Lorenzo's
The echo of a car door slamming shut jolted through the silence like a gunshot, sharp and sudden. I froze mid-step at the top of the staircase, my heart thudding too loudly in my chest. She was here.
For a moment, I stood still, my breath held captive by nerves I wasn't supposed to feel. Then I moved…. no, I paced… like a man trying to outrun his anticipation. Every second felt stretched, elastic, and cruel.
Then the front door creaked open.
There she was.
Emma.
She stepped inside, hesitant, like the place was unfamiliar territory, though it had once been her home.
Her eyes moved around the grand foyer, I watched her from the shadows of the landing, my fingers curling tightly over the railing.
Then Lucian appeared from the hallway and approached her with a soft smile.
I saw the way her lips curled faintly when she saw him… soft, familiar. Then she leaned in and whispered something to him.
She was asking for me.
