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she had to figure out what she was doing. What she wanted.
    Could she really marry Matteo?
    It was so close to her dearest fantasy. The one that had kept her awake long nights since she was a teenager. Matteo. Hers. Only hers. Such an innocent fantasy at first, and as she’d gotten older, one that had become filled with heat and passion, a longing for things she’d never experienced outside of her dreams.
    “And if …” she said, hardly trusting herself to speak “… if we marry, my family will still benefit from the merger?”
    “Your father will get his money. His piece of the Corretti empire, as agreed upon.”
    “You give it away so easily.”
    “Because my family still needs the docklands revitalization. And your father holds the key to that.”
    “And it will benefit Alessandro, too.”
    “Just as it would have benefitted me had he married you.”
    Those words, hearing that it would have benefitted him for her to marry someone else, made her feel ill. “So a win all around for the Correttis, then?”
    “I suppose it is,” he said.
    There was a ruthless glint in his eyes now. One she had never seen directed at her before. One she’d only seen on one other occasion.
    “What if I say no?” she asked, because she had to know. She wasn’t sure why she was exploring her options now. Maybe because she’d already blown everything up. Her father likely hated her.… Her siblings … they must be worried sick. And she wondered if anyone was caring for them properly.
    Yes, the youngest, Eva, was fourteen now and the rest of them in their late teens, but still, she was the only person who nurtured them. The only person who ever had.
    The life she’d always known, the life she’d clung to for the past twenty-seven years, was changed forever.And now she felt compelled in some ways to see how far she could push it.
    “You won’t say no,” he said.
    “I won’t?”
    “No. Because if you do, the Battaglias are as good as bankrupt. You will be cared for, of course our child will be, too. I’m not the kind of man who would abandon his responsibility in that way. But what of your siblings? Their care will not be my problem.”
    “And if I marry you?”
    “They’ll be family. And I take care of family.”
    A rush of joy and terror filled her in equal parts. Because in some ways, she was getting just what she wanted. Matteo. Forever.
    But this wasn’t the Matteo she’d woven fantasies around. This was the real Matteo. Dark. Bitter. Emotionless in a way she’d somehow never realized before.
    He’d given her passion on their night together, but for the most part, the lights had been off. She wondered now if, while his hands had moved over her body with such skill and heat, his eyes had been blank and cold. Like they were now.
    She knew that what she was about to agree to wasn’t the fantasy. But it was the best choice for her baby, the best choice for her family.
    And more fool her, she wanted him. Still. All ofthose factors combined meant there was only ever one answer for her to give.
    “Yes, Matteo. I’ll marry you.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    T HE HUSH IN the lobby of Matteo’s plush Palermo hotel was thick, the lack of sound more pronounced and obvious than any scream could have been.
    It was early in the day and employees were milling around, setting up for a wedding and mobilizing to sort out rooms and guests. As Matteo walked through, a wave of them parted, making room for him, making space. Good. He was in no mood to be confronted today. No mood for questions.
    Bleached sunlight filtered through the windows, reflecting off a jewel-bright sea. A view most would find relaxing. For him, it did nothing but increase the knot of tension in his stomach. Homecoming, for him, would never be filled with a sense of comfort and belonging. For him, this setting had been the stage for violence, pain and shame that cut so deep it was a miracle he hadn’t bled to death with it.
    He gritted his teeth and pulled together