Page 138 of Empire of Seduction

Once seated, she folded her arms on the table and studied me. “You look like shit.”

I rubbed my jaw. “I didn’t sleep much.”

“So I heard. Tommaso said you paced all night long in your room.”

“Checking up on me?”

“Don’t be surprised. You are my responsibility. First, as my brother. Second, as my boss. So, are you ready to talk about her?”

I instantly reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table, but Paloma moved them out of my reach. “Vito, stop it. You’re giving those up starting today. Now, tell me what went wrong yesterday. I know Maggie was pissed about the fire, but you haven’t told me what happened after.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“As you said last night. But you can’t use that excuse any longer.”

“Because?”

“Because I fucking said so! Everyone heard both of you yelling at each other, so fill me in.”

Knowing my sister was stubborn enough to keep pushing, I recounted my conversation with Maggie. When I finished, Paloma’s expression didn’t change. “You offered to buy her off to stay with you.”

“Not in the way you are thinking.”

“Exactlyin the way I’m thinking. No wonder she lost it.”

“Only because you accused her of being a gold digger.”

“I can’t believe she told you.” Paloma tapped her dark red fingernails on the table. “I thought she was better than that.”

“She didn’t tell me. I dragged it out of her on our trip—and she forbade me from interfering between the two of you. She said she’s been dealing with mean girls all her life and could handle you.”

My sister threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, that’s cute. I like her. She’s delusional, of course, but I admire her balls.” She grew serious. “Fratello, I know women better than you do and I had to see if she’s strong enough to handle you, handle this life. I don’t want you to go through another Simona. If that meantI pissed Maggie off, then so be it. But I won’t let you marry a woman who won’t stand up and fight for you.”

“No one said anything about marriage.”

“Vito.” She exhaled like I was trying her patience. “She can’t stay here unprotected and you love her, so marry her. Don’t make this more complicated.”

“She’d never agree to marriage.”

“Not now, of course. You will have to convince her.”

“You make it sound so easy, but you don’t know her. She can hold a grudge. Not to mention that she hasn’t once told me how she feels about me.”

“Do you want my advice?”

Part of me wanted to say no, but it was the role I’d given her. “Yes, of course.”

“Write the Fiorentino siblings a large check. Let the two of them rebuild, replant, whatever the fuck, while you’re back in Toronto attending to real business.”

I stared through the patio glass doors, out toward the river. What Paloma said made sense, but I didn’t want to leave. It felt like giving up. How was I to focus on “real” business when all I wanted was to be near Maggie?

“If you push her,” my sister continued, “she will only fight you or disappear. I know women like her—Iama woman like her—and we don’t like to be cornered. Your best course of action right now is to give her space.”

“I need to fix this. I have a meeting with Carlo this afternoon to?—”

“Vito, that isn’t what she wants.Shewants to fix this, without you.”

“How do you know?”

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