“Came on too strong. Said some things I shouldn’t have said.”
“Then why don’t you just tell her you didn’t mean it?”
“Because I did mean it,” I said with a painful laugh. “Oh, I fucking meant it…” I grabbed my cigar from where it rested on the ashtray and took a puff. “I know I’ve got to give her space right now, but it’s really fucking hard. Not my style to avoid something and hope it gets better. I like to come at my problems head on.”
“With a knife in your hand. Yeah, I know,” he said. “Then why don’t you text her something?”
I shook my head as I let the smoke out of my mouth.
“What the fuck did you say to her, then?”
I smirked as I tapped the edge of the cigar on the ashtray. “That we’re gonna end up together because I’ll never let her go, and if she tries to run, I’ll never stop chasing her…forever.”
Santino couldn’t keep a straight face when he heard that. “Cristo.”
“Yeah.” I brought the cigar to my lips again.
“A little intense.”
“Yeah, a bit,” I said. “She asked the real estate agent to take her home—that’s how scared she was.”
“Real estate agent?”
“We were looking at houses. I need a spot closer to work.”
“Selling this place, then?”
“Nah, I love it here,” I said. “I don’t know what else to do but let her go…so she knows I’m capable of it.”
He gave a slow nod in understanding. “How long have you been seeing her?”
“Like three weeks.”
He released a quick outburst. “No wonder she’s scared.”
I shrugged in response.
“Why are you so into her?”
“Just am.”
“So what’s your plan?”
I gave a slight shake of my head. “Wait for her to reach out.”
“And what if she doesn’t?”
That was an outcome I didn’t want to entertain. I knew I’d fucked up, but I hoped she was into me enough thatshe’d reach out after she had some time to cool off. That she’d start to miss me whenever she saw me at the vineyard.
Or maybe the damage I’d done was simply irreparable.
18
FRANCESCA
I expected Wolfe to either show up at my home or blow up my phone with texts, but he did neither of those things. Days of silence passed. He was off from the vineyard for two of the days, so I wasn’t surprised he wasn’t around. And then on the third day, when he was supposed to be back on the property, I only caught a glimpse of him once.
He stood outside with Leo, both of them smoking cigars while they waited for another guy to join them. Wolfe didn’t look up at the house or the window to my office. His demeanor gave no indication that he was upset about anything.
