Page 64 of Lost Prince

I move toward her to shake her hand. She takes it, but I can still see her apprehension, so I step away, deliberately giving her space. The last thing I want is to intimidate her further.

Guilt gnaws at me. Is my reputation truly so terrifying that this woman I've never met before is scared to be alone in a roomwith me? Or is it something else? The pressure of this arranged marriage, perhaps?

“Are you afraid of me?” My anger at Elio and Lana fades, replaced by a deep sense of unease. How can I even consider marrying this woman when my very presence frightens her?

“I don’t know you,” she answers diplomatically. I wonder if she’s been schooled by her father on how to act.

“You know my reputation, though.”

Ava nods.

I study her. “Is this what you want?”

She shrugs. “I want to make my father happy.”

“But what do you want?” If she doesn’t want this and I don’t want this, surely, we can find a way out of it.

“I don’t want to go to New York. Your brother was kind to me. I can see you have a close family. I’d be safe in the D’Amato family.”

I watch Ava as she speaks, my mind churning with conflicting emotions. While she’s afraid of me, she seems to believe Elio will keep her safe. The fact that she fears New York and perhaps her father stirs a protective instinct in me. I want to reassure her, to show her I'm not the monster my reputation paints me as. That she would be safe in the D’Amato family.

But even as that urge rises, guilt twists in my gut. Diana's face flashes in my mind, her warm smile and easy laughter. What am I doing here, entertaining the idea of marrying another woman? It feels like a betrayal, even though I know Diana and I never made any promises to each other.

I force myself to focus on Ava's words, nodding at appropriate intervals. But my thoughts keep drifting. I can't help but compare her demure, anxious demeanor to Diana's vibrant energy. Where Ava shrinks away from me, Diana has always met me head-on, unafraid.

Yet as much as my heart yearns for Diana, I can't ignore the pressure from my family. Elio and Lana's expectations weigh heavily on me. They want this alliance, see it as crucial for our family's future. And isn't that what family does? Look out for each other, make sacrifices for the greater good?

I think of how hard Lana's fought to bring me home, how relieved they all were to have me back. Don't I owe them something in return?

But the thought of giving up Diana, of committing myself to a woman who can barely look me in the eye, feels wrong on every level.

My head throbs as I try to reconcile these warring impulses. Protect Ava. Stay loyal to Diana. Do right by my family. Be true to myself. It's an impossible tangle, and I have no idea how to unravel it.

Lana enters with a tray of tea and cookies. It’s all so very posh, very polite. It doesn’t feel like me.

Lana gives me a wan smile, as if she knows this is excruciatingly uncomfortable. “It’s good to see you, Ava.”

“Thank you. You too, Ms. D’Amato.”

“Please, call me Lana.” She glances at me. “Well, I’ll leave you two to get to know each other.”

I feel abandoned by Lana when she leaves the room. But this isn’t Ava’s fault and so I do my best to be kind and gentle.

It’s an hour and half later when I escort Ava out to a waiting car and send her back to her father. I’m curious what she’ll tell him. Perhaps whatever it is will have him deciding against this marriage.

Back inside, my heart is a jumble of conflicting emotions. What I need is to see Diana. I know she doesn’t like it when I bother her while she’s working, but I need her steadying presence.

As I near the kitchen door, Matteo's voice cuts through my preoccupation. "Lazaro. We’ve gotta run.”

“What the fuck?” He’s like a bad penny, showing up each time I want to see Diana. Is it on purpose? Is this the family’s way of keeping me and Diana apart?

“Elio has lent us out to Rinella for some situation along the dock.”

I glance longingly at the kitchen door, so close yet suddenly out of reach. "Can't it wait? I need to?—”

“No. We have to get going or we’ll piss Rinella off and the whole point is to appease him. Come on.”

As we drive toward the docks, Matteo fills me in on the situation with Rinella, but I find it hard to focus. My head churns with thoughts of Diana and Ava.