Page 3 of Stefano
He walked into the room like he owned it, tall and broad, dark eyes sharp and dangerous, his suit hugging his body like sin.And something inside me just ...shifted.One look and I was ruined.
That was years ago.And nothing has changed.
I know I shouldn’t feel this way.There are a hundred reasons this could never work.He’s older and hardened by a life drenched in violence.My sister is married to his oldest brother and that alone should make him off-limits, a forbidden fantasy to bury deep and never speak aloud.
But try telling that to my heart.Try telling that to my body when one glance from him makes my breath stutter and my thighs clench.
At dinner tonight, I caught him watching me.Not only once but again and again.His gaze burned across the table, heavy and possessive, until my skin flushed hot.And then, like always, he pulled away.
He always pulls away.
After dinner, the family drifts into the lounge area.The air smells of wine and cigar smoke, the low rumble of male voices mixing with laughter.Callie curls up next to Mancuso on the leather couch, whispering something that makes him grin like a fool.Guilia is tucked under Alceu’s arm, the perfect mafia queen to the dangerous king, looking so content it makes my chest ache with envy.
I perch on the arm of a chair, pretending to be absorbed in a glass of wine.But really, I’m tracking Stefano.He doesn’t laugh with the others.He doesn’t smile or joke.He leans against the far wall, silent and brooding, his gaze scanning the room like a predator watching his territory.
Our eyes lock for one second.Just one.But it’s enough to make my pulse race.
Then he looks away, as if I’m nothing.
I force a sip of wine, ignoring the sting behind my eyes.
I wait an appropriate amount of time before I slip away.I don’t need to be in the room to be ignored, and I would rather not see his dismissive gaze.
I shower under scalding water, washing away the disappointment of wanting something I can’t have.I stand under the spray until the water turns cold before flipping off the water and getting out.I dry off and dress in my pajamas before returning to the bathroom to brush the tangles out of my hair.
“Stop staring at your reflection like you’re auditioning for a romance movie,” Callie teases when she finds me in the bathroom.She leans against the bathroom doorway in a silk camisole, her hair piled high, a wicked smirk on her lips.
“I am not,” I protest, heat rushing to my cheeks.
She snorts.“Please.I might be new to this family, but I’m not blind.You moon over Stefano like a teenager with a crush on the quarterback.”
I groan, throwing a pillow at her.“Keep your voice down.Guilia will hear you.”
Her smirk softens.“Your sister isn’t stupid, Andrea.She probably already knows.The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
What am I going to do?Nothing.Absolutely nothing.Stefano doesn’t want me.If he did, he wouldn’t look at me like I’m everything one moment, then turn his back the next.
I flop onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.“I don’t know how to stop feeling like this.”
Callie climbs onto the bed beside me, propping her chin on her hand.“Maybe you shouldn’t.Maybe you should find out if he feels the same way instead of torturing yourself.”
“Right,” I snark.“And risk humiliating myself when he tells me I’m just Guilia’s kid sister?”
“Sweetheart,” she sighs, “men like Stefano don’t waste looks like that on women they don’t want.”
Her words lodge in my chest, but hope is a dangerous thing.I lose myself in my thoughts and Callie slips away, leaving me to my own devices.I end up scrolling through my phone instead of letting my mind run in circles.
My messages light up with a name that makes my lips twitch despite everything.
Luca.
He’s funny, charming, and he says the right things when Stefano only gives me silence.We’ve been talking for a couple of weeks now.Just texts, nothing more.
I shouldn’t answer.Not when my heart already belongs to someone else.But I do.Because it feels good to be seen, even if it’s by a stranger hiding behind a screen.
Luca:Can’t stop thinking about you.When do I get to see you?
My chest tightens.Part of me knows this is reckless, that Guilia and Alceu would kill me if they knew.But part of me craves it.Craves being wanted, even if it’s not by the man I ache for.
