I should have realized who Enzo was, but I’d been too fragile to pay any attention, assuming he was one of Zander’s friends—and he had many—trying to score brownie points.
But a Marchetti.
Jesus.
I might as well have crossed enemy lines because if Zander found out Enzo was helping me—Enzo and his family—he wouldn’t only be pissed; he’d see it as a declaration of war.
“Caitlin?” Arianne frowned. “You’ve gone as white as a ghost.”
“I’m fine.” I forced a smile, swallowing back a fresh wave of tears. “Just a little tired.”
“You’ll be safe with us,” she said, reaching for my hand. “I promise.”
I didn’t have it in me to tell her that it wasn’t me I was worried about. That if they took me back to Verona County and Zander found out, it would be them who needed to worry.
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” I blurted out.
I had nowhere to go. No money, no belongings, nothing. But it wasn’t the first time I’d found myself homeless and penniless.
“What?”
“I don’t want to be a burden,” I said. “I can—”
“But Enzo said you told him you can’t go back. Where will you go if you don’t come with us?”
“I can call a friend, maybe. She can get some of my stuff and I can get—”
“Don’t you have any family you can call?”
“No.” It came out harsher than intended.
“We can protect you, Caitlin.”
“Cait. You can call me Cait.”
She nodded. “If you don’t want to stay with me and Nicco or Enzo, I might have another idea. Nicco’s family owns some cabins, secluded, off the beaten track. You’d have your own space out there, no one would bother you. It would give you a chance to figure things out.”
It sounded too good to be true, but it also sounded safe. And I needed that right now.
“That actually sounds perfect.” I hesitated. “But I don’t understand why you’d do this for me… I’m no one.”
“Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes.” She smiled. “Besides, you’re not no one, Cait. Not to Matteo.”
Oh God, she went there.
She actually went there.
I’d done a good job up until now, pretending that he wasn’t out there, in the hall somewhere. He hadn’t tried to see me again. But now Arianne had mentioned him, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
He’d looked so shocked, so confused, but it quickly turned to anger. I think it was the agony in his expression that had made me tell Enzo to make Matteo leave.
I didn’t want him to see me like this. Not now. Not ever.
“He told you about me?”
“Actually, Enzo filled us in. Matteo is still… trying to process everything.”
“It was one night, a long time ago,” I whispered, barely able to look her in the eye.
“For you maybe, but for him, I’m not so sure. You know, he told Nicco about you once.”
“He did?” My heart fluttered at her words.
Silly, foolish heart.
But I could still remember how nice he’d been to me that night.
Matteo had made a lasting impression—even if I’d known it could never be anything more than one night.
One perfect storm.
“What other options do you have?” Arianne said softly. “You said it yourself, you have no family. You can’t go back to Providence, and—”
“Okay,” I snapped, embarrassed at her accurate assessment of my situation. “Okay.”
“So you’ll come back with us?”
I nodded. “I’ll come. On one condition,” I added.
“I’m listening.”
“I don’t want Matteo anywhere near me.”
I rode with Nicco and Arianne. True to her word, she had kept Matteo away from me—I didn’t see so much as a glance of him as we left the hospital.
It was strange. I felt the bitter sting of disappointment at his absence, even though I’d made my position perfectly clear.
What happened between us was history.
Ancient history as far as I was concerned.
It was one night and then we’d gone our separate ways. If I would’ve known who he was that night, it never would have happened.
So it was a moot point.
He was a Marchetti. And I was… no one.
“How are you holding up?” Arianne asked from upfront of Nicco’s sleek, black Range Rover.
“I’m okay, thanks. A little sore but the pain meds help.”
The doctor had wanted me to stay in the hospital for another night, but I didn’t want that.
I needed to put as much distance between me and Zander as possible, and Arianne was right—they could help me do that.
Shaun had left me with a small amount of cash, since I didn’t have my purse with me. Not that I could use my bank cards anymore. Things like that were traceable.
But it was something.
Pain rippled through me. It wasn’t only physical, it was emotional. Heart wrenching, soul deep agony. The kind that didn’t just disappear with a hot bath and a mug of hot chocolate.
What Zander had done to me…
A shudder tore through me and Arianne glanced back at me.
“Okay?”
I nodded, breathing through my mouth.
I didn’t know these people, not really. Yet, they’d offered me nothing but understanding and compassion. That had to be worth something.
Didn’t it?
“So we’ll take you back to our place and let you get cleaned up, and then tomorrow, Nicco and I will drive you out to the cabin.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay there? I don’t want to intrude.”
“It’s yours for as long as you want it,” Nicco said, his eyes catching mine in the rearview mirror.
Niccolò Marchetti was something else. The way he looked at his wife was the kind of adoration documented in the great love stories throughout history. I couldn’t deny the stab of jealousy I’d felt when she’d introduced me to him and he’d pulled her straight into his arms, as if she belonged there.
I’d spent my entire childhood wanting that—wanting one person to love me and me alone. Of course, those dreams were quickly replaced with enough nightmares to warn me off men forever.
Until him.
I immediately shut down those thoughts. What Matteo and I had shared last summer was one night of spontaneous passion. It was impulsive and a little bit reckless and for the first time in a long time, I had thrown caution to the wind and trusted a guy to take care of me.
He hadn’t disappointed me, at all. But it wasn’t real life, and I was under no illusions that the stranger from Verona County would sweep me off my feet and fight my monsters for me.
“Thanks, I really appreciate it. I just need a few days to make a plan and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Take as much time as you need, Cait. Truly.”
Gosh, Arianne was too nice. It had been almost impossible to tell her no earlier.
“You’re from Providence?” she asked, making small talk.
“I… no.” I touched a hand to my face, prodding the tenderness around my cheekbone. “I was born and raised in Rochester, New York.”