Gossip Girl Meets The Sopranos in this fast-paced drama about a teenage mafia heiress who would do anything to avenge her family, even join forces with the handsome enemy.
Inside the tony suburb of Scarsdale is New York’s worst-kept secret: The mob runs everything, and the Nicastro family is at the center. Seventeen-year-old Tasha Nicastro lives a life of glitz and glamour, but she has no idea her family harbors a dark truth.
Tasha might look like your classic high school mean girl, but behind the designer clothes is a sharpshooter who knows how to bring anyone to their knees. The only person who has ever gotten under her skin is her former best friend, Leo Danesi, the youngest son of the Nicastro family’s rivals. After Leo returns to New York older and more handsome, Tasha thinks he’ll be the worst of her problems—until the life she thought she knew takes a violent, shocking turn. When her father and beloved older sister are murdered before her eyes, Tasha learns the dark truth: Her family runs the most powerful Mafia branch in New York, and now she’s set to inherit it all.
Tasha vows vengeance on the mysterious new mob behind the hit, but she can’t do it alone. She needs someone who already knows the underground world to help track them down. And that person is none other than Leo, the heir to his own family’s dangerous empire.
But Tasha is a Nicastro. She’s been raised in the company of killers, and there’s absolutely nothing she won’t do to avenge her family. That is, if the enemy doesn’t put her in gold chains first.
Perfect for fans of:
Mafia Romances Second Chance Romance Rivals-to-Lovers Thrillers Mysteries
Release date:
March 18, 2025
Publisher:
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Print pages:
384
* BingeBooks earns revenue from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate as well as from other retail partners.
THE LIGHTS FROM THE CHANDELIERS GLIMMERED ABOVE MY party guests, illuminating every whispered secret and haute couture gown. Plopping one more caviar-spread cracker into my mouth, I turned to survey the glamor. Every student at Scarsdale Country Day milled around my home. Elaborate satin and chiffon dresses in intoxicating colors grazed the polished floors while their tux counterparts were smoothed to perfection.
I’d made it clear in the invites that anyone dressed less than perfect wouldn’t be allowed in. From all the beauty surrounding me, it was clear my influence hadn’t faltered over the summer. Thank God for that. It was always a hassle to remind my peers who was in charge around here when their minds were so mutable, ready to change their opinions and support with the shift of the tide. But with everyone already following my lead, tonight’s fourth and final Return to Scarsdale Soirée was destined to go well.
It had to. Or else.
The serpent-green satin of my custom Vivienne Westwood gown moved with the shape of my legs as I headed into the thick of the party, the crowd parting to let me through. Anyone worthy enough to get an invite to a Nicastro event knew better than to stand in our way.
“Look at them, lapping it all up,” I said, sliding next to my older sister, Amelia. She stood alone by the grand piano, as the pianist played Primavera by Ludovico Einaudi. “And you said the extra food stations and aerial performers would be too much.”
As per tradition, the first half of the party was when everyone floated around the room indulging in the caviar or oyster stations and taking pictures by the custom floral installations. The second half was when the DJ arrived and phones were locked away so the next round of fun could begin.
Amelia sipped her champagne, each bubble like a perfect diamond to enjoy. Her warm caramel-brown curls fell down her shoulders, accentuating the lavender purple in her Chloé dress and soft beige skin. We both inherited most of our looks from our father, but only I got his midnight-black hair and “excitable temperament” as our mother used to put it before she packed only a carry-on to Milan and never returned.
Please. I wore my bitch badge with pride. There was nothing excitable about it.
“I never doubted you’d make this a showstopper of a party,” Amelia replied. “I’m only surprised Dad let you blow the budget more than last year.”
I shrugged, grabbing a glass of the Dom Perignon being passed around.
“He knows how necessary my soirée is for the school year.”
My sister delicately laughed. “Please, Tasha. It’s because he’d do anything for you.”
I smiled in return and found my gaze wandering out of our oversize living room to the closed office door down the hall. Our father wasn’t in his personal office right now—he made a point of going down to our Upper East Side penthouse tonight—but his presence still hovered throughout the wings of our home and really, anywhere else he went. We might rule over this town and all of Westchester as a family, but it was my father who wore the crown. The adoration and respect I got from my Scarsdale Country Day classmates was child’s play compared to the level he received from every person he met.
I nudged her in the side. “You make it sound like I’m the only one.”
Amelia sighed, then opened her mouth again to say something else when the doorbell chimed through the rooms. Her attention caught on the sound immediately, because only one person in our circle rang the bell.
