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“Because…” he prompts, and I shrug.
“I can’t give her the emotion she deserves. She has led a cruel life, like the rest of us. She watched her mother slain before her eyes and was rewarded with the wicked stepmother and her bastard brother. It’s hardly a fairy story.”
“Then she fits right in. I doubt any of us had the model childhood. It’s why we are so determined to make this work. We have Club Mafia, and we have our wives. I’m guessing you have that same requirement concerning Eliza.”
“I do, but what if she deserves better than me? I don’t know how to love. In fact, the thought of it scares the shit out of me and makes me want to push it away and do something horrific to make a point. I don’t want to let anyone in and certainly not someone I just met, but I don’t want to give her a reason to leave either.”
“Then you face a dilemma, brother. Reveal your true feelings to yourself as well as her or carry on being the bastard demon we all know and barely understand and risk losing her. It’s a difficult call to make because a lifetime of habit can’t be changed overnight, but I saw the expression on Eliza’s face at breakfast and she’s struggling.”
“What do you mean?”
I look up anxiously and Flynn shakes his head. “She is going through one hell of a lot of emotions right now and I’m guessing the reason is sitting here asking me about them. Talk to her, spend time with her and tell her what you told me and between the two of you, you’ll work it out.”
“You’re kidding right?” I want to be physically sick. Expose my feelings to a woman I just met. Not fucking likely.
Thank God for interruptions because after a heavy knock on the door, it opens and Angelo heads into the room, closely followed by Alessandro and Ivan, who appear to have spent the morning knocking each other around the boxing ring. They are dripping blood and sweat on the parquet flooring, and I say with distaste, “Is the shower broken?”
Alessandro’s eyes flash as he towels himself off and says abruptly, “We have news.”
I share a look with Flynn because its obvious something big has happened.
Angelo glances around at each one of us and says in his cold, emotionless voice, that always calms any situation, “We must prepare for a visitor.”
“Who?” I am really hoping it’s this elusive Mafia King because the sooner we discover his identity, the better I’ll feel.
Angelo grins, his eyes revealing he’s more than happy about our visitor’s identity as he says, “Baron.”
CHAPTER34
ELIZA
Idiscover Charlotte in the garden, gathering flowers and humming to herself. It makes me smile because of all the women I’ve met, Charlotte appears the happiest one.
She turns and catches me watching and laughs with a little embarrassment. “Sorry. I can’t sing, everyone tells me, but I ignore them all.”
She grins and her happiness is contagious. I nod toward a bush of beautiful roses. “Can I help?”
“Of course.”
She tosses me a pair of shears and I help her snip the beautiful blooms that she places carefully in the basket.
“English roses.” She sniffs the fragrant flower and sighs. “Ivan’s favorites.”
She giggles as an adorable blush stains her cheeks and it makes me smile.
“I’m guessing that’s because of you.”
“Maybe.” She grins and then holds the bloom up to the sky.
“Although he often refers to me as the thorn in his side, so I’m guessing not everything is sweet all the time.”
I laugh with her, loving how carefree she is and obviously besotted with her rather scary looking husband.
I grab some courage and say shyly, “I hope you don’t mind, but Louisa said I should chat with you.”
“I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.” She smiles sweetly. “What do you want to know?”
“I heard you were Ivan’s prisoner.”
