“Why are you pushing me away?” He stood and ran a hand through his hair. “Is this because of what I told you at the cemetery?”
“No.” I stood on shaky legs and held on to the side of the chair. “That is a whole other can of dark that I need to process. I just need to go home, regroup, and get my head on straight. Between the article, Mariano, and feelings I have spent a decade trying to bury, I think I just need a few days to breathe.”
“I can’t lose you again, Sienna. I won’t.”
“Elio…” I stopped when I saw his eyes narrow in on something.
“What the hell is that?” He lifted the heart-shaped pendant off my chest and studied it, his face unreadable.
Dammit.
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing isn’t heart-shaped jewelry.”
“I think he just wanted me to wear it when I met…” I trailed off and bit down on my lip, upset I almost misspoke.
“Met who?”
“It’s nothing, Elio. Let it go.”
“It’s ugly.”
“Yes, well.” I reached for my dishes and started to walk into the kitchen. “It’s not me, but then, I didn’t buy it.”
“But you are wearing it?” He was right on my heels.
“Yes.” I rolled my eyes at Dante, who glanced my way when I reached for the dish soap.
“Why?”
“It was a gift, and I felt bad saying no.”
“Why a necklace?”
Drying my hands, I turned around and reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and handed it to him. “He’s your best friend. Why don’t you ask him?”
“You drive me crazy,” he gritted through his teeth.
“Pot, kettle, black.” I spoke each word carefully to be sure he got my point that this was how we used to be. We would banter, we would fight, and we would make mad, passionate love afterward. Whose fault was it that we no longer had that?
I quickly turned around and went back to cleaning my dishes.
“Dante,” Elio said quietly, and seconds later the room was quiet, and I knew we were alone. He came up behind me, pressing his strong chest into my back and locking his arms on either side of me. The smell of him made my knees wobble and my stomach roll up into a tight coil.
“Of all things he could have gotten you,” he whispered against the back of my neck, raising goosebumps to the surface. “Of all things to remove.” His hands on the counter flexed into fists. “He chose that.”
“Elio—”
“Where is it now?”
Damn. I closed my eyes, remembering where it was and how I was in such a hurry to leave that I forgot it.
“At his place.”
I barely felt him push away, and when I turned around, I found the kitchen empty.
Needing some time alone, I finished cleaning up and headed for the guest room to be sure I had privacy.