Page 24 of Mine Again
The news of his absence settles over us like a breath of fresh air.
I laugh, relaxing into my seat. The wine we had with dinner warms me from the inside, making my limbs soft and heavy.
My gaze drifts across the room and locks on two intense blue eyes staring straight at me.
I freeze, my breath catching halfway to my lungs.
For a second, I forget how to look away.
Even from this distance, the color of his eyes burns like sapphires in firelight… impossible to ignore.
I take in the rest of him. Late twenties, dark blond hair that curls at the edges, just a touch too long.
Sun-warmed golden skin, a strong jaw, a straight nose—nothing like the ones on my father’s men— and lips sculpted to tempt, unfairly perfect. His charcoal suit is tailored to a body that clearly sees the inside of a gym more than a few times a week.
I glance at the other two men at his table, deep in conversation and unaware of their friend’s distraction. My eyes drift back to him. His are still locked on me.
Instead of looking away like most men do when they’re caught, he holds my gaze. And then he smiles.
Slow. Confident. A smile made for disarming.
My stomach flips. My fingers tighten around my wineglass. Heat creeps up the back of my neck.
I look away too quickly, my heart skipping once, twice, like it’s forgotten how to beat properly.
It’s stupid. He’s just a man… a very attractive man.
But suddenly I’m hyperaware of the dress hugging my waist, of the heat prickling under my skin.
I press my lips together and fix my eyes on the candle flickering in the center of our table, willing the flush in my cheeks to fade.
I don’t react like this. Ever.
And the fact that I am now is unnerving. Irritating.
Then again, I don’t usually come across ridiculously hot men.
“What business does Don De Marco have in Canada?” Mia asks, always curious.
“Your father told me the hacking team received an anonymous tip-off this morning that Signore De Marco’s girlfriend is heading there on a cruise ship. He wants to be there when it anchors.”
Mari’s head snaps up, her eyes filling with hope. She can’t wait for Ella’s return. It would mean a little more freedom… not for Ella, obviously, but for Mari. At least until she’s married off. And unfortunately, that day is coming way too fast.
“I still can’t believe our Don has a girlfriend,” Sienna says.
“Well, he doesn’t at the moment,” Mia deadpans.
“Here or not, she’s still his girlfriend,” Mamma says, always the diplomat.
“She was so brave to run away,” Ari says. “But how could she have just disappeared with everyone searching for her?”
“She’s smart,” Mari says simply. She would know, being the only one here who’s actually spent time with her.
“She’d have to be, to outmaneuver the Don’s hacker team and his men on the ground,” I chime in. “With facial recognition and cameras everywhere these days, disappearing is nearly impossible.”
Yet Luca managed to erase his trail completely. Pride swells inside me, even though his cleverness and talent have made it impossible to reach him.
Ella doesn’t have that kind of skill, at least as far as anyone knows. Luca taught me the basics when we were together. If she could disappear, maybe I could pull it off too.
