Diego’s POV
The courtyard stones were still radiating the day’s heat beneath my boots when I saw him.
Sage.
He was standing there as if he’d been waiting for me, posture crisp, expression calm in that way men wore when they’d already made up their minds to dislike you.
I didn’t alter my pace. If anything, I slowed. A deliberate choice — to let him make the first move, to let the air between us stretch taut. I’d learned long ago that silence could be its own weapon.
When I stopped a few feet from him, he spoke.
“I imagine you know why I’m here.”
I almost smiled. “I could guess.”
“I’ll save you the trouble,” he said evenly. “Stay away from Ava.”
It was almost laughable — the way he said it was like an order. But my amusement was genuine, curling in my chest. “I see you believe you c
