"Maybe it’s time you made it. Maybe it’s time you actually shared what’s going on in your mind, in your heart, how your soul feels about her. I—"
Seb’s phone pings just then. He glances at it, then back at us. "Don’t mean to cut in on this touching family scene," he drawls, "but the Russians are here for the meeting."
"Why the fuck are they here for a meeting?"
"As I told you," Seb chides, "you didn’t make it to the meeting with them last night."
"A meeting in which the rest of us covered for you, by the way," Massimo adds.
"But, of course, they need to meet the Capo to confirm the deal we struck is legit." Christian raises a shoulder.
"Merda."I rake my fingers through my hair. "How the hell did I miss that meeting?" I walk toward where my jacket is hanging over the back of a chair. I slide my hand in the pocket, pull out my phone, which is dead. "Porca miseria," I growl. My phone had run out of battery at the office, and I hadn’t bothered to plug it in when I got home…because I had been otherwise distracted. Nor had I once checked it throughout the night, thanks to my infatuation with one feisty woman who had, clearly, pushed herself to the forefront of my mind. I have never once not made it to a meeting on time in all the years since I joined the Cosa Nostra. Apparently, there is a first time for everything. Apparently, my brain is going to shit because I can’t even remember to charge my phone anymore.
"Fucking fuck." I slip the phone back in my pocket, then turn to Seb, "Let’s get the Russians in here and get this over with."