My fingers wander down, the tips grazing over the swell of her breasts just as my phone rings.
I want to ignore it. I’m going to ignore it.
But then Gemma gasps, and I follow her gaze to the phone screen. It’s her dad. Shit.
The ringing feels suddenly deafening, and I stab the green accept button.
“Lorenzo.” My voice is sharp, my tongue like a whip as I enunciate each syllable.
“Matteo, I hear you’re back in the city.” He sounds almost chipper.
“Yes.” Irritation crawls at my insides as a result of him knowing about our whereabouts.
“Great, great.” He pauses. “Listen, I need Gemma back.”
“No.” The word shoots out of my mouth like a bullet.
Gemma’s sharp inhale has my gaze snapping to her wide eyes.
I’m not sure what Lorenzo was expecting, but it seems like it was a different response than the one I gave him, since it’s easy to hear his quiet curses through the line.
After several more seconds, he chuckles awkwardly and says, “Oh no, I think you misunderstood.”
I once overheard a conversation where a group of men spoke highly of Lorenzo Fiore, but I find him utterly lacking. He might bring in good money from the underground gambling, but he’s a complete asshole, only caring about his bank account and nothing else. That’s the only reason he wants his daughter back, but I won’t let him have her.
I raise a brow. “Did I?”
“Si, si. I remember our agreement of Gemma staying with you until Alessandra is back, but something came up with the family business, so I need to talk to her . . . in person.”
“We can meet at one of my family’s establishments. I’ll let you know the details.”
I’m about to hang up when he says, “Please tell her to dress for the occasion, it’s going to be a surprise for her.”
Gemma hears his words and immediately turns away from me, shielding her face in the process.
Without another word, I push the end call button and grab Gemma’s wrist. “What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing.”
I pull on her arm, spinning her around.
Her hand flies to her towel, clutching it at the front to keep it together.
I have the urge to rip it off her, to bare her to me in more ways than one, but I don’t.
Right now, I just want her to open up to me, to tell me what made her want to flee from me. Especially after she shocked the hell out of me with her reaction regarding the photos. The only thing that happened between then and now is the phone call with her father.
“What did he say that got you so upset?”
All emotion, all life is gone from her eyes as she utters her next words. “The last time he said he had a surprise for me, he told me I’d marry Luigi, and we both know how that ended.”
Chapter15
Gemma
Itoss and turn all night. The prospect of my father marrying me off again has driven my anxiety through the roof, and my mind is incapable of calming down enough to sleep. But Matteo doesn’t complain. He actually doesn’t utter a single word.
Instead, he wordlessly pulls me against his body and holds me so tightly, I almost can’t breathe. Somehow, it does the trick, and I finally fall into a deep slumber until the sun is high, and the bright daylight shines through the bedroom window.