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thought. Cowardly. He had no disguise. In fact, he looked genuinely excited, scanning the cobblestone street. Not for people lurking in the shadows, but in quiet awe of the beauty around us.
    He pointed at the building behind us. “Allegra used to live in an apartment up on the sixth floor.”
    I followed his line of sight, my heart leaping in my chest when I saw a flash. I let out a sigh of relief when I looked closer and realized it was a sun catcher, not a camera flash.
    I covered my momentary freakout, looping my arm through his. “Is Al joining us?”
    He shook his head, guiding us toward the back entrance of the cafe. “She couldn’t get away. She sends her love though and wants to meet up for coffee while we’re still in the city.”
    “I’d love that,” I said truthfully. I had only known Allegra De Luca for a few weeks, but we’d been fast friends. She was the first person I had met that gave it to Jacob straight. Completely unfiltered.
    When I first met Allegra and saw them together, it was the first time I had seen any playfulness in the billionaire. He had laughed with her, turning into a man that was nothing like the cool businessman I was acquainted with.
    But Jacob and Allegra had a complicated past. Jacob’s father, Carlton Whitmore, was a popular actor in the seventies and came to Venice for movie projects. He had fallen for Allegra, the one woman immune to his charms. Despite her best efforts to avoid her attraction to the married, notorious womanizer, she succumbed.
    As if cheating on his wife was not bad enough, Carlton made his son part of the betrayal, bringing him to Venice on his summer vacation. Jacob had fond memories of ‘Aunt Al’, sharing stories of riding his bike through the Italian countryside. Exploring the city with his summer family.
    Allegra grew tired of waiting for Carlton to leave his wife and ended the relationship, devastating Carlton and driving him back to his wife. Instead of taking advantage of his second chance, Carlton was even crueler to his wife and son, blaming them for losing Allegra.
    Jacob could have resented Allegra for the effect her relationship had on his family, but he found her years later and they built a friendship not built on secrets and stolen moments.
    While I didn’t agree with the circumstances that led to her being a part of Jacob’s life, I couldn’t dislike Allegra if I tried. She had a big heart. She didn’t judge me for my quick promotion. She single-handedly pulled me back from the ledge when I was tempted to knock out Rachel Laraby. And she believed in my relationship when I worried I had screwed things up irreparably by lying to Jacob.
    And if she was here now, she’d make walking through the door a little easier , I thought glumly, gripping Jacob’s arm as an older gentleman opened the back door.
    The man before us was barely five feet tall and probably a hundred pounds soaking wet, but he held himself like a gladiator about to make his name in the coliseum. He was dressed modestly in a t-shirt and vest, tufts of gray hair sticking out from his newsboy cap.
    “ Signor Whitmore.” His gravelly voice matched his tough exterior, but his fierce, sun weathered face softened as his lips spread into a grin. “Everything is ready for you.”
    “ Grazie , Giancarlo,” Jacob said, returning the smile. He looked down at me, blue pools caressing my nerves until I stopped shaking. “This is my Leila.”
    My Leila . My cheeks burning with a heat that left no part of me untouched.
    Giancarlo removed his hat, nodding. “ Signorina . Giancarlo Fignorino, at your service.”
    “It’s nice to meet you,” I said softly, still tingling from the way Jacob turned my name into the sweetest thing I had ever heard.
    “Shall we?”
    Jacob held the door for us, and I followed Giancarlo into the restaurant. The smell of baking bread wrapped around me like a warm blanket, and I inhaled, taking off my shades.
    “It smells delicious,” I said, mouth