Page 150 of Empire of Seduction

“What is it about?”

“Can we talk?”

Other than the mausoleum, there wasn’t anywhere private at the moment. “Would you like to sit in my car?”

“Sure.”

Without touching her, I guided her to the SUV idling on the path directly behind the mausoleum. When Tommaso saw us coming, he climbed out from the driver’s seat and opened the back door. “I’ll stay close,” he said as Maggie climbed in.

I shut her in and went around to the other side. Warmth greeted me as I settled into the leather and unbuttoned my coat. I angled toward her and waited. The silence was deafening.

She bit her lip, her gaze doing a sweep over my features. “Why did you do it?”

“Do, what?”

“Give us the winery back?”

I lifted one eyebrow. “I thought you said this wasn’t about the winery.”

“Answer the question, please.”

Annoyed, I stripped off my gloves and tossed them on the seat beside me. “Why wouldn’t I? If I want a vineyard, I’ll buy one in my home country.”

“What happened to this being a business investment?”

I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to say. The past few days had been torture, an exhausting existence of work and little else. And I couldn’t second guess my decisions because nothing had changed between us.

But she wasn’t the only one with questions. “I saw what you wrote on the mirror at the penthouse. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She grimaced but didn’t look away. “It’s sometimes hard for me to express my feelings. I thought it would be easier to write it than to say it.” She shook her head. “Which is stupid, I know.”

“Not stupid at all. The words caught me entirely by surprise. That was when I knew I had to return the winery to you.”

“I don’t understand. If you knew how I felt about you, then why let it all go?”

My fingers itched for a cigarette, but I resisted the urge. “This life,” I said, gesturing to the cemetery, where men were still gathered, talking and swapping stories of violence and greed. “Is my life. It will never change. There is no escape. You find this repulsive, so I wanted to make a clean break. Give you a chance to rebuild your life free from this one.”

Her forehead wrinkled, like she was confused. “I said I find living in your penthouse like a mistress repulsive. Did you think I meant you?”

Now she was splitting hairs. “It is the only way to make this work.”

“I know you don’t believe that.” She took off her knit cap and rumpled her hair. “Your brother Enzo came to see me.”

“What? When?”

“You didn’t know?” When I said nothing, she continued. “He and Paloma came to the winery yesterday morning.”

During the funeral home calling hours, damn it. No wonder they’d both disappeared. “I wasn’t aware.”

“Paloma was there to drop off the paperwork, but your brother pulled me aside for a chat.”

I was almost afraid to ask. “To say?”

“That he and Gianna Mancini somehow make their relationship work, even though she’s out doing her thing.”

Ah, now I could see where this was headed. “First, he does not share the details of his business with her. Second, I am not my brother. He lives in chaos. Thrives on it, actually. As does Gianna. They take risks every day that I could never chance with—” I clamped my lips shut.

“Never chance with, what?”

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