“What’s Julian doing here?” I couldn’t help but scrunch my face up.
Amelia turned to me, her hazel eyes apologetic. She grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze, and I relished in the softness of it… save for the hard, ugly band nestled on her ring finger. “He’s taking me to Midtown for dinner.”
“But what about my soirée?” I asked, gesturing around. “You never miss it.”
“I’m sorry, Tasha.” My sister let go of my hand. “You always make sure I have a good time, but I’m twenty-three and engaged now. This isn’t a party I can enjoy anymore.”
I followed Amelia to the front doors, a knife twisting deeper in my stomach when her face beamed bright as she revealed her fiancé. It was bad enough Julian stole our father’s attention every time he could. He had to rip Amelia away, too.
Julian’s sharp cheekbones and flimsy arms pulled Amelia in for a kiss. “There you are, my darling,” he said. He presented a small box in a mint-green tint with the name of a French patisserie embossed on it. “I brought you an opera cake. But only the one—wouldn’t want that beautiful dress to tighten.”
Amelia smirked as she took the gift while it took all my willpower not to shove him and his Armani suit back down the stairs he’d walked up.
How she found him charming I would never know. The Henderson family owned a global hotel chain, but all the top positions to run a major enterprise like that were taken by his siblings when it became clear Julian would rather trash their Presidential Suites and get caught in one scandalous situation after another than take their family empire seriously. So his little head decided the next best plan was to get cozy with my sister and kiss my father’s ass to try to take over our empire. The worst part was our father adored him for it.
I glanced at the box and then to him. He didn’t deserve the suit. He didn’t deserve a lot of things in this house. “If you’re so concerned about her dress, why don’t you do us all a favor and stuff the cake into that wide, gaping mouth of yours instead?”
My sister threw me a glare and I inwardly rolled my eyes. She hated when I dug a wedge between my future brother-in-law and me. But I didn’t care what he thought of me. The chance that I would ever like him was as possible as drinking beer out of a dirty funnel.
As in, never happening.
“We’ll be going now,” Amelia said pointedly, grabbing Julian’s hand and stepping out into the cooling night air.
As usual, our house manager, Charles, appeared like a puff of smoke, holding Amelia’s favorite light jacket out to her.
“If it gets cold, Miss Nicastro,” he said.
Amelia took her coat, smiling at Charles, before bringing her attention back to me. “Be good. And don’t embarrass the poor freshmen too much this year.”
Right. With my sister making an abrupt exit, I’d gotten off track.
“Won’t make any promises,” I replied, but Amelia had already turned away.
“Tasha!”
From the crowd, my life preserver emerged in Dior and Versace. I exchanged grins with Val, success already glinting in her eyes. If I could rely on anyone to keep me focused, it was my best friend.
“I’ve picked our contestants out.” Val frowned. “What happened to Amelia?”
I waved her question off, moving back to the thick of the party. “Julian happened.”
Val flicked her cat-lined eyes over to the dance floor, each movement she made showing new shades in her ombre gown. We’d gone to the same private schools since kindergarten, growing closer with each grade we graduated to. It was easy to stay close when her father, Richard Costa, worked as the chief legal officer of Nicastro Developments.
“Her loss.” She handed me a small stack of flash cards and a microphone. “Now it’s showtime. Remember, I expect only the best performance from you.”
I chuckled, pulling a few of my short locks behind my ear and shaking my bangs from my eyes. Maybe it was excitement—and nerves—making me laugh. I was about to put myself on display to the hundreds of students in attendance for the final time.
I winked at her. “Enjoy the show.”
With a flick of my wrist, I silenced the pianist and moved toward the dance floor, ready to take this song to its crescendo.
“It’s that time, everyone!” I exclaimed, thrusting my hand in the air as I strutted onto the black-and-gold dance floor. A grin spread wide across my face when the crowd cheered and whooped. “I’m happy to see so many of you are as excited as I am. As you should all know, and if you don’t, you’ll soon find out, each year during my Return to Scarsdale Soirée, a cluster of freshmen are plucked from the crowd and called upon to answer some crucial questions before they can be properly welcomed into our school. And if they don’t answer correctly?” I cocked a brow, a thrill running through my veins when the crowd shouted out the answer. “Exactly. One item off. Without further ado, these are the freshmen I want on the dance floor with me.”
