Chapter 20

"Tsk, tsk. Your standards have really gone downhill. Open those nearsighted eyes of yours. Soes he even come close to my level of hotness?"

He swaggered right up to Steven, leaning in with a cocky grin as if daring him to compare.

Steven's face twisted with outrage, his glare sharpening. He'd heard of Elio-who hadn't?—but had never met him. The man was infamous: a mystery wrapped in wealth and power. He was raised overseas and forbidden by his father to return until the age of twenty-seven.

No one really knew where Elio came from. He'd taken his mother's surname, Pitts, and his maternal grandfather was the wealthiest man in Elmridge. Only a handful knew anything about his father-a man whose slightest cough could send tremors through the entire city.

Lucie felt her breath catch, her heart thudding. She stared at Elio, disbelief and a thousand memories swirling in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Elio's lips curled in a lazy, flirtatious smile that made no effort to hide the warmth in his gaze. "Came to play hero, of course."

"You were about to get steamrolled. As your ex, I couldn't just sit back and watch the show."

A nervous laugh bubbled out of Lucie, prickling down her spine. He was still the same-wild, unbothered, reckless, always with a sharp tongue and no filter.

"Don't start," she warned softly.

He shot back, "Start what? I'm here to save you."

Steven's jaw clenched. Jealousy and frustration churned in his gut. He could flirt, stray, and do as he pleased. But Lucie? She was supposed to be faithful, loyal, the very image of a devoted wife.

"Lucie, who is this man? What's he to you?"

Elio barely spared Steven a glance, his voice dripping with disdain. "Name's Elio Pitts. Second son of the Pitts family."

"The Pitts family?" Steven's brows knit, his scowl deepening.

"You know another one?" Elio shot back, eyes glinting.

He'd been sizing up Steven for a while, and his hatred ran deep. The man had stolen the woman he loved. That was unforgivable.

Steven straightened, his voice icy. "This is New Amberton. I don't care who you are. On my turf, you listen to me."

His bodyguards surged forward, ready to teach Elio a lesson.

But before they could move, the crowd rippled with panic. Dozens of new bodyguards materialized,

closing ranks And then, with thonet"

weight of authority the Chief Police himself strode onto the

scene.

of

"Mr. Heath, let's keep the peace. Mr. Pitts is a friend of mine. Please do me a

favor and let this go."

Steven swallowed his anger, forced

to back down. He knew Elio's

nè

background ran deep too deep to tangle with lightly taking him on would be a disaster.

The tension broke. The police chief turned to Elio, speaking quietly with the

utmost respect.

One of Elio's men hurried to his side, murmuring urgently in his ear. Elio's playful mask slipped, his gaze

turning cold and sharp. His

grandfather was ill. His mother

needed him back in Elmridge now.

"We're leaving," he said, voice clipped.

A line of luxury cars revved to life at the curb. A sleek black Maybach slid to a stop

beside him. The door swung open, held by a bodyguard.

Just before slipping inside, Elio glanced over his shoulder at Lucie, a wicked, teasing glint in his eye.

"I'm out, sweetheart. I'll be waiting for you once you're single again."