A gold chain and gold hoop earrings graced her swan-like neck. She had done her makeup, and her mouth pursed in a perfectly kissable rose.
I blinked at her in stupid shock. She looked like… Well, she looked like a mafia wife. She looked so much the picture of a woman who might actually be powerful enough and confident enough to date Luca Fortino. How did that happen? It couldn’t just be the clothes, the makeup, the hair, and the jewelry.
I shook my thoughts into order. She wasn’t a homegrown girl-next-door. She was Ariana La Rosa, daughter of Matteo La Rosa. She was born for this.
Just to cement that conclusion in my mind, the chauffeur entered behind her and dropped off her many shopping bags by the door. She smiled at him. “Thank you, Frank.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. La Rosa.” He grinned back at her before he left to take the car to the garage.
I stared at her and then glanced over at Dominic. He wouldn’t look at her, and he was in the process of pouring his third drink. My heart plummeted into my shoes.
Something happened between the two of them. Did she try to escape again? Did he have to punish her? If he did, why was she the one acting so smug?
She strutted over to the sideboard. “Can I have one of those?”
He took a tumbler out of the shelf by his knees, splashed a dollop of scotch into it, and handed it to her without looking at her.
She carried her drink to the couch, sat down, and crossed her legs at the knee. She brought the glass to her lips and took a sip.
I stalked over to Dominic. “What the hell is wrong with you? Did something happen in town?”
He slammed down his glass, whirled away, and stomped out of the room. Ariana laughed. “Don’t worry about him, Dante. He’s upset because he kissed me.” She raised her voice and called loud enough for him to hear on his way out of the room, “Didn’t you, Dominic? It was real nice, wasn’t it? I enjoyed it. He’s a great kisser, Dante. You have no idea.”
She sighed and passed her wrist across her temple before taking another drink. I narrowed my eyes at her. “I know what you’re trying to do, and you won’t get away with it.”
Her eyes widened in mock innocence. “What am I trying to do? Hedidkiss me.”
“Did he kiss you, or did you kiss him? You’re trying to drive a wedge between us, but I won’t fall for it, and Luca definitely won’t.”
She raised her eyebrows even higher. “So, he’s Luca now? Are you sure he isn’t your Padrino?”
“What’s the difference?”
“You tell me. How is anyone supposed to know if he’s Luca, the boy I grew up with, or Padrino… whatever that means?”
“It means he’s the king. It means he rules the whole family with an iron fist.”
“Well, I’m not in your stupid fucking family, so he can spin on it. The rest of you can bow and scrape and kiss his ass. I won’t.”
“You better if you know what’s good for you. He can be very persuasive when he wants to be.”
I meant it more as a helpful tip, and I guess my change in tone finally got through to her. She looked up at me, and her expression softened before she turned her head and gazed out at the grounds.
“I just can’t think of him as that. I mean, the man you’re talking about—the big, mean mob boss—I don’t know that person. It’s someone totally different from the Luca I knew. He was kind and generous back then. I remember him taking punishments for me. He wouldn’t do that now.”
So, she remembered that. I paced over to the sideboard. I needed a drink just being in the same room with her, but I had to stay sharp. “Heisdifferent. He changed after you left—after Matteo betrayed us all. He turned into… Well, that’s when he became Padrino. He went hard and cold. He wasn’t a little boy anymore. I guess none of us were.”
I glanced over to find her staring at me behind my back. Her large eyes searched my soul in ways that rattled my nerves even more. “I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “Shit happens. No one lives forever, especially not in this business.”
She opened her mouth to say something and stopped herself. She shut it and looked away.
“If you have something to say to me, you better say it,” I told her.
She shook her head. That made me mad. I strode over and planted myself right in front of her. “Did you really kiss Dominic?
She cracked a wicked grin and rotated her eyes up to me in slow, seductive triumph. “Do you really want to know what I did with Dominic?”