Page 31 of Sins of Bliss

“I am not ready for goodbye. I love you too much to say goodbye to you. Meet up with me.”

“Ican’tmeet you, Sly.”

“Vinnie…”

“I can’t. If I see you again…” Her voice cracks, and the splintering radiates through my heart.

I can sense where this conversation is heading, and even though I’m putting her on the spot by asking her to meet, she can’t possibly be blindsided by it. She knows where my heart lies.

Annoyance blooms with me with the realization that I am physically so close to this woman, yet mentally we’re so far apart. She has no reason to marry August—no reason in which she willtell me—but it’s the unknown that plagues my mind and causes me to wonder.

“You’ll what, Vincenza?” I bite, hating my tone, but unable to hide the emotion that flows through me. “You’ll allow yourself tofeelthe truth? What happened between us while I was in the hospital…what I felt…what Ifeel. I know you felt it too.”

There’s a silence on the other end of the phone, and I almost think she’s hung up. But her soft breaths indicate that she hasn’t, and seconds later I hear her inhale a sharp, shuddering breath.

“I won’t be able to stay away,” she whispers, and even though I cannot see it, I hear the quiver in her voice.

It breaks me.

Sitting back down on the soft leather couch, I run my hand through my hair. “You don’t need to stay away, piccola ladra. I’m back, and if you want to be with me—if you break off your engagement with August—there will be no questions asked. I will not let the past haunt us, Vincenza. I will spend our future protecting you. Cherishing you. I love you. I haven’t stopped loving you.”

“Ican’t.” Her voice is pleading, filled with turmoil and strife.

My hand balls into a fist as I bring it to rest on my thigh, slamming it down in frustration. “Vinnie?—”

“Just…please, Sly,” she cuts me off. “I can’t do this. My wedding is the day after tomorrow. I’m marrying August.”

“Tell me why you were acting strangely when you ran into Sully at the market.”

“He told you he saw me?” she asks, surprised.

“Sì, of course he did.”

Leaning back against the sofa, I settle in, forcing myself to regain my composure as I cross my ankle over my knee. The only thing I want to do is race out of this house and go find her, but I know in my heart that will not solve anything in this moment. I need tohearher.

A soft crackling rustles against the phone speaker as though she’s adjusting it.

“I wasn't feeling well when I saw him,” she says matter-of-factly.

My jaw clenches at her casual response.

She’s not telling me something. I can hear it in her voice that she’s avoiding the truth, and I can’t ignore the nagging feeling deep in my stomach—something Sully mentioned repeats itself continuously through my mind. There are two things, actually, but only one I will address at this moment,needingto know if my instincts are correct.

“Vincenza,” I begin, hoping my voice comes across calmer than I feel inside. “How long have you worn a locket?”

Through the speaker, I hear a small gasp. “I—what does my necklace have to do with this conversation?”

“It has everything to do with this conversation if your necklace means what I think it does,” I growl, unable to conceal the exasperation in my voice.

Pushing to my feet again, I begin to pace in front of the unlit fireplace. “How long have you worn a locket, Vinnie?”

It’s silent on the other end of the line, but I know she’s still there. Squeezing my eyes shut, I beg her to tell me without saying the words aloud.

“I purchased it after you left,” she tells me so quietly, it’s barely a whisper.

My heart falls to my stomach, crashing past the other organs as it sinks deeper and deeper, her words one step closer to confirming my fears.

As calmly as I possibly can, I ask the question I’m terrified to know the answer to. “Is he hurting you, Vincenza?”

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