Page 52 of Stolen By the Enemy

She looks at me, the smile fading from her face.

I don’t know if it’s from my tone of voice or the thought of leaving here, but I can see her mood shift.

“Okay, I’ll go get dressed and get my bags sorted.”

She gets up from the table, and I walk with her to the hallway. We reach the bottom of the stairs and one of the guards comes into the house.

“Boss, your guests have arrived,” he says, as we see car headlights coming up my driveway.

They were much faster than I expected, so maybe Luca messaged me when they were close already, and not when they landed like I expected.

“Grazia, go get dressed.” I turn to her, but she’s already running up the stairs, looking nervous.

I stand still, ready to greet the Baldinis and keep them distracted until Grazia comes back downstairs.

Luca, Enzo, and an unfamiliar man walk through the door, followed by two more of my guards.

I reach my hand out to Luca first, who takes it, but clenches his jaw as he does so.

Then I shake Enzo’s hand, skipping over the third man, since he seems to just be their security detail.

Both of the Baldini men scan the room as if they’re expecting an ambush. I would be insulted by them thinking I would stoop that low. That is, if I cared what they thought.

“Where is Grazia? I thought she was going to be here?” Luca says, looking around the room.

He’s already on the defensive and I see my guards close in around us, feeling the tension in the air.

“She’s upstairs. I have sent for her. She should be down any minute.”

I look up the stairs, almost expecting her to be coming down as I speak. How long does it take to change into some proper clothes?

“We want to see her before we do anything else. We won’t be signing anything until she’s in front of us.”

Enzo’s tone is much calmer and more in control than his brother’s.

I know that Luca complains about his brother being too controlling, but I can see that the one is in control of his emotions, while the other needs to learn to control his anger.

“We can wait here. She’ll be down in a minute,” I say to them, crossing my arms and positioning myself in front of the stairs.

I will allow Grazia to see them, and even speak to them, but she’s still mine until they sign over the deal.

We wait in silence for a few more minutes, not taking our eyes off each other, until finally, I can hear Grazia’s footsteps coming down the stairs.

I look up at her, keeping my face neutral so I don’t give away any of the feelings that have popped up between us over the last two or three days.

She’s changed into her jeans and looks much more put together than the girl who ran up those stairs just a few minutes ago.

Even her hair is now tied back in a low pony, and she’s wiped off the last of the makeup that had been on her face.

There’s a strange feeling in my chest as I realize that this is possibly the last time that I will see her ever again.

Chapter Sixteen

Grazia

This night is perfect. The food, the company, and the stunning sky that I can’t look away from.

Marco has made an effort for this to be a special moment, and I feel grateful, although it’s also weird after everything we’ve been through in the beach house.

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