Page 55 of Lie to Me

Finn reaches us first and shakes Marco’s hand before wrapping me up in a hug. Marco’s hand wraps around mine as he does, never letting go of me while my brother embraces me.

“You’ve got this, little sis,” Finn whispers before pulling back and pressing a kiss to my forehead. As he steps back, Salvatore takes his place in front of me and smiles down at me.

“It’s nice to see you again, sweetheart,” he murmurs. His eyes search mine and I give him a barely perceptible nod before he wraps his arms around me in greeting.

A statement.

It felt wrong at first, to publicly acknowledge the alliance between the families. But the more Salvatore had spoken, the more ease I felt about what we were going to do here tonight.

This isn’t just about what happened to me. This is about protecting not only me, but my brother, his organization, the Romanos, and their organization, too.

Whoever sent me the notes is the reason Marco was shot. I can’t let that happen again, whether we’re together or not.

A gasp comes from somewhere on my right as people start to understand who I am and what’s happening, but I don’t take my attention off Salvatore as he squeezes my hand reassuringly before moving so he’s standing next to Finn. They both turn to face the room, silently acknowledging their alliance before shaking hands and going back to where they were before we entered.

Marco tugs my hand and I turn my attention to him.

“C’mon, I need a fucking drink,” he grunts, and I roll my eyes before heading to the bar, only to find Luca and Enzo already there with their wives.

“That was some show you put on, brother.” Enzo smirks and Marco hits the back of his head lightly while Luca chuckles.

The evening passes quickly as I sit with Marco’s family. It’s strange, being here with him, but not really.

Being with his family, when we never had that before.

I talk to Izzy and Robyn throughout the night, and for the first time in a long time, I feel like they could actually become my friends.

I’ve held off forming attachments my whole life, never wanting to get close to people because of my family while I lived here in the city, and then too damaged to get close to anyone after I left.

I feel like I could make a home here.

And that scares the hell out of me.

Enzo practically drags Robyn from the room after she yawns, claiming she shouldn’t be out so late since she’s pregnant. Honestly, I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did from what I’ve seen with how protective he is.

We agreed it would probably be good for us to stay at least two hours, to make sure we’ve been seen together by enough people, to make sure we’ve stirred up enough gossip, and our time is almost up.

Just as I’m about to ask Marco if we can leave, he sidles up behind me and moves the hair from my neck, giving him clear access to my throat. He places a kiss there before moving his lips to my ear.

“Dance with me?” he whispers, and my heart rate picks up from his proximity.

I turn and raise my brow, but rather than speaking, he just steps back and holds out a hand. He may hold himself like he has all the confidence in the world, but I can see the vulnerability swirling behind his eyes.

Goddamn him and how endearing he is.

I tentatively reach out and place my hand in his, allowing him to lead me out onto the dance floor.

My arms wrap around his neck as his hands find my hips. He sways us along to the music in slow, controlled movements, reminding me of the first time we danced together.

“I have to say, I never thought I’d see you dancing at one of these things,” I murmur.

“Neither did I, but I’ve always had a tendency to do things I wouldn’t usually do whenever you’re concerned.”

My head rests on his shoulder as we continue to dance in silence, while I silently tell myself that I certainlydo notenjoy the feeling of being in his arms.

“Fitting, isn’t it?” he murmurs as one song turns into another. “We met at one of these and we couldn’t even speak to each other in front of other people, yet here we are, ten years later, and I can talk to you, dance with you, stare into those goddamn hypnotic blue eyes of yours, yet I still don’t get to call you mine.” I don’t miss the longing in his tone or the way that his arms tighten around me, as though he can barely believe he said that out loud. As though he’s expecting me to pull away at any minute.

He’s made it obvious since the moment he stepped back into my life that he wanted another chance, but could we really make things work between us? Do I even want to?

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