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I’m a selfish man who always gets what he wants in the end. Portia is the object of my obsession, and I will do anything to have her.

It’s true that I said I’d never lie to her. But I also never said I’d tell her the truth either. In order to get what I want, she can never know.

Just like she can never know about what happened in Sicily.

She would hate me if she ever found out.

I reach across the small round table between us and cup her cheek. “Stop blaming yourself. None of what’s happened is your fault. You know who’s to blame? Sergio Sacrimoni and the Tuco crime family. You were doing your job as an investigative reporter.”

That seems to assuage her guilt enough that she’s able to enjoy the last of the pastina.

We dim the lights and get into bed. Still worried about her and how she was plunged into such icy cold water, I’ve turned on the electric fireplace to make the room extra warm and toasty.

Portia tucks herself into the nook at my side, allowing me to wrap my arm around her. She tells me about what happened in the taxicab and how she’d slowly come to the realization the driver was one of Tuco’s guys. Apparently, he had removed the real driver and then posed as one at the behest of Sergio.

What she tells me next is even harder to hear. The fake taxi driver realized she was trying to call 911 and attacked her in the backseat. The strangulation marks on her throat reveal how vicious it must’ve been. He was strangling her not in warning but with murderous intent.

I have to force myself to draw calming breaths or else risk descending into the dark mindset I avoid around Portia.

She squeezes against my side and tells me that I was on her mind during these final moments.

“I kept thinking how we hadn’t had a chance to make up. I never got to tell you how I feel.”

“And how do you feel,dolcezza?” I ask, a playful grin on my face. “Are you in love with me yet?”

She rolls her eyes. “With that ego? Fat chance.”

“You say that… but you really love my bravado.”

“I like a man who is ambitious and confident. Two adjectives I’d use to describe you.”

“Is that what you thought when you first met me?”

She thinks a second. “I thought you were intimidating actually. And mysterious. You were watching me from the balcony at Appetito. You had a very focused look on your face.”

“That’s because I was looking at the most beautiful woman in Sicily.”

“You didn’t come down to have dinner with us.”

“Because I wanted to impress you. But I wanted you to myself. You were surrounded by the others.”

Her dark eyes glimmer as she tips her head back and peers up at me. “You wanted to impress me?”

“Dolcezza, everything I’ve done has been to impress you.”

“I’d say it’s worked,” she says, kissing the edge of my jaw. “It’s funny thinking about it now. I was so excited for Sicily. I had been once as a child, but I didn’t have any memories of it. Jayla and I just wanted to relax on the beach and get some shopping done. I never imagined I’d meet you.”

“It was fate.”

Her eyelids lower as she grows sleepier. “It seems like it. I’m glad fate finally blessed me. You support me and my passions like my work. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

I watch moment to moment as Portia gradually slips off to sleep in my arms. It seems her fight against exhaustion has finally ended and drowsiness has taken over.

I’m awake for another half hour, processing what happened tonight, and how I’ll move forward tomorrow.

Titus will likely press forward with defying Il Diavolo and trying to get his product out in the market. Il Diavolo will follow up on his threats and a vicious war will break out, even more brutal than what we’ve already engaged in.

But it’s a necessary evil to maintain the throne and keep power.