Chapter 4
The cold air hit Elena’s face like a slap. The restaurant door swung shut behind her, muffling the ambient noise of the dining room. She stood on the sidewalk, her arms crossed, her green dress doing nothing to protect her from the autumn chill.
Matteo stood three feet away. The streetlight caught the angles of his face, casting shadows that made him look harder, older, more dangerous.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Her voice was low. Shaking.
“You humiliated me. In front of a client. In front of Mark. In front of the entire restaurant. Are you insane?”
“I did what was necessary.”
“Necessary?” She laughed, the sound brittle and sharp. “What was necessary about any of that? You crushed his hand. You looked at him like you were going to—” She stopped. Couldn’t finish the sentence.
“I had his background checked.”
The words hit her like a physical blow.
“You what?”
“Before I came. I had Dominic run him. Mark Chen. Corporate lawyer. Clean record. No criminal affiliations. No outstanding debts. He’s a good man.”
“Of course he’s a good man. He’s a normal person. He’s not a—” She stopped again.
“A what?”
She shook her head. “You can’t do this. You can’t just—”
“I can do whatever I need to do to protect what’s mine.”
The word landed between them. Mine.
Elena’s hands dropped to her sides. “I’m not a thing. I’m not a possession. I’m not something you get to claim because you’ve decided you want me.”
“I know what you are.”
“Then act like it.”
Matteo stepped closer. She stepped back. Her heels hit the edge of the curb. She stopped.
“I have spent eighteen months,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, “watching you. Learning you. Memorizing the way you take your coffee. The way you tap your pen when you’re frustrated. The way you say ‘Mr. Duca’ like it’s a wall between us.”
“Because it is a wall between us. You put it there.”
“I put it there to protect you.”
The words hung in the cold air. Elena stared at him.
“Protect me from what?”
“You know what.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
Matteo looked away. His jaw was tight. The muscles in his neck stood out like cords.
“I’m not a good man, Elena. You know this. You’ve seen the security. You’ve seen the way people react to my name. You’ve seen the things that happen around me.”
“I’ve seen a businessman who runs a successful company.”
“Then you’ve seen what I allow you to see.”
“And whose fault is that? You keep me at arm’s length. You never tell me anything. You treat me like I’m a piece of furniture that happens to be very good at scheduling.”
He flinched. It was small, barely visible, but she saw it.
“I thought I was nothing to you.” Her voice cracked. “I thought I was just another employee. Another cog in your machine. That’s why I went on that date. That’s why I tried to move on. Because I thought—”
She stopped. Pressed her hand to her mouth.
“Elena.”
“I thought there was no hope for us. That you would never see me as anything more than someone who brings you coffee and files your reports.”
Matteo moved closer. This time she didn’t step back.
“Donovan.”
“Don’t.”
“Look at me.”
She did. His eyes were dark, intense, burning with something she had never seen before.
“You are not nothing. You have never been nothing. You are the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. You are the reason I have been losing sleep for eighteen months. You are the reason I couldn’t focus on a single word of my briefing today. You are—”
He stopped. Ran a hand through his hair. Stepped back.
“This is why I kept my distance. Because this conversation should never have happened. Because you deserve someone who can give you a normal life. Someone who won’t put you in danger just by being near you.”
Elena’s heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear herself think.
“What if I don’t want normal?”
“Then you don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Don’t tell me what I know.”
She stepped forward. Close enough to touch him. She could see the struggle in his eyes—the desire to reach for her, the discipline holding him back.
“Matteo.”
His name. She never used his name.
“Don’t.”
“Tell me you don’t feel this.”
“Elena—”
“Tell me, and I’ll walk away. I’ll go back inside. I’ll finish my dinner with Mark. I’ll go on with my life. I’ll never mention this again.”
The silence stretched. The traffic hummed. The wind picked up, carrying the scent of rain.
Matteo’s hand came up. His fingers brushed her cheek.
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Then stop pushing me away.”
“I can’t do that either.”
“Then what are we doing?”
He didn’t answer. He just stood there, frozen, a man caught between two impossible choices.
Elena’s phone buzzed in her clutch. She ignored it.
“I need to go back inside,” she said. “I need to apologize to Mark.”
Matteo’s hand dropped. “I know.”
“Don’t follow me.”
“I won’t.”
May you like
She turned and walked back into the restaurant. The door chimed. The warmth of the dining room wrapped around her.
She didn’t look back.
