Page 56 of One Filthy Kiss

“I…” Meggie blinks hard. “How do you know about that?”

“Did you think that you could worm your way into my fiancé’s life without me finding out? Big mistake, Meggie. You have no clue what you’re messing with here. Perhaps you should’ve done your research before you picked on someone with ma?—”

“Enough!” I interrupt Lucia before she goes too far.

She has done enough damage. I know that I’ve already broken Meggie’s trust and will have to work hard to rebuild it. But it will be impossible if she discovers what I am, what my family is, from the woman I’m supposed to be marrying.

“Leave, Lucia.” My hands are balled into tight fists.

“I’m thinking of your reputation, Gio.”

“Now!” I don’t raise my voice, but the word cracks the air in the apartment like a pistachio spilling its innards.

“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Lucia climbs the steps to the private elevator and hesitates. “Perhaps it’s time you ended the feud with your siblings.”

This is one of the reasons why Lucia and I have never gotten along. It was easy for me to enter into a contract with Elisabetta; we enjoyed each other’s company, we had each other’s best interests at heart, we both cared enough about each other to not question if it was love or friendship. We would have made it work, for our families’ sake.

But Lucia…

Lucia will never put anyone else’s needs above her own.

I never had any intention of marrying her, and she knows it. I agreed to the engagement because, after the accident, I hardened my heart to the world. I vowed never to let anyone in. I convinced myself that I would never fall in love. Men like me—we’re not born to love and be loved.

But Lucia knows that I can’t let her go now until she has finished what she came here to say. Her lips twist into a lopsided smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “No good ever comes from sibling rivalry, Gio.”

“What has my brother been saying?”

“What makes you think it’s Enzo?”

“I know my brother.”

Not content with stirring the pot with Meggie, he had to get Lucia involved too. There is no end to my little brother’s attention seeking.

“Let’s just say that if you don’t make a little effort now, things will escalate beyond even your control, Gio.”

“That almost sounds like a threat.”

“Does it?” Lucia arches a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “If it sounds like it, then I guess it must be.”

I watch her enter the elevator without looking behind her.

It’s just like Enzo, sending someone else to lay the foundations of his current little scheme. But like Meggie, I have more important battles to win.

I turn around to find her watching me like I’m a stranger.

“Meggie, please let me explain.”

“No, Gio.” Her voice is flat. “I don’t want to hear whatever you have to say.”

I realize now that Amber’s voice reaching us from the guest room has provided a gentle backdrop to the scene that just played out in my foyer, but now it has gone, and the silence is deafening.

I motion for Ric to keep an eye on the child. Meggie might not want it, but we need some space to talk.

For the first time since we met, I feel uncomfortable when we’re alone. The way she looks at me, I know that I’ve hurt hermore than she will ever say. More than I will ever comprehend. Because Meggie would never lie to me.

“I didn’t tell you about Lucia because it isn’t a real relationship.”

I want to close the distance between us, fold her into my arms, and feel her heartbeat in synch with mine, but I stay where I am. Holding her would be more for my benefit than it would be for her and now is not the time for me to be selfish.