Page 54 of Before Broken Vows

His face tells me he's feeling exactly what I am. Despite everything wrong between us, despite the nightmare we're trapped in, we never stopped loving each other. Not really.

His eyes drop to my mouth, and I feel myself sway toward him, every cell in my body remembering him. Remembering us. Four years of dreaming about this moment, of wondering if I'd ever feel his touch again.

He leans in, and I do too, my eyes fluttering closed. I'm ready to taste his lips, the ones I've thought about every day since leaving. I need this—this connection, this confirmation that some part of what we had still exists.

"Holy shit. Stassi?"

We both freeze.

My eyes snap open. I whirl around, heart beating rapidly, to see Dimitri standing in the doorway, his mouth hanging open in shock, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

Dimitri. The youngest Kastaris brother. The wildcard. The one who always saw too much.

"What the hell is going on?" he asks, stepping into the room without waiting for an invitation. His eyes dart between me and Theo. "And am I interrupting something?"

I step back from Theo, trying to regain my composure. Dimitri looks the same—dangerously handsome, tattoos covering his neck, arms, and hands.

"Dimitri," I say, clearing my throat. "It's been a while."

He laughs. "Yeah, I'll say. And now you're back, looking cozy with my brother." His eyes narrow. "What's the play here, Stassi?"

"That's enough, Dimitri," Theo cuts in. "This is between Stassi and me."

Dimitri ignores him, walking further into the room, inspecting me like I'm a puzzle he's trying to solve. "You must be really desperate to come back here after what you did. Or really stupid."

"Both," I admit, refusing to be intimidated. Dimitri and I always had a complicated relationship—never quite friends, never quite enemies. He was fiercely loyal and protective of Theo, suspicious of outsiders, sometimes to a fault. But I always got the impression he understood what it meant to be the one who didn't quite belong.

"Last I checked, you were running in the opposite direction of this house."

I glance at Theo, uncertain how much to share. How much he wants shared.

"She came to me for help," Theo says, his voice giving nothing away. "We'll get into more later."

Dimitri raises an eyebrow. "Must be serious if it brought her back after all this time," he says to Theo and turns back to me. "You hurt him, you know. When you left."

"Dimitri," Theo warns.

Something in Theo's tone must resonate with him, because his expression shifts slightly.

"Well, I came to tell Theo that I'm here. And that Ares wants to speak with him. Urgently." He pauses, eyes flickering between us again. "But this might be more interesting."

"Tell Ares I'll call him back," Theo says dismissively.

Dimitri shakes his head. "No can do, brother. He specifically said to drag you to the phone if necessary."

Theo's jaw tightens. He looks at me, conflict clear in his eyes.

"Go," I say quietly. "I'll do what I said."

He hesitates, then nods once. "We'll finish this conversation later." His eyes hold mine, and I hope he doesn't just mean the discussion about Italy. About Xander. But about the moment—the moment Dimitri interrupted.

As Theo moves to leave, he pauses briefly by Dimitri. "Don't press her," he says, and walks out.

Dimitri smiles and looks at me. "Wouldn't dream of it. As long as she makes sure my brother doesn't become collateral damage. Again."

Before I can respond, he's gone, leaving me alone with the happy reunion and the lingering sensation of Theo's almost-kiss burning on my lips.

Now, I have two days to arrange Italy. Two days to prepare Theo for meeting his son, all while figuring out who's threatening our family and why.