Page 51 of The Secrets We Keep

Luca frowned, taking the first tentative sip of his coffee and finding it just as strong as he liked it. It warmed him through to know she seemed to remember just as much about him as he did about her.

“Maybe they’re just buried deep.”

“Maybe. But why would they be? It might be nothing.”

“I’m sure it’s not nothing.” He plucked a cornetto from the plate and took a bite, savoring the bright burst of berries on his tongue. “I trust your instincts on this. Let me know if you find anything.”

“You’re always the first,” she said, stealing a sip of his coffee and making a face. “You should just chew on the raw beans.”

Luca chuckled around another bite of pastry. “I’m meeting with my brothers and Carina later today. I imagine I’ll get a finalized list of our next targets. If I send them to you, can you get me more information?”

“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”

A look passed over her face, and a crease formed between her brows before smoothing out again. Something was bothering her today, and she didn’t want to say what.

“Sienna.” He waited until her eyes lifted to meet his. “If it’s too dangerous or too much, just say the word.”

“No.” She waved a hand in the air and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his chest. “It’s not that. I’m just eager for all of this to be over. Nero’s death has been a long time coming.” She drew in a shaky breath and released it. “I guess I’m just getting impatient.”

He wasn’t sure that was all it was, but he didn’t have time to dive into it with her right now. He’d have to make time later. He wanted to know why she kept getting that sad, distant look in her eye.

“I promise we’re going to end this as soon as we can,” he said, easing her back and cupping her face in his hands. “Then we’ll have the rest of forever together. Until your last breath. You promised me.”

Her eyes misted, and when she tilted her head up for a kiss, he obliged her, sliding his tongue against hers and slipping his hands into her hair. She fisted her hands in the fabric of his shirt at the small of his back, and her grip felt desperate.

Pulling away from her was one of the hardest things he’d done in recent memory, and he used his fingertips to trace the outline of her jaw and her cheeks and her nose. He trailed them over the rim of her lips, smiling when she kissed the pads of his fingers.

“I…”

The word love hovered on his tongue. They’d never said it to each other, not once in their short year together. He’d felt it, but something about saying it had always felt weighty. Like letting the word past his lips would propel them toward a future they might not get to have.

It should be easier now with the promise of what awaited them once Gallo was dead and Sienna was resurrected. But he couldn’t force it out.

“I know,” she said, turning and kissing his palm before stepping out of his embrace. “Send me those targets once you have them, and I’ll let you know what else I find out about Belgium.”

“I will.”

She busied herself wiping up the kitchen while he pulled his jacket from the coat closet and slipped it on. With his hand on the knob, he cleared his throat, and she glanced up with a quick smile.

He forced himself to pull the door open and step into the hall, take the stairs down to the lobby and climb into his SUV, and drive the fuck away from her. He didn’t remember leaving her being this hard before. Then again, he’d never fathomed losing her back then. Or the way it would split him in two.

He hadn’t realized he’d still been in pieces until he saw her again and began to knit himself back together. They would get through this. He would not let Gallo take her from him this time.

The drive across the island was quick and painless at this hour of the day, and he navigated the open roads with ease, hating the distance between them with every mile. But the faster he got business done in Palermo, the sooner they could be together for real this time. And he needed that like he needed air in his fucking lungs.

Pulling into the driveway, he parked in his usual spot and grabbed his dirty clothes off the passenger seat. The air had a bite to it this close to December, and he turned up the collar of his jacket as he jogged through the courtyard gate and around to the rear entrance closest to the stairs.

He’d used this door to sneak in and out as a teen, and that year he drove all over the island to be with Sienna. It creaked with age now, but it was still better than coming in through the front door where anyone might see him.

Quickly climbing the stairs, he dumped his clothes into the dirty laundry basket and stripped off his jacket, draping it over the end of his bed. Someone would come collect it and hang it up in the right spot, but for now, he was content to let his brother think he’d been home all morning and wasn’t sneaking in after being out all night.

Some days, Matteo was worse than their father with his need for control and absolute fealty. A younger, more sober version of Lorenzo Bianchi, but still with the same unforgiving, unbending rulebook. Rules only Matteo knew and only shared when he felt like it. The dance with his brother was trying on its best day.

Adjusting the hem of his sweater, Luca made his way downstairs to the study at the back of the house. There were some casino financials he could go over before he had to head to the office for this meeting. Get his head fully into work mode before he had to face Maeve and the awkwardness that had now settled between them because he kept avoiding her.

He stopped short in the doorway when he saw Matteo seated behind the enormous desk, head bent over paperwork, a finger trailing down the page as he read and copied notes on a legal pad. So much for his quiet morning.

“I thought you’d be at the office already,” Luca said, strolling in and grabbing the file folder off the top of the stack he’d left on the side table.

---