Sal gets right to the point. “What’s up, Dante?”
“I was out of town to visit Milan.” I smile. “I can’t have enough new suits.”
“I know, only the best for you and you have to be prepared to do business all the time,” he chides me, but it’s normal as we’re very close.
I pause, then fix him with a curious look, trying to sound casual. “Are you seeing anyone?”
“Why do you ask? What’s up?”
“Do I need a reason to care if my brother is seeing someone?”
He sits on the corner of my desk with one foot on the ground. “Yes, you do. It’s odd. You never care about who we bring around, as long as it’s not an informant,” he whispers.
“Normally, that’s true. I’m just taking an interest in you, brother, that’s all.” I flash him a quick smile to put him at ease.
“I’m not seeing anyone in particular right now, but I always have a few lined up, y’know?”
Boy, do I ever. My entire life, Sal has been the most sociable of all of us.
He’s still friends with some of the guys we attended private school with here in Florence and he always knows where to go to be a part of the ‘in’ crowd. He’s the one I use if I need to smooth over a work situation that I’m too frustrated by to deal with calmly.
Funny how we work so well together, Babbo would be proud.
“What about you, Dante? No one special in your life yet?” It’s an odd question. He knows I only do hookups, some just more extended than others.
“Same.”
He takes the hint to change the subject and asks, “How was Milan?”
“Fantastic,” I reply, “and our business arrangement with our friend in the south is progressing. I’ll be meeting him to negotiate, and I hope he will see it our way.”
“Hmm, good luck with that, brother. I don’t envy you the big decisions.” He gets up from my desk, stretches his arms, and wanders out of my office.
My brothers know of the plan to gain use of the port, they just aren’t aware of the details of how I plan to accomplish it. Meeting Conti on Saturday is perfect, so I can be at Mama’s for Sunday dinner and not raise suspicion. I can miss a Sunday dinner if I have to, but I’d rather not. It’s the only interaction I have with my family outside of work.
I start to work on my computer as Riccardo hangs out in the break room and talks business with the associates. He will fill me in on all the chatter when he drives me home.
18
Juliet
Iwasn’t expecting Dante to visit my room while I was putting on my new bikini. He looked great standing there in his fresh shirt, but he seemed a bit rattled to find me half dressed. I made sure to bend over and put my sandals on, teasing him with a view of my ass. Call it payback for ignoring me since we got off the plane. The man is all about mixed signals, blowing cold one minute and hot the next, like an old boiler heater.
He disappeared before I could even finish putting on my shoes.
I want to cool off, so I grab a pool towel and head to the back yard where I find a chaise lounge and lie down to absorb a few rays. When the sun gets to be too much, I take a dip in the warm water and do laps for some exercise. It seems like each year the summers get hotter and last longer, but today, the temperature is perfect. I just wish Dante was here to enjoy the day with me.
I’ll admit it—I miss him. We had such a great day yesterday. I miss his cologne, his presence in a room, the tiny smile he rarely shows to anyone. And when I manage to coax one out of him, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I don’t know why I want to make him happy, but I do.
Done with the sun, I shower and change into linen capri pants and a matching pink top. I love the way the pants flatter my curves, and the color looks good with my tan.
Noticing my hair is still damp from the shower, Enzo asks the woman mopping the floors to bring me a hair dryer. Minutes later, she drops it off, only to disappear again before I can thank her. I chuckle to myself, convinced this place has trap doors by the way people appear and disappear.
After I finish drying my hair, I head out looking for a TV and find one in a room away from the main area of the house. It’s a less formal room with a dark tan leather sofa and has an old school masculine vibe that makes me wonder if some of the furnishings belonged to Dante’s dad. The entire length of one wall is a built-in bookcase filled with books as well as family photos, and I decide to be nosy and try to learn more about Dante- if that’s even possible.
I pick up one framed black and white photo that looks to be of him with some other boys on a soccer field. He was a cute kid, but that doesn’t surprise me. The people in the vintage wedding photos, I assume, are his parents or grandparents. There are enough books to fill a library, and most are old and dusty, almost as if the maid doesn’t clean in here nearly as often.
I put the picture of him back on the shelf and I realize that a casual observer would not see these pictures from the doorway. They are practically hidden on these bookshelves, tucked away from the rest of the house. What else is he hiding in this mansion? I wonder if there’s a safe room, and if so, if it’s built for one or two?