I listed off the names of thirteen students Val had randomly chosen and caught sight of them immediately from the way their shoulders went as rigid as an overstuffed sales rack.
“Hurry, hurry,” I cooed into the microphone. Finally, the thirteen of them made their way toward me. “The questions are easy, I promise.”
Not, but they’d figure that out soon enough.
“Now,” I continued, “any question you answer correctly means all of you are in the clear. Any wrong answers mean you discard something you’re wearing into this basket over here. Are we clear?” When the crowd cheered in response, I exclaimed, “Then let’s get started!”
I strutted around the room, letting everyone get a good look at the work I’d put into my legs over the summer, and grinned wickedly at the first three questions on the card. There was no way these freshmen would have a clue what the answers were.
“Our first question of the night”—I spun around to face the chosen freshmen like a lioness spotting her next meal—“has to do with my older sister, Amelia. In her junior year at Scarsdale Country Day, what designer did she wear to homecom—”
Boom. Boom. Boom.
I paused as every head in the room turned toward the front doors. Anyone who was fashionably late already arrived over an hour ago. So who the hell was banging on my door?
Charles materialized right away and opened the door to inspect the guest. Before he could greet them, the person shoved the door fully open and stormed in.
Oh, for the love of—
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, curling my lip up.
Scarlett Green flipped her blond blowout over her tanned shoulder and sneered at me as her friends pushed in after her. “To enjoy the party, obviously. And look, we’re just in time for your little Scarsdale hazing ceremony to make you feel relevant. Perfect.”
Flames licked at the insides of my chest, ready to unleash all over her baby face. Everyone from Scarsdale Country Day was invited to my soirée, except for Scarlett and her group of cancerous cells she called friends. That tradition started after they torched the kitchen trying to make flaming cocktails during my first party. Scarlett spent the rest of freshman year trying to humiliate me for kicking her out.
“Oooh, so mean. How will I ever survive such a burn,” I replied. “Does it hurt your feelings that you weren’t invited again?”
At one time, we had actually been friends. But the memories felt like a fabrication, something I’d dreamt up that my mind tricked me into thinking were real.
Scarlett let out a sharp laugh. “Not at all. I would never be caught dead at this party and your pathetic attempt to be liked. But a certain someone came home from boarding school for his senior year, and I thought, What a perfect opportunity for a reunion with everyone already here.”
My stomach dropped as I lowered the microphone. I didn’t ask who she was referring to, because there was only one person she could bring here that would rattle me.
I was desperate to be wrong.
But then he stepped through the door.
“How’s everyone doing tonight?” He hollered, throwing his arms high and wide and showing off the large bottle of champagne he held at the neck. “The one and only Leonardo Danesi is back, baby!”
Leo’s cocky grin spread wide when the room roared with excitement.
Even after four years away, he could still get everyone who knew him to think he was some god descended from the heavens.
“Get out.” Venom laced itself in every word. When he didn’t notice—or listen to—me, I screamed, “Get out of my house!”
Leo’s honey-brown eyes cut to me. The intensity in them could make another girl weak in the knees, but I stood my ground.
I hadn’t seen him since I was thirteen years old. Since that day we stood in my old riding stable and he tore my heart in two.
Almost every piece of his boyish self then was peeled away and the body of a near man had been stitched over him. His dark roots were now sun-kissed from his time in California, swept back in the messy style of a guy who barely put in any effort, yet somehow looked good anyway. The first three buttons on his black dress shirt were undone, showing off bits of his smooth skin while he stretched his neck. The only thing I still recognized was the faint dimple on his chin. Everything else about him was different. New.
And I still hated every bit of it.
“Hello to you, too, Nicastro,” he said.
“I know you heard what I said.” I stayed locked in place, shoulders rigid and ready to fight. “Get out of my house and out of Scarsdale before I have security throw you out. And it won’t be pretty.” Tilting my head to the side, I purred, “Though it would be fun to see.”
Leo barely hesitated before he moved closer. Enough to smell his rich, peppery cologne as he stared down at me. He held the champagne out. “But I brought you a special gift. Scarlett told me how much you like to drink now.”
I glared at Scarlett. “Did she?”
A glint danced in his horrible eyes. “I’d hate to start off senior year in the great Natasha Nicastro’s bad books.”
Others might have believed his act of sincerity. Maybe I would’ve, too, if it weren’t for the smirk stretched wide across his face.
This champagne wasn’t an olive branch. It was a test to see how easily I could fall for his lies.
