Page 20 of The Lies We Tell

Heart beating wildly in her chest, she yanked the door open, instantly deflating when she saw one of the younger maids on the other side. Matteo’s door was closed, but that didn't mean much. It was always closed. And locked.

“Good morning, signorina. Do you mind if I change your sheets and towels?”

Tessa glanced down at the laundry basket in the woman’s hands. Did that mean she’d already changed Matteo’s sheets and towels and he was gone? Shit. He’d said she wasn’t trapped here, but she still couldn’t leave without his permission. Or assistance.

It was unlikely Luca would help her. He very obviously hated her. Despite the fact that they’d spent fewer than ten minutes alone together the entire time she’d known him.

It didn’t matter. She didn’t require Luca’s approval. She had one goal here, and if Matteo wasn’t going to take her up on her offer to help, she’d have to do whatever she could to find her mother on her own. Once she had her back, they’d get the fuck out of here. They’d leave Sicily. Hell, they could leave Italy altogether. Tessa wouldn’t miss it. There hadn’t been anything here for her since her mother disappeared.

Then Matteo and her father could battle it out until one of them killed the other for whatever shred of power helped them sleep at night. She wanted no part of that either. They could have the island. All she wanted was her mother and some fucking peace.

“Signorina?”

The maid’s soft voice snapped Tessa out of her thoughts. “I’m sorry. Yes. I’ll get out of your way…” She tried and failed to recall the woman’s name. She was much better with faces.

“Cinzia, signorina,” the woman replied with a polite smile.

“Cinzia,” Tessa repeated. “Thank you.”

Stepping back so the maid could enter, Tessa grabbed her phone off the nightstand and left the woman to her work. She was two paces down the hall when she heard Matteo’s door open behind her. Forcing herself not to turn around but slowing her steps, she waited to see if Matteo would catch up with her.

He’d done his best to avoid her since the kissing incident. Or maybe more accurately, he hadn’t bothered to deviate from his normal routine that kept him out of the house more than in it.

Which was fine. There couldn’t be a repeat of that damn kiss. Even if she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Good morning,” Matteo said, appearing at her elbow.

His voice was rich and deep, and it wrapped around her like a caress. She hated that about him. It made her think of the way his hands felt on her hips, of how he hadn’t recoiled at the feel of her softness the way she expected him to.

“Morning. You’re usually gone before I go in search of breakfast.”

He checked the time on his watch, adjusting it before dropping his arm again. “You must be early then. I’m right on schedule.”

He matched her pace down the hall instead of walking ahead of her, a courtesy she’d never experienced from a man before. She didn’t know what to make of it. And it annoyed her that she wanted to make anything of it at all. She really needed to get a fucking grip.

Another maid met them at the bottom of the stairs with Matteo’s travel mug and a bombolone—her favorite. Hopefully there were more where that came from. And filled with blueberry jam. When Matteo turned toward the front of the house instead of the direction of the dining room, the maid followed, and so did Tessa.

She watched him shrug into a beautiful navy cashmere coat, adjusting the collar and the cuffs of his suit. Once he was buttoned up, the woman handed both the mug and the bombolone to Matteo, dipped into a neat curtsy, and left.

Before he could stick the donut into his mouth to open the door, she reached around him and pulled it open. He nodded his thanks and stepped over the threshold.

“I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor,” she said in a rush.

He did a slow turn, head tilted. “A favor?”

“I’ve been here for a week.”

“Yes.”

“And you still haven’t asked me for any information.” That wasn’t what she meant to say, but the words had already tumbled free, and she couldn’t take them back.

His jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Correct.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not sure you could give me anything I don’t already know.”

Tessa crossed her arms over her chest, forcing herself not to react to his snide tone. She needed his help today; playing nice was the best way to get it.

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