Page 66 of Isabella

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she says, the sadness in her tone taking over. “My emotions have been all over the place since you’ve been back. It’s all just been… a lot. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I decided to meet up with you today, because in reality, you and I will never work out.”

Those words send a wave of anger coursing through my body, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Why not?” I growl out, not able to contain the fucking rage I feel over the idea of us not being together.

“Your dad had my parents killed, Nicco,” she murmurs. “Teo will never allow us to be together because you’ll be a daily reminder of what your family cost ours.”

40

NICCOLÒ

Liana opens the back door to let us back into her store. “You came back just in time,” she says, hurrying us inside.

“Is everything okay?” Isabella asks, her eyes wide in alert.

Pushing us down the hall, back toward her office, she says, “I’ve been watching Gianni on the security camera, and he’s getting antsy. He’s been walking around the boutique looking around like he’s expecting to find someone lurking that shouldn’t be.”

“Great,” Isabella mutters.

“I think you should go out on the floor and make an appearance. He’s walking around like he’s some security guard—which, I guess he is—but he’s scaring off my customers. He’s starting to get suspicious.”

“Yeah, absolutely. I’ll go do that,” Isabella says.

“Just go out there, settle the beast, and that should buy you and Nicco another hour or so.”

Isabella glances at me with a nervous look in her eye and says, “Unless you have somewhere else to be?”

“Not at all,” I say. “We need to finish what we were talking about earlier.”

Isabella’s and my conversation was cut short when Liana called about Gianni. We figured it was best to get back before the guy smartened up and started looking for Isabella.

“I’ll be right back,” she says before darting out the door.

As soon as it shuts, Liana’s heated gaze is on mine. “What did you do?” she snaps.

“Why do you assume I did something?” I ask her nonchalantly.

“Oh, do not play coy with me, Niccolò Silvestri.” She points toward the door. “You did something to her. I can feel the energy shift between the two of you. What happened?”

Knowing I have no reason to hide this, I say, “She’s worried we can never be together due to the history between our families.”

Liana is silent, then gives me a few short nods. “That does make sense.” Her accusatory behavior seems to simmer down at my reasonable explanation. “Well?” she says.

“Well, what?”

Liana props one hand on her hip and uses her other hand for theatrics, holding it up at me while she says, “What did you tell her? Clearly not the right thing, or else she would’ve come back here happy.”

“Relax, Liana. You think after three years away from my girl I wouldn’t have a plan when I came back here?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she raises a brow at me. “A plan.”

I give her a cocky smirk. “Of course,a plan.”

“Well, don’t be shy, Nicco. Share it with the room.”

“I haven’t even told Isabella my plan yet. What makes you think I’m going to tell you?”

“I’m nosy, Nicco.”

“I know that, Liana,” I say, and I can’t help but laugh.

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