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“You’re kidding, right?” Luca asked incredulously.
Tony rubbed the back of his neck, and she could tell he took no pleasure in what he said next. “Liza. That man is so fucking in love with you, he can’t see straight.”
Liza shook her head. “He…” She replayed the scene in the office, trying to see what her cousins apparently had. She’d been so blinded by her anger, her confusion, her sadness, it was a wonder she’d managed to speak at all.
“He broke things off,” she finally said.
“He canceled the debt,” Luca pointed out. “That was a fuck-ton of money, and he just let you tear up the marker.”
“If that’s true, then why…” Her voice broke and she hated it. “Why did he break up with me? I thought… We were…” She struggled to catch her breath, but her throat completely closed up until talking simply wasn’t possible. In the end, she just shook her head, turning away from them as much as she could so she could bat away a few stray tears.
“He’s fighting it hard, and men like Matt Russo always go down swinging,” Tony said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Take it from me. I was one of those guys. Took me way too long to admit Jess and Rhys were my future.”
“That guy’s obviously got some bad shit rattling around in his head,” Luca added. “I don’t think what happened in there has anything to do with you. It felt less like he didn’t want you and more like he was trying to save you.”
“From what?” she asked.
Luca lifted one shoulder casually. “From him.”
“What if I don’t want to be saved?” she asked, wiping the tears sliding down her cheeks with the back of her hand.
Luca leaned closer. “Are you questioning that?”
“Do you think the stress of this marker caused Uncle Renzo’s heart attack?”
Tony and Luca exchanged a glance. She expected Luca to respond, so she was surprised when Tony did. “Honestly, I don’t. I mean…it might have been a contributing factor, but Uncle Renzo’s diet consisted of red meat, homemade pasta, wine, and whiskey. Add in the pack a day of cigarettes and lack of exercise…”
“He didn’t exactly live a healthy lifestyle, Liza,” Luca agreed.
Liza knew all of that, but hearing Tony say it, even after everything that had happened upstairs, helped. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”
The doors to the elevator slid open when they reached the lobby, but Luca held his arm out, keeping her and Tony inside.
“We’re gonna ask for help.” When the doors closed once more, Luca hit the button to another floor.
While Matt’s office was on one of the top floors, Russo Enterprises’ IT department was on the third floor, so it only took them a second to backtrack.
Twenty minutes later, Gage walked into the IT department, glancing around the room in surprise when he saw her, Tony, and Luca standing with Penny, Toby, and Rich.
Penny had called her husband, asking him to come to IT, though she hadn’t told him why. Mainly because she didn’t know why. Liza had asked if she could wait to explain their presence at Russo Enterprises until Gage got there. She wasn’t sure she had it in her to recount what had just happened, twice.
Gage frowned. “Shit. Did I forget someone’s birthday?”
Penny shook her head.
“Is it my birthday?” he asked with a grin.
Liza used to wonder if Gage had been dropped at the wrong house by the stork because his easygoing nature and great sense of humor were so different from that of his brothers.
Then she’d gotten to know Matt better, and she realized he shared the same quick wit, the same amazing laugh.
“Not your birthday,” Penny said with a laugh.
Gage looked around the room. “Anyone want to give me a hint?”
Liza stepped forward. “How do I get your brother to admit he’s in love with me?”
Gage frowned. “I didn’t think you and Conor knew each other that well.”
