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“I don’t judge you, sweetheart. He’s the one who will.”
“No.” She needed to get away and pushed at him until he backed up a step. She sucked in a deep breath and edged off to the side. “No, that’s not right. You’re not right. You don’t know him, and you’re not going to guilt me into coming back to you.”
“Bina—”
“Don’t!” She batted away the hands he lifted and took another step away. “I’m not doing this again, I don’t want anything to do with you. I want to marry Enzo. It’s him I love.”
“You’re lying to yourself. And I can prove it.” He gripped her arms again and, before she could wrangle herself free, aimed his mouth for hers.
Lorenzo sped around the corner, breathing a prayer of thanks when there was little traffic in his way to slow him down. He glanced again at his watch, wondering how he had gotten so caught up in work that he lost track of time so badly. He had thought for sure he’d be able to head home to change his clothes before picking up Sabina from the park. But when he’d checked his watch a little while ago, it was an hour later than he’d thought.
He must have gotten thrown off when the timepiece stopped. He had forgotten to wind it that morning and realized it only when the hands halted mid-afternoon. Helen, still apologetic about her outburst on Wednesday, had wound it for him. It would have been easy to say she’d set it wrong, had it not agreed with the clock in the conference room that he’d been going by all day.
Regardless, he was here now. A few minutes late, but here. He parked on the street, near the entrance closest to Sabina’s favorite bench. She always used that as her starting and stopping points for a walk, so it would be the best place to find her.
Hopping out of the Nash, he set off in a half-jog. He barely got into the park before he halted again, his heart leaping up into his throat and choking him. Finding Sabina at the bench was expected. But finding her in O’Reilly’s arms?
Fear and fury propelled him closer, close enough to hear the snake say he’d prove Sabina was lying to herself. The fury throbbed, overcoming the fear, when O’Reilly leaned down to kiss her. He gave Sabina credit—she tried to push him away. At least, for a few moments. But when her shoulders sagged and her head tilted, allowing the already intense kiss to deepen still more, fear galloped up and overtook its companion.
If O’Reilly could really subdue her objections that easily, then Lorenzo was fooling himself to think they’d ever have a future together. He needed a wife he could trust, who could resist temptation until it fled. How could he possibly give his faith and promise to someone whose resistance lasted only a second?
A spark of light flared up in his mind, revealing the truth in stark clarity. He couldn’t judge her for this—hadn’t he lapsed for a moment too with Helen? But Sabina had been praying for him, and he had found the strength to pull away. “Lord, strengthen her,” he whispered. “Fortify her. Speak to her heart and mind.”
The instant he spoke the words, Sabina jerked her mouth away from O’Reilly’s and pushed against his chest to try to break free of his arms. Lorenzo felt his lips creep upward. “Atta girl.”
She managed to put a few inches between her and O’Reilly. “Let go, Roman. That’s not going to work this time. I’m not as stupid as I was a few months ago.”
“Bina.” O’Reilly sounded frustrated, if determined. “Come on. You’re obviously still attracted to me—”
“I believe,” Lorenzo said from between clenched teeth as he stepped closer, “she told you to let go.”
“Enzo!” Sabina turned her face his way, and the relief in her eyes soothed a few of the edges inside him.
O’Reilly hissed out a breath but made no move to drop his arms. “Impeccable timing, Capecce, I’ll give you that. Now how about stepping away so Bina and I can resolve this between ourselves.”
Incredulity lifted Lorenzo’s brows. Did O’Reilly really think he’d go for that? “Take. Your hands. Off her.”
O’Reilly obeyed, but the stubborn lift to his chin matched the sneer on his mouth. He stepped around Sabina, chest puffed out like Val when he was ready to brawl. “You wanna settle this now, Capecce, once and for all? You’re no match for me when I’m sober.”
Lorenzo’s only move was to cross his arms over his chest. “Don’t tempt me, O’Reilly. I grew up with three brothers. I may not choose to fight often, but don’t think I can’t handle myself.”
“Oh, stop it.” Sabina scowled as she shouldered her way between them, but when she turned to face Lorenzo, her mouth hinted at a grin. She took her place at his side and wiped the humor off her face as she looked back at O’Reilly. “Picking a fight’s only going to convince me you’re a bully. You’re not getting another chance, Roman, so just go away.”
“Fine.” There was no acquiescence in his tone. He smirked as he pulled a piece of folded paper out of his pocket. “Here.” He slipped it into her beaded bag. “My address, so you know where to find me when you change your mind. You’ll want that when Enzo dumps you again. Ask her about the sordid details of our dates, Capecce. I think you’d like to know just how fiery our little bearcat is.”
With a parting chuckle, he spun around and whistled his way down the path, hands jammed in his pockets.
Lorenzo unfolded his arms so he could slip one around Sabina’s quaking shoulders and pull her close. He wasn’t going to so much as acknowledge that parting shot. If O’Reilly wanted her to tell him something, it didn’t take a genius to realize it wasn’t something he wanted to know.
“Mi dispiaci,” he said as he rubbed her arm and led her toward his car. “If I’d been on time…”
Sabina looked up at him with drawn brows. “What are you talking about? You’re almost an hour early.”
“I’m—what?” He flipped his wrist up to look at his watch. “No, look.”
She shook her head and held up her own timepiece. It was set an hour earlier than his. Which, now that he thought about it, far better matched the angle of the sun. He frowned and ran his tongue over his teeth, flabbergasted as to how this had happened. The conference room clock hadn’t been wrong all day, because they’d used it for their court appearances, and that’s what Helen had…
“Oh.” He breathed a laugh and shook his head. “Guess that’s what she meant when she said she’d make it up to me.”
