Page 254 of Valentino

He nods but stays standing rooted to the spot, and suddenly it dawns on me, and I realize that he’s unsure how we are going to make this work.

I take his hand in mine. “This…is my apartment.”

He looks around and nods. “It’s nice.” A frown flashes across his face. “Different to your last place.”

“It is.” I walk him through to the bathroom. “Let’s have a shower and get into something dry.”

“Ahh.” He frowns as he looks down at his clothes.

“You can wear my dressing gown.”

“Listen.” He takes my two hands in his. “We need to….”

“Talk?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” I slide his jacket over his shoulders, it slops hard onto the ground. I get to work on the buttons of his shirt.

“Anna.” He brushes my hands away. “Don’t distract me with nakedness.” Grabbing my two shoulders, he guides me to sit down onto the side of the bath. “Sit.”

I twist my lips to hide my smile.

“So….” He shrugs, his eyes hold mine.

“You love me.” I smile.

“Yes.” He nods once. “I do.”

“And I love you.” I beam.

“We still have a big problem.”

“We do?” I frown.

“Same one as before.”

“Oh.” My shoulders slump. “I thought you being here was….”

“No.” He cuts me off. “I can’t leave Ferrara, Anna.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t just leave jobs like this.” He crouches down in front of me, “I wouldn’t be safe. Alone…. It’s not…. A wise decision.”

My eyes hold his.

“I’ve made my bed.” His hands slide up my legs, but not in a sexual way, in a thinking way. “And there are people who would see my exit as a weakness, I know the dealers and I know too much, I would become a target. A lot bigger target than I am already.”

It’s me who lets out a deep sigh this time, now I understand why he was pensive.

We might not even get through one night together before we break up.

“Well….” I shrug as I try to find the right thing to say, but there aren’t any words that can make this better. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Tell me you’ll stay.”

My eyes hold his.