God, watching her was a masterclass in how to win friends and influence people. In one stroke, she’d earned Tom’s loyalty for life, and probably the entire Morelli family’s as well. When she stood, we did too. She stopped at the front door and kissed Tom on both cheeks. “Thank you for coming today, Tom Morelli.”
As I walked him to the front gate, he turned to me. “I know what you were in Ireland, and I know why they made you leave. You better treat that woman right.”
“I will,” I promised him, surprised how the weight of my words felt like a vow.
17
RIAN
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Alexi yelled, red in the face, leaning over Ginevra, who sat in her father’s study, cool and collected, looking like the fucking queen she was.
She raised an eyebrow and responded, “Ginevra fucking Russo, that’s who the fuck I am,” and turned to her brother, seated behind her father’s desk.
Her audacity got me rock hard. Damn, that woman was hot.
“Luca, Tom Morelli brought by the last couple of months’ payments today. I accepted the money, counted it, then handed it straight to Luis. Then, when Gina Caruso stopped by, I did the same. What the fuck is Alexi’s problem?”
“You’re my problem!” Alexi shouted. When spittle landed on my woman’s face, I moved to stand behind her, staring the older man down. Ginevra looked up at me and smiled, affording me a perfect view of her tanned breasts, and fuck, the bright red bra she wore under that damnable green dress. “Why are you inserting yourself in a process that’s been working for a decade without you?”
Ginevra laughed. God, the ovaries on this woman. “It obviously hasn’t been working, as Luis and Pietro spent the morning going over all the unpaid protection accounts with me instead of going over Papà’s business accounts.”
She turned to Luca. “Tomorrow, I’d like to walk the territory with you. Lorenzo and Rian can come along for security. It’ll get my face out there and start getting folks used to seeing Rian around. Then Sofia, Cormac, and Liam can join us for lunch, somewhere busy and public.”
“Absolutely not,” Alexi snapped. “I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“It’s a good thing she’s not asking you, isn’t it?” I asked, my voice quiet, dead serious about cutting him out of tomorrow’s excursion. Liam would take point on security, and Ginevra would be as safe as she would be at home, with us.
Luca’s eyes flicked between his sister and his father’s top soldier, the man Antonio had relied on to keep his family safe since Ginevra was a kid. “Ginevra, you’ve already brought in fifty grand I never expected to see. I’d like to see what kind of results you could get over the next few days.”
Alexi stalked to the desk and leaned over it. “You’ll regret this. Your father won’t stand for it.”
Luca shrugged, looking at Ginevra with warm eyes. “I disagree. But you’re a fool if you ask him to choose between you and his children, Alexi.”
The older man stood up, pressing his lips together in fury. “You’ll regret this, both of you.”
I abandoned my position to stand between Alexi and the door, the size difference between us never more apparent. “Are you threatening Ginevra? The day after she was shot at because you didn’t do your damn job?”
Alexi deflated under the force of my gaze. “Never, you asshole. But I can’t save these two from their own stupidity.” He brushed by me and left.
Luca and Ginevra shared a long look. “Papà’s gonna flip,” Luca muttered, running his hands through his short hair.
A little laugh escaped Ginevra as Luca’s phone rang. He looked at the name and sighed. “Speak of the devil.”
She walked over to ruffle her fingers through his hair. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”
Luca looked up at her in surprise. “Always, big sister.” She kissed the top of his head as he answered his father’s call and walked out of the office.
18
CORMAC
“How many men got a peek at that red bra today, Ginevra?” I asked, circling her in the middle of our living room.
Ginevra’s lips twisted in frustration. “None, as far as I’m aware.”
“Wrong,” I whispered in her ear, standing behind her and running my fingers from the nape of her neck down the deep vee of her emerald dress. Her breath turned ragged as I traced the swells of her breasts with the pads of my fingers. “Anyone who saw you from this angle saw that tempting flash of red.” I wrapped one fist in her hair and yanked it back until she stared up at me. “And that’s unacceptable.”
Her eyes flashed with anger and then amusement. “Oh, you think this partnership means you have something to say about my clothing choices?”