I lean back in the cab, breathing deep. I’m proud of the way I didn’t throw myself at Dante, although it was not easy. He’s so damn sexy.
Before I even realize it, the cab stops in front of the restaurant. I hand over some cash. Out of the cab I find Lydia waiting for me. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
“A few minutes, no big deal. It’s lovely outside, I didn’t want to wait inside. Today would have been nice to take Ella to the park. Decker is hinting at how nice the ’burbs are and how much Ella loves playing in the pool. I love him, but I’m not ready for the ’burbs yet or how close we would be to his dad.”
We go into the restaurant, where we are seated immediately at a table by the window. “Why is he in the ’burbs without you?”
“I had a client today. Normally I don’t take weekend appointments, but it’s not easy to say no to one of my best clients. Decker’s dad bitched last week it’s been weeks since he saw Ella. So Decker took Ella to visit his dad while I was working. He told me to enjoy a day to myself, he understands I’m not in a rush to go over to his dad’s. While his father no longer things I’m a gold-digger, now he’s giving me crap for daring to work instead of being chained to my daughter every minute of the day.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It could be worse. Thankfully, Decker is incredibly supportive and he never has a problem setting his dad straight right in the moment. But I don’t want to cause any more strain to their relationship than necessary. They already wasted a lot of years on their stupid pride.”
The waitress takes our order, a salmon burger for Lydia. I go with two appetizers.
“Tell me, what have you been up to?” I blush, and Lydia’s eyes go wide. “Ooh, interesting. Spill it.”
“Dante is, umm...” I’m blushing again. “He’s doing the same thing Cesare did when he found out Alicia was a virgin. Dante is saying it will get complicated, he can’t give me what I need. Which is making me nuts. I swear these guys, what is up with them? They’re like throwbacks from Victorian times or something.”
Lydia throws back her head as she laughs. Violence is not the answer, Bethany, it is not the answer. She stops laughing when she sees my face. “Sorry, from the outside this really is hilarious. Two big, strong, fabulously wealthy men who get what they want when they want it are cowering in fear of women who are much smaller than them. Then again, when it comes to meeting a woman who will end their bachelor days, which they think is freedom but totally isn’t, it’s understandable.”
Panic hits me in the chest at her words. “Woah, I’m not sure I want—I—” Crap, I can’t get the words out because I don’t mean them anymore. Which is scary. Not even a week ago I would have meant them. I didn’t want anything more than fun, to discover what the whole big deal was about sex. With a guy who knew about all of the sex. Now, shit, my chest is tight at the idea of calling it just sex, or fun, because I know it’s more, only... I don’t know how much more.
The waitress sets down my iced tea, yanking me out of my confusion. I’m grateful for it, this is not the place to try and figure out my jumbled thoughts. I shake my head. “Dante isn’t made for long term. I’m more interested in focusing on the now.”
Lydia sips on her sparking water as she studies me. “I think you’re wrong where Dante is concerned. It was said in those Victorian times reformed rakes made the best husbands. Also the Sabatini brothers are incredibly loyal. Once you’ve earned their trust and respect, there’s pretty much nothing they wouldn’t do for you. When Dante found out Alicia stole the money, he went to try and kick Cesare’s ass for taking advantage of Alicia. Honor means a lot to them, it’s not just a word, and they do everything they can to protect it for them and the people they care about. You also can use it to your advantage.”
“How?” I’m still picking her words apart. What is honor exactly?
Our plates come. “The first part is the admission, at least to himself, of what he’s feeling. Find his spot until he screams uncle. Once he’s there, believe me, Dante will take over.”
The way she says it, it’s as if I might regret Dante taking over. I won’t. I’m looking forward to it.
***
Dante
The entire way to Enzo’s all I can think about is Bethany. Enzo doesn’t even know I’m coming; he won’t miss me if I don’t go. I wince. I’m a shitty brother. After all the bullshit that went down with Nina, Enzo was at my side twenty-four seven for two weeks. He sat beside me, watching me get drunk on a balcony in Ibiza over Christmas so I wouldn’t spend it alone. We didn’t leave the room the whole time until I gave in and we came home to Chicago. This isn’t as bad as Nina; however, Enzo doesn’t take setbacks well. He’s such a meticulous planner that when something dares to happen he doesn’t plan for, he doesn’t handle it well.
His condo is on the fifty-third floor, the whole floor. The elevator opens into a small foyer with a massive door that appears oak but is actually reinforced steel. I unlock the door, without knocking. Enzo might not let me in, which isn’t what he needs right now. The minute I open the door the smell of tomato and garlic hits me. I go down the hall to find his kitchen is a mess. Shit, Enzo is practically OCD when it comes to keeping his world neat and clean.
I head straight to his home gym. He’s throwing punches on a heavyweight bag while 50 Cent thumps loud. Damn, he’s soaking wet with sweat. I press pause. Angry, he turns around.
“Go away.” He growls low in his throat.
I bend down to open his mini-fridge. Like mine, it’s stocked with water and protein shakes. I pull out a bottle of water then throw it at him. Reflexes sharp as ever, he catches it easily. “No. Drink your water then shower. Come on, you need to get the hell out of here.”
Yanking off his glove, he opens the water and in four gulps it’s down. Shit, he’s dehydrated. I grab another bottle. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Shaking my head, I throw another bottle and he grabs it. This time he’s a little slower; he’s breathing deep now. Good, he doesn’t look like he’s going to fall on his ass anymore. “You need food. You need air
. If you won’t leave, fine. Shower out and I’ll order some food.”
His jaw goes hard. He wants to argue, only I can tell he’s starting to feel the ache all over now that he’s stopped moving. “Fine. Carbs, I want lots of carbs.”
I nod as he stumbles out of the room. Taking out my phone, I head toward his kitchen to clean while he gets it together. I place an order to Giordano’s for delivery. They don’t hesitate despite the fact delivery or even takeout isn’t an option on their menu. Spaghetti with extra meatballs and spaghetti carbonara for Enzo, he does eat leftovers, and those are two of his favorites and I go with manicotti with sausage for me and two orders of cheese garlic bread because we don’t share.
Damn, this place looks like a storm hit it. Enzo isn’t a tidy cook, he makes a huge mess as he cooks, then when it’s all over he takes his time cleaning up. Whatever happened likely happened during dinner. I’m closing his dishwasher and turning it on when Enzo comes into the kitchen. He takes a bottle of water out of the fridge. I check the time, another ten minutes or so on the food. He’s sipping on the water now.