Page 23 of The Fixer

ROSA

Leo touches my face, and my pulse speeds up. My heart is beating so fast I’m convinced he can hear it. Every nerve ending in my body is aware of his touch. His eyes are as vividly blue as the ocean, and his expression holds me prisoner. A beat passes, and then another. Wild horses couldn’t tear me away from him.

And then my phone beeps, destroying the moment. Leo’s expression shutters. He drops my chin as if it scalded him and shoves the plate holding the still-uneaten almond croissant toward me. When he speaks, his voice is clipped and angry. “Eat your pastry.”

“Oh.” Hope, swelling inside me like a balloon, bursts into nothing. I thought for asecond that Leo was going to kiss me, but he pulled away. His words echo through my mind, a cold slap of reality to my heart.This won’t be a real marriage in any sense of the word. We won’t share a bed, and we won’t sleep together. I’m not interested in you. There’s only one reason I’m doing this, and that’s to save your brother.

I straighten my shoulders and make myself eat the croissant. It looks and smells delicious, but it tastes like ashes in my mouth.

It’shard to stay sad when the sun is shining and the beach isright there.It’s hard to mope when my to-do list has a billion things on it. Well—it’s hard for me to mope. Leo is brooding like a champion. By the end of the meal, I’ve recovered my spirits. “When are you going home?” Leo asks as we’re getting up to leave.

What do you know, he still knows how to speak. “This afternoon. I’m booked on the two p.m. train.”

“The train?” He frowns in disapproval. “That’ll take too long. We’ll fly home.”

I give him my sweetest smile. “Does this usuallywork for you, orsacchiotto mio?” I ask him, tilting my head to the side. “Barking orders at people?”

“I really don’t like that nickname.”

“Is it annoying when I keep calling you that anyway?” I raise an eyebrow. “Imagine that.”

His lips twitch. “Touché, principessa. I strongly recommend we fly home. It’s safer.”

My heart does an uncomfortable lurch. “You think there’s still danger?”

“I’m alive because I’m paranoid,” he replies. “There’s a two o’clock flight to Venice. I would like us to take it.”

That’s almost a request. Baby steps. “Okay. I can pay you?—”

He rolls his eyes. “This, again. Rosa, I admire your desire to be independent, but I have an obscene amount of money, and I’m sure that Rocco Santini knows it. It would be odd if I didn’t shower you with gifts.” He grins, clearly pleased with his logic. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to get comfortable with spending it.”

“Fine,” I mock-grumble. Leo’s smile is sunshine personified, and it transforms his face. “Please pay for my plane ticket. You win this battle.”

He gets to his feet. “I’ll try not to get used to it.”

Leo comes to my parents’home with me. He takes Hugh aside for a private conversation while I pack. I have no idea what they talk about, but it seems to have made an impression because Hugh knocks on my door as I’m zipping up my backpack. “Hey,” he says. “Leo just filled me in on the details.”

“You know you have to move?”

He nods. “I’ll break the news to the parents.”

“Are you sure?” I ask. “I can stick around and help with that if you want.”

“No, chi?. You’ve done enough.” He forces a smile on his face. “Besides, your Leo threatened to punch me in the face if I keep involving you in my messes.”

He did? Warmth blooms in my chest. Leo is being protective of me, and that’s not something I’m used to. “He’s not my Leo.”

“Whatever you say. You’re taking the roses? Will they even let you take them on the plane?”

“Absolutely. Nobody has ever given me a hundred roses before. I’m not leaving them behind for m? to make into potpourri.” I hug mybrother tightly. “I’ll see you in a week,” I say, blinking the tears away. “Try not to get into any more trouble.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Something is going on with Hugh. His eyes are red, and the sadness there is unexpected and new. If I didn’t know him better, I’d say he’s nursing a broken heart. But every attempt to talk to him has failed—he won’t tell me what’s wrong.

At the airport,the security guards take one look at Leo’s face and decide against objecting to my roses. On the plane, a smiling flight attendant takes the vase from him, promising to stow it in the coat closet. “These are so pretty,” she gushes. Her name tag reads Andrea. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of them.”

I’ve never been in love in my life. Never even been close. As a result, I’ve never been jealous of another woman. Worse than that, I’ve always judged territorial women a little. If your boyfriend strays, that’s not because of the other woman; it’s becausehe’s inclined to cheat. It’s his morals that are a problem.

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