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Dante, Lucia, and a couple of others from the Giordano Hotel Group were seated in the row ahead of me. They were in one of those compartments with facing benches and a shared table between them.
Dante and Lucia sat on one side, while two of his employees sat directly across from them. Between them, the table was cluttered with tablets and documents, and their laptop screens were open and pinging away.
Lucia said something that made Dante laugh. Thesound was lowandfamiliar, a sound that I used to struggle to get out of him. She got it for free, just like that.
Puttana!
I sat stiffly in my seat, staring out the window, trying to pretend it wasn’t bothering me. But it did. Itreallydid. I clenched my jaw, biting back the rising anger and the sting of betrayal. Lucia was practically draping herself over Dante, her perfectly manicured nails tapping on the screen as she pointed something out.
They were working, or at least that’s what I told myself, but the intimacy of their proximity felt like a slap in the face. Maybe I shouldn’t have come. Maybe I should have told him to handle this Giordano family legacy event on his own.
But I hadn’t done that because this was for Don Giordano, the man who’d given me a family when I had none. Besides, my father would be there, and avoiding him forever wasn’t an option, no matter how much I wanted it to. Sooner or later, I’d have to tell him that Dante and I were separated,officially, since I’d moved out, and we’d be getting divorced soon.
That would not go well with Vittorio Costa.
“Want acaffè?” Giulia broke through my spiraling thoughts.
I looked up to see Dante’s assistant, sliding into the seat next to me with two paper coffee cups in hand. She slid oneto me.
“Grazie, Giulia.” I took a sip of the coffee, which she’d made sure was the way I liked it, with milk.
Dante drank his black, but it was too bitter for me early in the morning. I wanted the caffeine to wake me up gently, not smack me on my face.
I liked Giulia.
Of all the people in Dante’s circle, she was the one who’d been most welcoming. Sure, Dante’s friends and other colleagues were polite and friendly, even Lucia, but only Giulia had become a sort of friend.
I knew from what I’d seen and heard from Dante, she was sharp, efficient, and always three steps ahead of my husband, which was why he relied on her so much.
“It’s a lovely day,” I mused.
Giulia looked around to see if anyone was nearby.
Dante had booked an entire car for the Giordano Hotel Group team, which was going to Piedmont for the event. Since they were all here for the three-and-a-half-hour train journey, he’d also booked a team meeting to take advantage of the time.
No rest for the wicked!
“Is it?” Giulia arched an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Dante told me.”
I could guess what he told her, but I also knew he was intensely private and didn’t share things with people, which was why his telling Dean about his feelings had been so jarring. I knew they were closefriends, which made me more certain of the truth behind Dante’s words.
“I don’t understand why you’d divorce him,” she admonished quietly so no one could hear us, and I doubted anyone could, over the noise of the train.
“I…I….” I gave up and drank some coffee.
“You know, I’ve worked for Dante for years. I’ve seen him at his best and his worst. But I’ve never seen him as distracted as he is now.”
Before I could answer, Dante laughed again—like with all teeth and sound, at something someone said, probably Lucia. She put a hand on his arm, and he leaned a little to hear her, nodding as she spoke.
If he’s distracted it’s probably because he wants to fuck Lucia…or he already is.
“Dante is focused to a fault,” I quipped.
“Usually, he is, but he isn’t now.” Her eyes darted to where Lucia and Dante were huddled together. “And I don’t mean by work. He’s not himself, Elysa. He hasn’t been for weeks…since, I think, you left.”