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Fingers tracing his palh him, she frowned He felt as if he had been earthed “I could ask you the saht CEOs had paold bracelets”

A strange, h him

“I’e cars when I find time” He was already stretched superthin as it is and now this—her “Which is very little Now tell me, why do you have calluses?”

“I carve wooden toys in my free time A hobby really Frank—” a stiffness thinned her mouth “—set up an online shop for me The cash always caood word of mouth”

The man’s name on her lips pulled Raphael back to the matter

She blinked owlishly, as if trying to keep hiht More pieces were falling into place

If she was conning all of them, he would see her in jail But Raphael was forced to rethink his ht not be s about Lucia and Gio that no one did, at least, that hat Gio had told him

Also, he was a good judge of character

He’d been forced to be after his father’s suicide He’d had to learn on his feet which creditor could be counted on to wait, which creditor was loyal to his father’s tarnishedhis mother and sisters if Raphael came up short

If she was innocent… He could hardly bear thinking about the hordes of hungry, young, single Milanese ht, it had taken every ounce of the force of his ruthless reputation to beat off the men who had wanted to follow her

Men who’d have stood in his place right now and watchedto her toned, lithe body, seen the artless display of grief and joy that came into her eyes when she spoke of Lucia and Giovanni

“If I have to carve a million toys to pay Giovanni back, I will,” she said with a fierce pride shining in her eyes

He hardened his tone “Even if you’re telling the truth, I can’t just let you walk aithout ood measure

Her soft sigh pinged over his nerves Did she kno arousing that was? Did she even realize that the sight of her big, searching gaze, the way she stared at a s to a ht not want?