingers, the contents splashing onto the table between us.
And as quickly as fear had exploded across her features, it’s gone, replaced by a cool disdain and a vacancy I haven’t spotted before now.
“Is he with you?”
Her voice is monotone. None of the lilting cadence of before. Cold haughtiness replaces the easy camaraderie we’d shared, transforming her beautiful face.
I tilt my head, pinching my chin between my thumb and index finger with a thoughtful frown. “Iswhowith me, Miss Rivers?”
She arches a pale eyebrow before crossing her arms over her chest and sitting back deeply into her seat to regard me with unveiled contempt.
“Nico, of course,” she fake whispers. “He’s not the kind to send a lowdown dog to do his dirty work, so I’m sure he’s not far?—”
“Yourbossdidn’t send me.” I cut her off more sharply than I’d intended, her barbed words clearly hitting the mark. “In fact, I reckon he’ll be damn pissed when he finds out I’ve taken you.”
