Page 50 of The Secrets We Keep

“It is,” she agreed. “Especially because I have no idea why my uncle would be interested in a real estate mogul based in what appears to be Bruges.”

“Belgium?”

Sienna stopped short in her retreat from the couch and turned to look at Luca, raising a brow at the look on his face. “Yeah. Why?”

“Something Matteo said a few weeks ago.”

“One of them was a leasing conglomerate. Clearly a subsidiary company for a larger corporation. Another was international real estate. The last one is localized to Bruges. Office buildings and commercial rental properties.”

“That could prove to be a very interesting development.”

Sienna frowned. “Why? Does that mean something to you?”

Luca’s look of concentration melted into a smile, and he pushed off the couch, reaching down to pull her to her feet and planting a kiss on her lips.

“You might have just given me a clue to a riddle I’ve been trying to solve for six months.”

“Okay,” she replied, drawing out the word. “I have no idea what that means.”

“That’s okay. I do. And I think it puts me in a perfect position to wheedle some information out of my brother.” He hauled her onto her toes and took her mouth again, angling her head to take the kiss deeper. “Baby girl, you’re a wonder. And I’m going to take you to bed now.”

She grinned as he lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hallway. “I’ll never say no to you taking me to bed.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

The water smacked against the shower walls as he rinsed his hair under the spray. It wasn’t quite big enough for two. At least not if your goal was a proper shower. But that hadn’t been his goal the last time he’d had Sienna in here with him. She’d been pressed against the cool tile, and he’d been pressed against her.

He hadn’t been able to talk her into it this morning, though. When a call sliced through his dreams, she’d jolted out of sleep, looking tired and a little frazzled. Matteo was calling an all-hands family meeting, and he needed to get back to Palermo by lunchtime.

Plenty of time to make Sienna scream his name, but she’d slipped out of bed, belted on a robe, and disappeared into the kitchen to make coffee. He shut off the water with a sigh and reached for the clean towel she’d left on the hook. Soon enough, there wouldn’t be three hours of distance between them, and he could have her in his bed every night.

Toweling off, he ran a hand through his damp hair and pulled on the spare change of clothes he’d started keeping in the trunk of his car. At least now he could stop showing up at home in the same clothes as the day before and pointedly ignoring his brother’s raised eyebrows.

Alexei knew, at least, that he was sleeping with his informant, and he was right that Matteo would absolutely lose his shit if he found out. Luca was probably fighting a losing battle on that front. Especially because he couldn’t keep away from her. A few more weeks, a couple months at most, and this would all be over.

They were queuing up to take some big hits at Gallo, both financially and politically, before Christmas. They were the topic of today’s meeting, apparently.

A plate of cornetti sat on the kitchen counter while the moka hissed and bubbled on the stove. Sienna glanced up and smiled when she saw him, the fatigue easing out of her face.

She nodded her head at the pastries. “I hope strawberry jam is still your favorite. But if not, I got hazelnut spread too.”

“Which is your favorite.”

Her smile widened as she took the pot off the stove and poured the fresh coffee into a mug, setting a carton of milk and a spoon next to it. Before she could step away, he grabbed the belt of her robe and pulled her forward, brushing his lips against hers gently, then taking the kiss deeper.

Holding the hot coffee pot out to her side, she pushed onto her tiptoes, snaking her free arm around his neck, and he wrapped his arms firmly around her waist to hold her against him. When he pulled back, her lips were wet and swollen, and he leaned down to nip her top lip, making her sigh.

“Are you okay?” he asked, keeping his arm tight around her waist when she moved to step away.

She stared into his eyes for a long beat, and he read hesitation in them, but she said, “Of course, amore. Just that someone kept me up until sunrise. You know how I hate the sunrise.”

Deciding not to press the issue, he gave her a quick squeeze and released her, adding milk to his coffee and stirring it through. “What are you up to today?”

“I’m working from home, but I wanted to do more digging on that Belgian thing from last night.”

“Looking for anything in particular?”

“Yeah, payment records. I can’t find any from my uncle to Ciro.”

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