Page 8 of Playing the Sicilian's Game of Revenge

CHAPTER FOUR

BEING ENGAGED WAS strange when it was being hidden, because it was supposed to be something momentous, or so Saverina had always assumed. But nothing in her life had really changed. Even if she scanned wedding dress websites on her lunch break, or found herself thinking about cakes, flowers, color schemes, it was all internal.

Everything external remained the same. She’d even spent the past three nights at home rather than at Teo’s after having dinner with him and enjoying his bed.

Which didn’t bother her—she was refusing to let it bother her. She’d been the one to want to keep the relationship a secret, and now that meant the engagement had to be. She couldn’t bear the thought of Lorenzo hearing about it from someone else. Maybe he was her older brother, but he’d also been the closest to a real father figure she’d ever had. And she wasn’t fully sure how he’d take this.

He liked Teo—as an employee. He never liked secrets. So she would have to address this all...very carefully. Once he was back from his well-deserved holiday.

Teo respecting that, keeping this a secret with absolutely no pressure to do otherwise, was just another sign of the way he cared for her. Maybe she’d spent too much time the past few days fretting about why he’d never once uttered the words I love you, but she was too much of a coward to say them either, so maybe that was her fault.

Some people were bad with words, she told herself, night after night on her way home. She’d never considered Teo one of them, but...maybe it was deeper. Something to do with his mother, his childhood, some hidden trauma he’d never let her in on.

It didn’t matter. Him saying the words didn’t matter if he wanted to marry her. That was the same as love.

Wasn’t it?

She thought about asking her sister-in-law when Lorenzo and Brianna called from their babymoon to check in, because Brianna obviously had experience with difficult men allergic to feelings. But she was too afraid of what Brianna might say. Like, No, Saverina, he does not love you if he cannot say it.

Or what Brianna might tell Lorenzo, Teo’s boss.

She wasn’t about to worry her other brothers or sisters over the conundrum as she much preferred everyone to think of her always in the driver’s seat. She was on her own—the way she always was, because she chose it.

Besides, Brianna had once told her love was work, not a fairy tale. So Saverina supposed that’s all this was. The work Brianna had been talking about.

She decided to walk down to the sandwich shop for lunch, hoping the exercise would clear her head. Maybe it wouldn’t be clear until she could tell her family. Maybe secrecy—which she’d rather enjoyed up to this point—was now more weight than fun.

Before she ordered her sandwich, she began to paw through her purse and realized she didn’t have her wallet. She tried to think of the last time she’d had it. She’d bought dessert on the way to Teo’s last night, wanting to surprise him with his favorite cannoli.

She must have left the wallet at Teo’s when she set the dessert down. She wasn’t usually so careless, but she recalled—with heat flaming into her cheeks—he’d arrived a few minutes after her, and she’d soon forgotten about both the wallet and her dessert surprise.

They’d made a dessert all their own.

She glanced at her watch. If she took a taxi, she could make it to Teo’s, grab her wallet, and be back in her office before her lunch break was up. And hopefully cool the heat in her cheeks at the memory of last night’s activities.

She smiled to herself as she hailed a taxi and gave the driver Teo’s building’s address.

See. Things were good. No need to feel confused. She should focus on the happiness, the excitement. Because she felt those too.

Of course, she felt a little...uncomfortable going to Teo’s apartment without his permission. But she had a key. She often was there without him if he was running late. It was not unheard of.

And she refused to ask her fiancé for permission to enter his place and look for her wallet. If he needed that, well, they were going to have a discussion about what it meant to join their lives together.

Shouldn’t you have done that already?

She shoved that annoying little thought out of her head and pulled out her phone. She knew he was in a meeting, so she fired off a quick text.

On a search for my wallet. Headed to your apt. Need anything while I’m there?

There. Casual. Informative. Certainly not asking permission. And since he was occupied, he likely wouldn’t answer until she was done.

She paid the driver, then walked into Teo’s building, waving at the doorman and greeting the elevator attendant politely. They were all paid to be discreet in an apartment building such as this, so they knew her. Knew exactly where she was going. The attendant pushed the button to Teo’s floor, and quickly enough, she was letting herself into Teo’s apartment.

Feeling a bit like a burglar. Which was ridiculous. She marched straight for the kitchen, quickly finding her wallet. She slid it into her purse, and considered grabbing something from his fridge since she now didn’t have time for lunch.

But then she heard an odd ding. Confused, she moved out of the kitchen and looked around. Surely he hadn’t left his phone or laptop behind, but if he had, she could always bring it to him. Maybe they were both out of sorts.

Because engagement was a big step, a life-changing one. Not because it was the wrong one, but simply because it was momentous.

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