Page 225 of When We Fall: Part One

I was pissed. The men outside the door should have known well enough that Rosalie was off-limits. I didn’t care who the fuck they were. No one touched her.

“Alessandro. Is there a problem?” Matteo asked, stopping in front of us.

“One of your men touched Rosalie,” I said. “I gave him a gentle reminder on why that was a bad idea.”

Matteo smirked at me. Klaus stepped around us and walked outside. There was a scuffle for a moment before a loud crack and shriek, then silence. If I had to guess, someone had gotten their arm broken, and it wasn’t Klaus.

“Bel fiore.”Matteo took Rosalie’s hands in his, a smile on his face. He didn’t even bat an eyelash at the violence. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss on her cheek. Her face was stained pink with her embarrassment, making him chuckle softly.

“She is a sweet one, Alessandro. Come. Let’s enjoy the weather.” He gestured for us to follow him outside. Alessio kept at his side, silently walking. They had an interesting dynamic.

We went outside to a beautiful stone patio and sat at a table. One of his servants came out and poured wine into goblets. Matteo’s eyes sparkled when a silver platter was placed before Rosalie.

She looked at me with wide-eyed innocence as the lid was removed and a thick peanut butter and jelly sandwich was revealed.

“For you,bel fiore.It is late in the day. I wanted to make sure you had your favorite,” Matteo said.

“Thank you,” she murmured as a servant poured us glasses of ice water. Alessio stood off to the side, watching everything with a straight face. Klaus joined him a moment later and whispered something to him, which made him chuckle softly.

“They’re funny,” Matteo said, gesturing to his men.

I smiled, knowing things were probably different when they were alone. They probably had a normal friend relationship, told jokes, and relaxed. I’d spent a short amount of time with Alessio when I’d rescued him from Drake and Fallon several weeks prior. He was an interesting man.

Rosalie nibbled at her sandwich, Matteo watching her with a smile.

“Father, what’s going on?” I asked, dragging his attention away from her.

“Ah, well, I had word there’s been some activity happening in the Underground. I thought maybe you could check it out here shortly and ensure everything is running smoothly.”

“What kind of activity?”

“The kind that pisses me off. It would seem Everett Church has been continuing to collect after being told to stop. Rumors, of course. I just thought it was worth looking into.”

I nodded. “OK. I can do that. Just say when.”

“I will.” Matteo looked back at Rosalie. “Soon.”

I watched him study her. He seemed intrigued by everything she did.

“Bel fiore,tell me. Why are your nails not done?”

She blinked at him and placed the remainder of her sandwich down. “I-I don’t know?—”

He tutted at her. “Truth, pretty flower.”

She exhaled. “I guess I never thought about it before. I-I’ve never had them done. It’s difficult to get away to do it with everything going on. I-I guess I don’t want to disturb everyone’s schedules.” She winced as she rambled.

He seemed surprised at this information. “Alessandro, why have you not taken her?”

I had no answer to that. “I guess I don’t know.”

He tsked and gestured for Alessio. He was at his side in a moment. Matteo murmured to him in Italian. Alessio backed away and pulled out his phone, stepping away from us as he made a call.

I cleared my throat. “Father, I do have a question.”

“Certainly.”

“The palace,” I said delicately, knowing that was Dom’s territory.