Page 109 of Scorned Beauty

I wasn’t even looking, but fate had a cruel way of opening the blinders I’d had on all my life. The blinders I’d hid behind.

It only took staring into Sloane’s beloved green eyes for me to realize how much I wanted her to be mine and mine alone.

“Okay, this is hard to watch.” Sera’s embarrassed laugh broke through my series of epiphanies. I had reached the back of the café and forgotten everyone else was around.

But Sloane held my gaze captive, and I replied without looking at Sera. “I got it from here.”

“We’re her ride,” Bianca interjected.

“I’ll order one,” Sloane said, and then raised the black card in her hand, “or order that SUV I wanted.”

“I can take you to the dealership,” I said. “Or test drive?”

“Or you can continue to be my driver,” Sloane returned sassily.

I nodded, finally reaching their booth. “Or continue to be your driver.”

“In this traffic?” Bianca cut in again. “Don’t you have boss things to do?”

If only they knew where I’d been this morning. I glared at my two cousins. “Don’t you two have someplace to be?”

Sera glanced at her watch. “Actually, Matteo said I need to take Gio because he has a board meeting.”

Bianca stared at her phone. “Divina said Tommy is looking for you, Sandro, and asking why you’re not answering texts.”

“Because I told him multiple times I hate texting and he should just call me.”

“Get out of here, the lot of you,” I ordered.

Renz appeared beside us and handed me an espresso. I slid into the space my cousins vacated.

“Another cappuccino, Sloane?” Renz asked.

“Oh God, no I’ve had enough.”

While I consumed my espresso, the girls said goodbye. They exchanged hugs, and an ache tugged in my chest.

Sloane belonged with my family. I just didn’t know how to bring her in and become mine. Remembering what Margo had told me made me realize the mountain of Sloane’s past trauma I had to climb. If only the matchmaker would give me a name.

The security to her network was top-notch. When Trevor tried to hack into their system and was repelled, Margo sent me a warning text. Of course I didn’t admit it was us, and I wasn’t desperate enough to ask Natalya for help because I had no doubt she would succeed.

After Sloane slid back into the booth in front of me, she said, “You don’t have to deny you had a hand in orchestrating this Delphine project.”

“I’m not gonna deny it, but it was a team effort,” I replied. “We identified a problem shared across our crime families and saw an opportunity to address it.”

She grinned. “I heard Luca was skeptical.”

“That’s his nature. He doesn’t know you, and he wanted to make sure that emotions did not influence us, but logic.”

“Are you certain that?—”

“It’s not guilt,” I said firmly. “Not with this.”

“My acceptance of this project doesn’t mean I’m open to a relationship with you.”

It took an effort to hold her gaze when her words deflated the hope in my chest. Funny how I didn’t have a problem watching the light fade from a vermin’s eyes, but knowing that I struggled to do that with Sloane proved I was not lost to the vicious side of my nature. “I understand.”

She gave a series of nods and rolled her lips. Those luscious lips that I hadn’t kissed in weeks.