Page 21 of Saint
“After one night?"
“I know how it sounds.” I stand up, resuming my packing with less certainty. “But there’s something between us, Zoe. Something I can’t explain."
“Did he say anything about what he does? Besides being rich and hot?”
I pause, Luca’s cryptic words echoing in my mind. The man your father has been doing business with for years, though not the kind of business that makes the society pages.
“He has a foundation and does charity work, but he also implied he’s involved in something... not entirely legal,” I say carefully.
Zoe’s eyes widen. “Like what? Drugs? Weapons? Oh my god, is he in the mafia or something?”
The question hits too close to home. I remember the way his eyes hardened when he spoke about protecting me, the absolute authority in his voice when he said I was his.
“I don’t know exactly,” I admit. “He said he’d tell me everything tonight.”
"Tonight? So you are going back?”
I sit back down, my legs suddenly weak. “I told him I would. But now I’m not so sure."
“Lily, think about this. Your father is the governor. If this guy is involved in something illegal and you’re living with him, the scandal could destroy your dad’s career."
She’s right, of course. My father’s political opponents would have a field day if they discovered his daughter was involved with someone connected to organized crime. Not to mention what it would do to my mother and my brothers.
But even as these thoughts race through my mind, all I can see is Luca’s face, feel his hands on my body, hear his voice in my ear. I’m already falling for him. Hard and fast, in a way that terrifies me.
“I need time,” I say finally. “Time to think this through.”
I reach for my phone, my heart pounding as I type out a message to Luca:
Last night was incredible. You’re incredible. But I can’t just move in with you. Not yet. I need time to figure things out. I hope you understand.
My finger hovers over the send button for what feels like an eternity. Then, taking a deep breath, I press it.
The response comes almost immediately:
You have until midnight, Lily. Not a minute more. After that, I’ll come for you myself.
A shiver runs through me—part fear, part excitement. This isn’t a man who takes no for an answer. A man used to getting exactly what he wants.
And God help me, I want to give it to him.
“Lily?" Zoe’s voice breaks through my thoughts. “What did he say?”
I lock my phone screen, not wanting her to see his message. "He’s giving me time to think."
It’s not exactly a lie, but it’s far from the whole truth. Luca isn’t giving me time—he’s giving me an ultimatum. And the most terrifying part is how much I want to surrender to it.
“Good,” Zoe says, relieved. “Take all the time you need. Get to know him properly before you make any big decisions.”
I nod, but my mind is already racing ahead. To midnight. To Luca, coming for me if I don’t go to him. To what that would mean—for me, for my family, for everything I thought I knew about myself.
I glance at the clock. Fourteen hours until midnight. Fourteen hours to decide whether to follow my head or my heart. To choose between the life I’ve always known and the man who, in just one night, has made me question everything.
There’s no way I can decide today. Instead of packing for Luca’s, I stuff my favorite cashmere sweaters and worn-soft jeans into my leather weekender bag. My fingers tremble as I call my mother, whose lilting voice brightens at the mention of a visit. In typical fashion, she doesn’t probe—just promises fresh-baked snickerdoodles, the ones that made the Albany Times feature her last Christmas.
Within minutes, she’s arranged for a sleek black town car to collect me. Two hours north on the winding Hudson Valley roads, past autumn-gilded trees and colonial estates, the governor’s mansion awaits—a white-columned fortress where Luca Ravello’s dangerous hands can’t reach me while I make up my mind.
Chapter 15
