Papa burst out laughing, and the rest joined in.
“First, I like the way they feel. They tuck and hold me in, and second, I lost another pair, so if you don’t mind digging around more, maybe they’re there.”
“Nope.” Niccola tossed his napkin on the table as he stood, making Mama turn red in the face from laughing. “Let’s go, move it. You owe me a full detail cleaning, and you just lost any chance of coming on my next trip.”
“Excuse me.” Donatello kissed Mama on the head and started to race down the hill as Niccola bolted after him.
“Never a dull moment.” Mama grinned at Sienna, who had her hand over her mouth in pure enjoyment.
After the main course was served and most were halfway through their meal, I decided to dive in headfirst to catch Mariano and Sienna off guard.
“You know,” I wiped the corners of my mouth, taking a moment for the chatter to stop, “I never did hear how the two of you met.”
Sienna waited for him to start, but he motioned for her to speak.
“Ah,” she cleared her throat, “I had done an exposé about my life story forFab Magazine,and I guess Mariano read my article and was inspired by it. A few weeks ago, I got word that one of the owners of Ricco Oil wanted me to tell their story, and here we are.”
“A story?” My father sent a pointed look at Mariano. “Maybe that should have been something you ran by us?”
“I was inspired, Piero.” He leaned his elbows on the table, which showed disrespect to my mama, who had spent the day making sure this dinner was perfect. “I didn’t think showing her the basics of what we did was something you needed to approve.”
“Careful.” I shot a warning his way, and he shrugged, annoyed I had spoken to him that way in front of everyone.
“Mariano.” Sienna, to my surprise, spoke with a warning tone.
“What?” he snapped at her, and I bit the inside of my mouth.
“Maybe we should just enjoy this delicious food and keep things light? The Capris were kind enough to make us this meal, and look at this table.” She smiled at my mother. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you, Sienna.” Mama, always the gracious hostess, smiled back.
“You think we were allowed to have dinner anywhere else but here?” Mariano cursed under his breath.
“Our rules are in place for a reason,” my papa reminded him.
“Regardless, Mariano,” Sienna’s tone had a clip to it, “perhaps this discussion should wait for another time.”
“I don’t think so.”
“It’s uncomfortable,” she shot back.
“It’s not for me.” Anna giggled as she reached for her bourbon.
Mariano ran a hand through his hair and leaned back.
“It’s simply an ‘on the surface’ story, one which I hope will help Sienna build a name for herself at her company. She won’t be in any danger—”
“Really?” I corrected him.
“That was a simple misunderstanding, Elio.”
“Perhaps, but you did put her in danger, and what was said should never have been said in front of her.”
“All right,” Sienna tossed her napkin next to her plate, “please forgive my bluntness, but I never asked for any of this. I appreciate the opportunity that Mariano was trying to give me, but clearly it wasn’t a wise move to make, and I will not be the reason for an argument. I promise I won’t write the story. Only the start of it has been sent to my boss, and the rest will be deleted. As far as what I heard or didn’t hear, I can promise you it will never be repeated.”
“I think that would be for the best, Sienna.” Papa gave a relieved nod, and she nodded back, understanding there was a lot more to the story. “Thank you.”
“Sienna,” Bria broke the silence, “why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?”