If I gave in now, I’d be throwing a grenade at my carefully formed reputation. All anyone would see at school and beyond was a Nicastro bending at the first pretty word out of a Danesi’s mouth despite the hatred our families had shot at one another since his father’s death.
No. I wouldn’t accept Leo’s fake peace offering.
But I could twist it in my favor.
I clicked my heels along the dance floor, leaving no distance between us. It was the only sound now that the party had gone silent. “May I?”
Leo studied me. After a few tense seconds, he complied and handed the champagne over.
The bottle was dense, weighed down by the amber liquid encased in thick glass with a gold seal wrapped around the neck. The size of it could easily fill half the empty glasses in this room. “It’s lovely. How much?”
Leo flexed his arms as he propped them behind his head. “Just shy of six grand.”
I nodded.
Then hurled it to the floor.
Champagne and glass splattered across the black-and-gold tiles and onto my shoes. A rupture of gasps rippled through the crowd, but I kept my composure and gaze leveled on Leo.
“Oops.”
Leo stayed completely still. No heat in his face, no spluttering or angry words thrown at me. I wanted him to lash out. To make a scene. That was easier to navigate than a masked face whose moves I couldn’t predict. If this was the way he’d always react when I tried to put him in his place, I had no idea what to expect for the rest of the school year.
“That’s what I get for coming all this way?” he finally replied. “And here I thought we might finally get along again.”
I picked up the top of the broken bottle, wanting nothing more than to plunge it into his chest. How dare he say that after what he said to me, what he did. “You and I both know that’ll never happen, Danesi.”
Saying his family’s name coated my tongue with a vile taste, but the gaze of hundreds of eyes rippled like electricity down my skin. I had them all. Now they waited for the final act.
Grabbing Leo’s hand, I slapped the bottle neck into his open palm. “Now for the last time, take your discount friends and get out of here.”
Leo stared me down for a long, breathless moment. I hadn’t held his attention like this for years. I put up a fortress of steel walls after our last encounter, promising to keep him out for good. But the longer he looked at me now, the harder those walls shook, wanting to bring me right back to that naïve thirteen-year-old girl I used to be.
Finally, he closed his fingers around the glass, his gaze never leaving mine. “Fine, Nicastro. You win.”
I smiled, pride draping over me like a warm mink coat. Of course I won. It was what I did best.
Turning away, Leo gestured for his friends to follow him back to the foyer. Scarlett’s scowl sent an adrenaline rush through me that was sweeter than any gold-coated treat. If she hated this, it could only have gone perfectly.
The household staff stepped in armed with mops and brooms to quickly clean up the mess. I moved out of the way and onto dry ground, catching Val’s approving eye.
“You really do shine when all eyes are on you,” she said. “Especially when you’re humiliating Leo.”
I fluffed my dress. “It’s a natural instinct.”
Scarlett and the others hurried out, but Leo paused at the doors and glanced back at me. Our eyes locked through the crowd and held on to each other.
“Miss?” A server appeared, offering a fresh glass of bubbling champagne.
I accepted and raised it to Leo. A smile played on my lips as he scowled, but it vanished once he slipped out into the night.
Four years away. Four years of silence. Of hatred. And he waltzes back in here, into my life, as if nothing happened.
I wanted to be disgusted by it, but really, I was at the edge of a skyscraper, wondering if I was one push away from ruin.
MY BONES STILL HUMMED WITH THE SUCCESS OF MY PARTY two days later. I’d put on a fantastic soirée, positioning myself as Scarsdale Country Day’s queen for the last, and most important, year of my high school life. All while stomping a much-desired foot into Leo’s cocky scheme. Nothing was coming between me and my power over this school.
I packed up my things when the last bell rang and texted Val, telling her to meet me in the Donor Lounge.
Students quickly moved out of the way like weeds bowing to the wind as I walked by with my chin held high. No one had the nerve to look me in the eye—just the way I liked it. All day, I’d heard whispers of gossip about what happened at my soirée. Thankfully, the conversations were in my favor. Leo Danesi thought he could humiliate me in front of our whole school, and I’d gladly served him up a large platter of it instead.
The freshly buffed DONOR LOUNGE sign came into view a few minutes later. It was reserved for students with families who supported the school aside from tuition fees, the Donor Students as we were called. The room was designed so we had a view of the courtyard and weren’t too far from any of our classrooms. We had our own bathrooms, constant refreshments, plush couches…
And the best part of it? The mark of exclusivity.
