And with Leon and Natalia arriving tomorrow, and his time occupied with them, Matteo had absolutely no leverage with which to persuade Grace to change her mind.
He released her and stepped away. “I won’t bother with coffee, thanks.” He didn’t look at her again before moving through to the sitting area to pick up the jacket and waistcoat he had earlier dropped onto a chair before entering the kitchen. “Have a good life, Grace,” he murmured as he quietly let himself out of the apartment.
He kept his mind a blank as he walked down the stairs, in an effort to ward off the pain he knew was going to hit him the moment he had to accept he was never going to see Grace again.
Antonio jumped out of the SUV to open the back door the moment Matteo left the building. One look at the thunderous expression on Matteo’s face must have cautioned him against speaking, because the other man closed the door behind him before getting back into the front passenger seat.
Luca glanced at him in the driving mirror after starting the engine. “Home?”
Whoever had coined the phrase “home is where the heart is” had known what they were talking about, because Matteo felt as if he had left that beating organ with Grace. He certainly felt cold and empty inside.
“I’m expected to join my sister and her husband at the hotel for breakfast,” he instructed.
Luca gave him another glance after maneuvering the vehicle out into the early morning traffic. “You’re still doing that?”
He nodded. “I’m still doing that.” Bella and Bryce were expecting him, and he had other commitments to fulfill before the week ended.
“You seem preoccupied today?”
Grace glanced up at Carla, the two women having spent the morning together, mainly in silence, checking the alphabetical order of the books on the shelves. Customers had a habit of taking books down to read the blurb and then putting them back in the wrong place if they decided not to buy.
Luckily, it was cold out today, so Grace had been able to wear a roll-neck green jumper to work to hide the bite marks Matteo had left on her neck.
“I didn’t upset you with the stuff I told you about Matteo Zalotti on Tuesday, did I?” Carla winced.
Grace smiled ruefully as she thought of all the things that had happened with Matteo Zalotti since. “Not at all.”
“My Uncle Vinnie works for him, you see,” Carla admitted with obvious reluctance. “So I wasn’t exaggerating about how dangerous he is.”
Grace had only seen the fun and passionate side of Matteo—because that was all he wanted her to see?—but that didn’t mean she didn’t know about the ruthless edge beneath his charm. “Works for him doing what?” she prompted casually.
Carla shrugged. “The family doesn’t talk about it, but I’m guessing it’s whatever he’s asked to do.” She grimaced. “You don’t say no to Matteo Zalotti.”
Not only had Grace said no to Matteo, she had told him she never wanted to see him again.
Would he respect that request?
The coldness of his expression and the dismissal in his voice when he left earlier this morning said that he would.
It was what she wanted.
What she had asked for.
So why did the pain in her chest feel as if her heart was breaking at the thought of never seeing Matteo again?
Chapter Thirteen
“Natalia had some shopping she wished to do in Europe before joining us.” Leonardo Brunelli explained his daughter’s absence when Matteo joined him for dinner in the penthouse suite of his hotel on Friday evening. “She will be arriving on Sunday or Monday instead.” If Leon was affected by jet lag after flying in from New York earlier today, it didn’t show in the sharp intelligence in his eyes or in his meticulous appearance in a dark suit and white shirt with perfectly knotted pale silver tie.
The other man was only six or seven years older than Matteo’s thirty-six, but Leon’s hair had gone prematurely gray during his thirties and his eyes were as cold and dangerous as a storm-tossed sea. A little over six feet tall and not overly muscular, one nevertheless only had to look into Leon Brunelli’s icy gray eyes to realize the man was danger personified and would be totally merciless if crossed.
Natalia was Leon’s only child, born twenty years ago when Leon was only in his early twenties. His wife had died in childbirth. Leon had no other close family, and he had never remarried, so Natalia was doubly precious to him. Something Matteo was very aware of.
To say he was relieved to be given a little more breathing space before he had to start the pretense with Natalia, when he was still smarting so much over Grace’s stubborn dismissal of him, would be an understatement.
“I trust your sister’s wedding went well on Wednesday?” Leon continued.
He smiled at the thought of Bella and Bryce’s obvious happiness together. “Very well.”
“No last-minute nerves from the bride or any of the other interesting incidents that seem to occur at these intense family occasions?”
Matteo studied the older man through narrowed lids. Could Leon possibly be referring to Grace and the dance they’d shared? No, surely not. Not unless the other man was having him watched. Which wasn’t completely out of the question; Leon was trusting him with the future happiness of his only daughter, after all. Which wasn’t to say Matteo would be willing to accept such an intrusion without comment.
“The two families got on well together,” Matteo dismissed evenly.
Leon nodded. “I’m sorry I couldn’t join you, but I had some business in New York that required my personal attention.”
Matteo could guess what sort of business. The same sort that had required his own attention the previous week.
Unless this was some sort of veiled threat toward him on Leon’s part.
“Ricci has been dealt with?” the American prompted.
“Yes,” Matteo confirmed tersely, still uncertain as to Leon’s mood.
The older man nodded as
