“Not physically,” I hurried to explain. “He broke things off in a way that would hurt, hoping I wouldn’t ask questions.

“Sof, that doesn’t make it better. I knew he left, but I didn’t realize he’d been a dick about it.”

“He had a good reason, I promise. I just didn’t know that at the time.” It surprised me to hear myself arguing on behalf of Nico. He had hurt me tremendously, but now that I understood why, it was hard not to forgive him. Deep down, I’d always wanted to find a way to forgive what he’d done. I’d loved him too much for too long not to.

“I’m not sure that absolves him in my book, but it’s not my call to make.” He paused momentarily as the waitress dropped off our orders. “So, why is everything a mess if he’s come back and all is forgiven?”

His question brought back all the emotion of my argument with Nico, and my stomach balked at the sight of my food. “I’m not sure how it all happened, but he figured out I had a friend named Michael.” I peered up at him through my lashes as I toyed with the hash browns on my plate. “Not only that, but he happened to see one of my paintings at a bratva office and managed to put it all together. He confronted me about it last night. Four years we’ve been a team, you and I, and not once has anyone in my family suspected a thing. In only a week’s time, Nico tore off my mask and shook loose all my secrets.”

“I take it that’s a problem?” he asked, confused.

I licked my lips, unsure what to say. “Well, he apparently works for my dad now … That was part of why he left.”

His chewing slowed as he nodded. “I suppose a Lucciano man isn’t going to want his woman to associate with the Russians.”

It was my turn to be outraged, my gaze hardening. “It doesn’t matter what he wants. I’ll tell you now the same thing I told him last night. I’m not changing my life for him. Period. If he doesn’t like what I do and who I do it with, that’s his problem.”

Michael smiled, but there was a sadness to it. “I appreciate you taking a stand, but I’ve always known this would be an issue someday. Our run lasted longer than I expected, actually.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Sof, between your feelings for Nico and our diverse … backgrounds, we were as unlikely a pair as Romeo and Juliet—and look what happened to them.” He smirked, unsuccessfully attempting to lighten the mood. This time, his voice softened, real emotion bleeding into his words. “It’s why I never tried to take things further between us. It was obvious your heart could never truly be mine. Plus, we would never be free to have a life together.”

I felt like the ground had opened and I was free-falling into a black hole where nothing made any sense. “You wanted me?” I whispered in shock. “You never said … I never knew.”