Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

upper arm with more force than intended. She winced, looking up at me in a
wounded way that had nothing to do with my hard grip. I released her at once
then walked past her toward the bed. For a moment, I watched my son’s tearstained
face. He was only two, three in a month, an age when tears were still
okay. Soon, they wouldn’t be anymore.
I bent down and carefully picked him up, trying not to wake him. Whenever
I did, he’d squirm away and start crying again. He didn’t wake, however. His
tiny head leaned against my chest as I cradled him against my body, the blanket
swaddling him.
Giulia followed me without a word as I walked out of the bedroom and
carried Daniele back to his own room. I put him down on his bed, covered him,
then stroked his hair lightly. Feeling Giulia watching me from the doorway, I
straightened and headed to her. She stepped back so I could close the door.
Giulia scanned my face, her expression filled with compassion. “Does he
always come to your bedroom at night?”
“It’s not mine,” I pressed out. “It’s Gaia’s. I sleep in the master bedroom.”
“Oh.” Confusion showed on Giulia’s face. “You didn’t share a bedroom with
your late wife?”
I gritted my teeth, trying to stifle my anger and worse, that heavy feeling of
sadness. “No.” I headed to Simona’s room. Giulia hurried after me. She couldn’t
let it drop. She was too curious. “Because you don’t want to share a bedroom?”
I glared. “No. Because Gaia didn’t want to share a bed with me. Now stop
the questions.” My voice was harsh, threatening—a tone meant for soldiers that
displeased me, definitely not for my wife.
I turned away from Giulia’s hurt expression. My grip on the handle was
crushing as I shoved open the door. Not waiting for Giulia, I crossed the room
and headed toward the crib. Simona slept soundly. Some of the darkness in my
chest lifted, never all of it though. I couldn’t even remember a time when my
thoughts hadn’t been dominated by darkness. I stroked my daughter’s chubby
cheek with my thumb then leaned down and kissed her forehead. I was on the
way out when Giulia spoke up.
“What about the baby monitor?”
I froze. She was right. Tonight was the first time Sybil or one of the maids
wasn’t staying overnight. They had always taken the monitor during the night.
Simona’s cries had still woken me, and she’d only settled down when I’d
consoled her. Returning to the crib, I grabbed the monitor from the sideboard.
When I stepped back into the corridor and closed the door, I said, “How did you
know?”
Giulia shrugged. “I read about baby monitors, and when I saw it sitting there,
I thought we needed it.” She bit her lip. “Have you never taken it with you
before?”
I stared down at the small device. “No. Gaia or Sybil kept it at night...” I
trailed off then held the monitor out to Giulia. She took it with a small frown.
“It should pick up the smallest sound, but unless Simona starts crying, you