I couldn’t get over the fact that Savio had compared me to a little sister. It made me emotional and I really didn’t want to cry. It would only freak him out. “If anything, I’d be the older sister. You’re younger than me.”
“Yeah, but you’ve got the whole little sister vibe going, needing protection, being tiny as fuck and all.”
“Tiny as fuck?” I repeated.
Savio laughed again and pulled the car up in front of a boutique. “Let’s go. I don’t want to spend all day shopping with you. I’m meeting Mick and Diego later.”
“Mick? That doesn’t sound very Italian.”
“Short for Michelangelo. His parents must have been high on something when they chose that name.”
Savio got out of the car and walked around it so he was by my side. With my flats, I only reached his chest, so I understood his tiny comment. As we strolled toward the boutique, I caught a group of three teenage girls checking Savio out. Of course, he noticed and winked at them, causing them to giggle then look at me guiltily.
“Do you know them?”
Savio dragged his eyes back to me and held the door to the shop open. “We went to school together.”
“Wasn’t it strange for you to drop out early?”
He gave me an odd look. “Why? It was a waste of time. I need to help my brothers and protect the Camorra’s interests. Nino’s homeschooled me a lot of the time, and I did graduate. I was advanced in most classes anyway.”
We stepped into the shop and at once the vendor who’d served me the last few times appeared at our side. After a nervous glance at Savio, she smiled at me. “I have a couple of new red pieces I could show you.”
“Actually, I need clothes for someone else.” I paused. “But I’ll try the red pieces as well.”
Savio huffed and headed over to one of the chairs in front of the changing room, sank down and pulled out his phone. The other chair was occupied by a middle-aged man whose wife was likely getting dressed.
“I’ll put these in a changing room for you,” the vendor said as she walked past me with two red pieces. I nodded distractedly as I perused the clothes for something Serafina might like. I didn’t know Serafina but she seemed the type who wasn’t shy about her body. Taking a few shorts and summer dresses as well as shirts from the rack, I asked the vendor to get them for me in the size I suspected Serafina needed. Then I headed into the changing room to try on the other clothes.
The first dress was an instant buy. The second piece, a jumpsuit with tight shorts and a wrap-around top, I wasn’t sure. “Do you think that’s something Nino would like?” I asked.
Savio peered up, eyes raking over me. Then his gaze shifted to the mirror behind me, giving a good view of my butt in the shorts, but he wasn’t focused on that. His usual air of easy-going arrogance slipped off and I realized why. The middle-aged man was checking me out, or rather my ass. Savio turned toward the man.
“How about you stop the leering and keep your eyes on your wife?”
The man quickly tore his eyes away, stood and walked over to the changing room, calling out. “Are you almost done?”
Savio rolled his eyes. “Looks sexy. I’m sure Nino will approve of it in his logical way.”
My lips twitched, and I returned to the cubicle to change back into my clothes.
NINO
The push and pull relationship between Remo and Serafina was reaching unsettling dimensions. In the last few days he’d spent more and more time with the girl and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Kiara tried to extract information from me every chance she got, thinking I knew what my brother had in mind, but for once Remo kept his motives carefully hidden.
I stepped into the kitchen, following the sound of clanking and humming, just as Kiara put a baking tray into the oven. The kitchen smelled of lime and coriander, and something spicier. The sight of Kiara’s ass in tight shorts was even more enticing. Walking up to her, I caught sight of what looked like tacos. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, kissing her neck.
“That looks good. What is it?”
“Enchiladas Verde. I hope they aren’t too spicy.”
I gripped her hips, turned her around and hoisted her on top of the counters, then stepped between her legs.
Before she could utter a protest, I kissed her, my fingers stroking her smooth thighs. In the last few days my own emotions had been erratic, maybe triggered by Remo’s irrationality. Kiara’s closeness always eased the pressure in my chest until I felt a familiar calm.
Savio sauntered in, letting out a scoff. “Okay, just to get this straight. I’m banned from any kind of fucking in the communal space of the mansion, but you’re getting it on in plain daylight on our kitchen counters?”