Although everyone paid hefty fees to get into the school, Scarsdale Country Day needed far more money to keep it well maintained. The main building was built like a miniature castle nearly a century ago with three expansive levels and sprawling east and west wings. Every floor and room had been renovated to fit modern needs with only the best materials and staff to keep it running. Students had access to every type of sport imaginable, and they were all available on the school’s property. With tennis, lacrosse, and polo being our specialties.
At the farthest edge of campus was the Scarsdale Polo Club—one of the nicest in New York—and definitely the nicest for a private school. The twenty-stall stable sat like an elegant swan watching over the field where the team practiced and held games. It was one of the most difficult clubs in school to join.
Obviously, that was the one I was part of.
I scanned my key card against the Donor Lounge’s door and opened it when the light turned green.
Five students relaxed on the dark emerald couches. Three girls, two guys. One of them sat with his back to me while two of the girls stretched their exposed legs across his lap. Non-donor students weren’t allowed in the lounge. But naturally the lure to bring some in anyway and piss off the other Donor Students was too strong of an urge for some.
I crossed my arms. “Danesi.”
Resting his toned arm on the back of the couch, Leo craned his neck around. His hooded eyes did a bored sweep of me. “Yes?”
I cocked a brow at the girls lounging with him. One of them, of course, was Scarlett. When the feud between my family and Leo’s started, the Greens quickly became the Danesis’ lapdogs, desperate to raise Evergreen Pharmaceutical’s stock price by establishing stores in all the real estate the Danesis owned when my father refused to partner with them.
The second guy among their group was a donor, Jonathan Bakker, but the two extra girls were not. “I see you’re already back to breaking the rules,” I said to Leo.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” A grin stretched across Leo’s lips as he turned to his friends. I could’ve slapped it off his face.
“This is our space, too.” Scarlett leaned against the couch, rubbing her smooth leg against Leo’s thighs. “We can do anything—and invite anyone—we want. You don’t have any power in here.”
My mouth itched to snap a few choice names I had for both of them, but I thought of what my father had engrained in me. A Nicastro didn’t show all their cards, even if those cards held enough power to throw someone to their knees.
Leo looked back at me again. “If you’re done now, we’d like to get back to relaxing in peace and not listening to your dull bitching.”
My brows shot up my forehead. Oh, that was it. I’d remember my father’s words starting tomorrow.
“Look, you little shit,” I hissed, stepping closer.
I was ready to tear his throat out and eat it raw when the door clicked open and a familiar voice spoke.
“What’s going on?”
I turned, my breath hitching, as I looked up at a boy with gel-smoothed hair, silky olive skin, and full lips on a face I knew far too well. It was a face I’d kissed and dumped not two weeks ago on the final day of his family’s trip to St. Barts.
Ravi Ferreira. My ex-boyfriend.
He swept one look over the scene, his quiet, dominating energy expanding through the room, before he looked down at me. “Are they bothering you, Tasha?”
“Who the fuck cares if we are?” Jonathan replied like a fool.
Nerves rattled in my windpipe. I couldn’t keep my gaze on Ravi’s and instead stared at a photograph hanging on the wall. I’d broken his heart, yet here he was protecting me like nothing had changed between us. And here I was getting the same fluttering anxiety in my chest when he was around, quelling the fire roaring inside.
“It’s not anything you need to worry about.”
“Yeah, listen to her, Ferreira,” Jonathan said. “She’s not your bitch to take care of anymore.”
The girls gasped on my behalf. That comment was welcoming a world of pain from my fist, but I stayed quiet with Ravi here. In the three years we dated, he was the one who jumped to my defense before I could say anything. It was an easy habit to fall into—apparently even after we broke up.
Ravi stalked over to Jonathan; his glare strong enough to melt skin. “Speak to her like that again, Bakker,” he growled, “and this will be your last day at this school.”
Jonathan had the decency to show a hint of concern. As he should. The Ferreiras weren’t just another wealthy family. They were tech billionaires who held more power in the influential people they knew than they did in cash. No one was immune from their wrath, especially not a loudmouth like Jonathan.
“Whoa, man, no need to get so harsh,” Jonathan replied, raising his hands in front of him. “It was a stupid joke. No one here thinks it’s true.”
We all knew he was full of it, but Ravi let him get away with his insult. This time.
He pulled back, cutting his dark gaze to the last person I wanted him to notice.
“You look familiar,” Ravi said to Leo. “Have we met before?”
Leo rubbed his chin, keeping his expression wiped free of emotion. “Nah, man. Can’t say I’ve ever seen your face.”
