Valentina POV
Renzo didn't say a word until we were three blocks from the Ricci estate.
"You're quiet," I said, watching the streetlights slide across his face in the dark of the car.
"So are you."
"I asked first."
He didn't answer right away. His hands stayed exactly at ten and two on the wheel, his jaw clamped so tight a small, frantic muscle ticked near his ear—a look I hadn't seen before. This wasn't the easy, unguarded man from the trattoria, nor the one who'd traced slow circles on my knuckles at Cracco. This was someone colder. A shadow I didn't fully recognize.
"Renzo."
"I'm fine." His voice came out clipped, stripped of its usual warmth. "It was a difficult night. For both of us."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have right now." He kept his eyes locked on the
