Page 55 of Claimed By the Possessive Mafia Prince
“Easy, Siena. I did that for you. I just wanted to make you comfortable. The last thing I want to do is push you. If I had my way, we’d be wearingWorld’s Best Roommate T-shirtsrightnow. Or did you change your mind? Do you want to move back in?”
She looks out at the water, purses her lips, and clenches her fists, fighting an internal battle. Slowly, she uncoils, letting out a shaky breath. “I’m not saying that.”
“What are you saying, then? You can talk to me.”
“Can I?” She looks at me. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes,” I say firmly.
“Because something weird is happening, and I think you know more than you’re letting on.”
Fuck. I don’t want to lie to her. But she’s backing me into a corner.
“I visited Rosy, the resort manager. She basically admitted there’s some funny business happening.”
“What sort offunny business?”
“A reason for all the delays and cancellations. She looked scared. And now my mind is going a million miles an hour. What if someone wants to sabotage this event? And there’s you, Dario. Your phone calls. Your darkness.”
My darkness.
I didn’t want her to see that. But if I want her, really want her, she’s going to see it eventually.
“My mind is spinning,” she says again.
“What did the resort manager say exactly?”
“It was a look,” Siena replies with a shrug. “Don’t laugh at me.”
“I’m not laughing. You’re a capable, practical, intuitive person. You’ve got good instincts.”
She takes a step forward, so close I can smell her sunscreen and perfume and just her. I take her hips in my hands and pull her against me.
“There are things I can’t tell. Things about my family. About certain… feuds.”
“Old Money stuff that’s above this peasant’s paygrade?”
I wish I could tell her. I wish I could trust she wouldn’t say anything. Or is that an excuse?
Perhaps it’s what Rocco said. I don’t want her to see me as the bad guy.
“You need to trust me,” I tell her. “Trust that I have your best interests at heart.”
“Is it your uncle? Edoardo?”
“Why would you say that?” My voice has gone cold. My blood too.
“Instinct,” she replies. “The way he looks at your father… at everyone. It’s like he’s angry all the time. Maybe there’s some, I don’t know, inheritance stuff going on. Or it’s just a plain old sibling rivalry. I don’t know how that would fit into your phone calls though.”
“Maybe you’re seeing puzzle pieces where there aren’t any.”
She takes my shoulders and stares at me as she sinks her fingernails in. “Swear to me you don’t know what’s going on here. That I’m being paranoid and seeing connections where there aren’t any.”
I try to make myself lie to her. But I can’t.
“Siena, please, just try to do your best. Try to keep your head down.”
“Someone trashed my room. You’ve moved me close to you to keep me safe, right?”
