I have missed so hard it hurts.
“Come, Lorenzo, I want to look at you.”
She pulls back and looks me up and down critically and shakes her head. “Too thin. You need to eat more, mio angelo.”
My brothers roll their eyes because I could be obese and she would still want to fatten me up. It’s what she does, care for us, and I’ve missed her cooking so much.
“Come my angel, I will cook for you. You can see your brothers later at dinner.”
Thankful for the easy escape, I follow her outside and she winks as the door closes behind her. “There, now you can breathe, no?”
I laugh softly because she’s a wiley one and I know that whole performance was to get me out of an awkward situation.
As we walk, she holds onto my arm and whispers, “It’s good to see you, Lorenzo. I have missed you, we all have. Now, tell me about the Moretti girl. Is she pretty, does she look as if she could provide an heir? Does she have good manners and is she feisty?”
Laughing, I stop and hug her hard. “Oh, how I’ve missed you, Nonna.”
Her eyes soften and she says softly, “You may not believe me but we have all missed you, Lorenzo. When you left, you unsettled the throne of power. Lucian is a hard man, much more ruthless than you ever were. He lacks your balance and makes a good warrior but is no diplomat.”
Thinking of my younger brother, I have to agree. He was always the one most fond of battle. Hard, cruel and merciless. He would think nothing of ending a man’s life, even if there was another way. Of all of us, he is feared the most and I hate the fact he controls the empire that should rightfully be mine.
“What about Romeo, is he still fooling around?”
“You know him, what do they call it, oh yes, still a player? More interested in the women and what they can offer him, than settling down with a nice girl and giving me a reason to stick around.”
I laugh as her eyes soften and she says, “Dante has missed you. He has been lost and struggled to find his place. He tries but I know he is lost ever since…”
She breaks off and I squeeze her hand. “Still no word.”
“No, they keep on looking but she has disappeared from earth itself. He can’t move on until he knows what happened.”
Thinking about my younger brother, I feel a sharp pain in my heart. Dante is the most serious of my brothers and his feelings run deep. A few years back, he fell in love with his childhood sweetheart. She got pregnant and he made plans to marry her. Then one day she was gone and nobody knew where. He looked everywhere, but there was no sign. It was as if she disappeared off the face of the earth and he has never stopped looking. My one regret was that I left him to live with his pain alongside my two unfeeling brothers. He would have struggled and I was so intent on saving myself, I turned my back on him.
We stop outside the kitchen and nonna smiles. “Now, go and fetch your friend, I want to look at her and make my own mind up. You will find her in the yellow room.”
It’s only when I’m halfway there, that it strikes me I’ve been set up. Nonna could have sent one of the maids to fetch Sophia, but she has given me the opportunity to spend some time with her without anyone else around. As I quicken my pace, I hope to God she’ll let me in.
23
Sophia
Lorenzo Romano, fucking liar. I am so angry I almost can’t breathe. He knew. He always knew who I was and the minute I told him my secret, he was no better than Carlos and fucked me and then rejected me. I thought I knew him; it turns out I did. Will I ever meet someone who loves me for the girl I am and not the position I sit reluctantly in? It doesn’t appear I will because it’s proved to me one thing—I am never safe. Even in a place I thought they could never touch me.
For a moment I consider calling Tobias. I would feel like such a fool. I should have gone with him that night. I should have told him immediately about the war coming and allowed him to prepare the troops.