you are the reason he is here, which is of great concern to me.”
“Why do you care?”
I take another gulp of my wine and he says darkly, “Because I have no desire to see him back where he belongs almost as much as he does. However, unlike him, I put the family business first and am prepared to do whatever it takes to make us invincible. Lorenzo gave all that up when he left and if he returned, it would be unwillingly.”
My head spins as I look at Maverick and see the unhappiness on his face. He is tortured and I know it’s because of me. He doesn’t want to be here—I know that and yet he came, anyway.
Lucian whispers, “If he chooses to marry you, he will be sucked back into this life. If he walks away, he leaves you behind to face it alone with me by your side.”
I stare at him with fear and he laughs softly. “Make no mistake, I would make your life more comfortable than you could ever imagine. You would want for nothing because as my wife, you would control all you survey. All I would ask is your share in your family business in return for bearing my children. We would have a union of business with many delicious benefits. I’m not offering you my heart, Sophia, but I am offering a good life in exchange for your loyalty. If Lorenzo chooses to stay, that would be a problem for me and for you.”
“Me? How is that a problem for me?”
“Because he would hate every minute of it.”
“Excuse me.”
He laughs and I watch his eyes flash with a ruthless spark that makes my blood run cold. “He thinks he wants you now but when the passion settles, it would leave a bitter taste in his mouth. He would begin to resent the fact he gave up his freedom for you and after a time, begin to hold you responsible. You would always know you had been the ruin of him and your perfect love would shatter and die. You see, Sophia, the biggest act of love there is, is sacrifice. If you love my brother, you will set him free—us all free to follow the path our hearts desire. You may find I’m not so bad after all and realize that you made the correct choice in the end. Think about it because you are the only person here who has that power.”
He turns away, leaving me shattered. As I steal a look at Maverick, I am not surprised to find him staring at me with a yearning I most definitely understand. My heart fills with so much love because I see the lost man inside of him who is trying to do the right thing and can’t see a way out of this situation. Will he give it all up for me and come back to a place he doesn’t want to be? I already know my answer to that as we share a look that promises a path set with passion and destruction. Yes, Lucian is right about that—the decision will be mine to make because do I love Maverick enough to set him free and lock the door behind him to live in a gold-lined prison with a bastard?
I think I always knew the answer to that.
27
Maverick
The second I saw Sophia sitting beside my brother, I knew. I have no other choice. I am coming home with her as my wife. There is really no other choice because she is mine and it’s taken coming here to make me realize that.
I watch him whisper his poison in her ear and know there is nothing I can do to stop it. Whoever organized this seating plan knew what they were doing because it has made my mind up in a heartbeat.
“She’s a beautiful woman, Lorenzo.”
Nonna leans in and whispers, and I smile. “She is like you.”
“You flatter me, mio angelo, but then you always were a charmer, just like your grandfather.”
She smiles and says sadly, “I miss him so much. He always knew what to do, even in the most difficult circumstances. I wonder what he would make of all this.”
Feeling the guilt she is shoveling on me, weighing me down as she intended, I shrug it off. “He would understand.”
“Are you sure about that, you see, family was everything to him, why is it so hard for you?”
There is no answer to that because family is everything to me,