“Come on, Leo, you’ve heard of Ravi Ferreira,” Scarlett replied, swatting him playfully on the arm. “His family owns Aurora Technology.”
He held his focus on Ravi, still with that blank look on his face. “Oh yeah. I think I’ve heard of you.”
“What an honor,” Ravi replied dryly. He moved back to stand beside me, and his hand brushed briefly against mine. I knew it was deliberate. Apparently, so did Leo. His gaze caught the movement and went down to our hands before he looked back up, staring straight at me.
I went warm all over against my will. I didn’t need to explain anything to him. He shoved his way out of my life long ago.
“It’s best if you and your friends find another area to occupy,” Ravi continued.
Leo didn’t look away from me. “Does he always speak for you, Nicastro?”
Of course not, caught on the edge of my lips and hovered there—taunting me. I glared at him, willing myself to answer.
“Only when she needs me to,” Ravi replied.
A ghost of a look passed over Leo’s face. Quick enough that I could’ve missed it. I wished I had. The last thing I needed was for him to show an ounce of judgment.
I crossed my arms, digging my nails into my palms to distract from the anger coursing through my bloodstream.
“So?” Ravi asked. “Are you going to make this more difficult for yourself or not?”
Silence passed. The stereo played. The mini fridge hummed. Muffled chatter swelled from other students in the hall. I held my breath through it all. I never would’ve expected Leo Danesi to have a power standoff with my ex-boyfriend. Guess God could have a bad sense of humor, too.
Finally though, Leo slowly rose from the couch, prompting his friends to follow suit.
“Fine, Ferreira,” he said. “You win. Enjoy your alone time with Nicastro.”
I held myself together, raising my chin at him instead. “Welcome back, Danesi.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as he brushed past me before he disappeared out into the hall.
Once they were all gone, I cleared my throat and faced Ravi. “Thanks for your help, but I could’ve handled it myself.”
“You know I can’t stand by when you need protecting.” His eyes, the color of summer’s green grass, softened. “No matter where we stand.”
My jaw clenched. “When did you get back from Brasília?”
“Late last night,” he replied. “My mother wanted me to stay home a few nights longer after what… happened in St. Barts.”
I nodded, not quite meeting his eye. Three years ago, Ravi had only ever visited New York as a tourist. Now he lived nearby in Bedford Corners. The Ferreiras bought an estate there so his oldest sister could work for a distinguished New York law firm known for their pro bono work for vulnerable women and children. Ravi followed her to go to private school in the States, fatefully making us meet on the first day of freshman year.
He’d set his sights on me immediately, and I’d gladly accepted his pursuit. Throughout our relationship, I’d stayed wrapped in his arms. Until things… shifted.
I started feeling fidgety when we were together, a sensation I couldn’t push away. It didn’t help that my father, drinking up our relationship like it were his own, started musing over me marrying Ravi. Like it was an inevitability, a choice already made for me. On the Ferreiras’ recent family trip, Mrs. Ferreira started showing me photos of engagement rings. That was it. I broke things off, needing to think, to breathe, and it was the only way I would get it. Even if it meant hurting Ravi in the process.
I had no interest in making small talk with him, but he made no move to leave, and from the look on his face, he had a reason to stay. I glanced at the closed door, willing my best friend to materialize. What was taking Val so damn long?
“Can we talk?” Ravi asked.
And there it was.
I stepped back from him, shaking my head weakly. “Ravi, I still need more time.”
“Ignore what our families think,” he replied, closing the distance between us and grasping my hands before I had a chance to hide them. “We don’t need to take the next step in our relationship right away. All I want to do is make you happy, and it’s killing me that you think being apart is the way you can get that.”
“It’s not the only way I can be happy,” I said. “But it’s what I need right now as I figure things out.”
Ravi pressed his lips into a thin line, looking ready to continue this argument, but I was saved when the lounge door opened with a flourish and Val finally strutted into the room.
She halted when she saw us. Her long highlighted brown hair hung over her shoulders and a soft blush accentuated her high cheekbones, complimenting the natural tan she got from summering in Santorini. “Hello?”
“Val!” I exclaimed, pulling my hands free of Ravi’s. “There you are.” I hurried over and linked arms with her before turning to Ravi. “We need to get going. But I’ll see you later, okay?”
Ravi rubbed his mouth, giving a solemn nod. “I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk.”
My ears immediately burned, but I forced a smile to keep
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...