I’d just walked out of my Advanced Clinical Anatomy exam. It was easy, maybe because I was a nerd, or because studying was the only thing that kept me from thinking about her. But none of that mattered now.
This week was important to her. She was presenting her portfolio, the one she’d spent months perfecting, for a workshop that could possibly help her get into fashion school.
I should be there. Ineededto be there.
Across the room, Alex sat scrolling through his phone, trying and failing to look uninterested. His fingers twitched like he was waiting for a message.
“How long are we gonna pretend we don’t know Alex is sneaking around with Dillon’s sister?” I said, stretching out on the couch.
Dillon’s head snapped up so fast I thought he’d get whiplash. “Wait. What?”
Arnoldo choked on his beer, while Lucio, ever the composed one, only looked at Alex with mild interest.
Alex scoffed. “Mind your business.”
Dillon pointed at him. “Oh, it is my business. That’s my sister.”
“And?” Alex raised a brow. “I’m not sneaking around. She’s my friend.Relax.”
“A friend you kiss from time to time?” I asked.
“Fuck off, Ronan,” Alex aggressively said.
Dillon groaned, rubbing his temples. “What is happening right now?”
I smirked, shaking my head. “My brother’s married. Alex is sneaking around. Arnoldo is whoring around. You’re well… you. I’m over here losing my mind because my girl is in another country.”
Lucio shut his laptop and leaned back. “So go see her,fratello.”
Arnoldo nodded. “Yeah, you’re miserable. Do us all a favor and book the damn flight.”
I sighed, rubbing a hand down my face. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?” Dillon asked. “You’ve got a jet and money at your disposal. You literally have no excuse.”
“You’re right.”
I pulled out my phone and called my family pilot.
“Get the jet ready,” I told the pilot. “I’m going to Italy.”
The moment I landed, I didn’t waste any time.
I had barely thrown my bag into the car before I was telling the driver to step on it. My knee bounced the entire ride. What if I was too late? What if she’d already gone?
But then I saw her.
She was standing near the entrance of the hall, a sketchbook in one hand, her other adjusting the pins on her apron. Her hair was tied up in the loose way she always did when she was focused, dark brown curls falling over her face. Her deep brown eyes, the ones I swore held galaxies, sparkled under the soft evening lights.
She was beautiful.
Out of this world beautiful.
Not only because of her looks—though, God, she was breathtaking—but because of everything she was. Passionate. Determined. Brilliant. The kind of woman who could bring me to my knees without even trying.
The second she saw me, her eyes widened. “Ronan?”
I barely had time to react before she was running toward me.
