Chapter 7 - THE STORM OVER LAKE COMO
By midnight, a full-scale blizzard was raging outside the villa. White powder slammed against the tall glass windows, burying the gardens and cutting off the roads leading down to the town.
Inside the master suite of the east wing, a massive log fire roared in the hearth.
Clara sat on the edge of the large velvet sofa, wrapped in a plush silk robe Matteo had given her. Matteo sat beside her, pouring two glasses of amber amaretto. Bruno was stretched out across the rug between them, his chin resting peacefully on Clara’s feet.
“Valenti will not accept this defeat easily,” Clara said quietly, looking into the flames. “Won't he come back?”
Matteo handed her a glass, his fingers brushing against hers, sending a wave of electric heat through her skin. “Valenti’s empire is already crumbling, Clara. By tomorrow morning, my men in Milan will have seized his financial assets. He no longer has the power to threaten anyone.”
He leaned closer, resting his elbow on the back of the sofa, staring at her profile. “The only threat remaining was the fear you carried in your own heart.”
Clara looked down at her glass. “Grant used to tell me I was useless so many times that I actually believed him. When I dropped that coffee tray my first week here... I thought my life was over.”
Matteo reached out, taking her hand and lacing his long, calloused fingers through hers. “Grant was a fool who couldn't recognize a diamond if it cut him. Look at what you’ve done since you arrived here. You tamed a dog three groomers couldn't touch. You saw through a conspiracy two dozen trained guards missed. You saved my life.”
He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her bruised knuckles softly.
“You are the strongest woman I have ever met, Clara.”
Tears gathered in Clara’s eyes, but this time they were not tears of fear or shame. They were tears of liberation. The invisible chains Grant had locked around her mind finally shattered into dust.
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“Matteo...” she breathed, leaning toward him.
He didn't wait for her to finish. Matteo pulled her into his lap, his hands framing her face as he kissed her deeply, passionately, pulling her into the warmth of his embrace while the storm raged harmlessly outside.
