He was halfway across the foyer when I woke from my reverie. I hustled to catch up with him. “What did she mean about a café on the East River?”
“It’s nothing.” He rifled a few pieces of snail mail and then pulled out his phone. “It’s just something business-related.”
“Maybe I should know about it. If I’m going to marry Gia, you should probably bring me up to speed on your business now. That way, I can hit the ground running when it comes time for me to take over.”
He glanced over at me and then went back to checking his phone while he crossed to his office. “Let’s not put the cart before the horse, son. I’ll bring you up to speed when the time comes…ifit comes.”
“What does that mean?” I followed him into his office. He was really starting to piss me off paying more attention to his phone than to me. “Do you know something about Gia’s plans?”
“I don’t know anything you don’t.” He rotated behind his desk. “She just hasn’t made her decision yet.”
He put his phone down and started going through a bunch of papers on his desk. He pulled his laptop toward him, opened it, and woke it up.
I stiffened and braced myself to confront him. “When will she make her decision? If she doesn’t know by now whether she wants to marry me, maybe I should start wondering why. Do you know whether she’s leaning away from marrying me?”
“I have no idea which way she’s leaning or if she’s leaning anywhere at all. She doesn’t confide in me.”
“That’s bullshit, Leo,” I snapped a lot louder than I meant to. I instantly regretted it, especially since his head shot up, and he locked his piercing eyes on me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, but you have to admit she should know by now. Shouldn’t she?”
He finally stopped messing with his stuff, straightened up, and gave me his undivided attention. “I realize you love Gia and she loves you, but you aren’t her only suitor. I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.”
“You can’t seriously intend to let her marry Romeo Necci. That’s absurd. She’s just going through the motions with him. She has to keep up appearances for the sake of tradition.”
Leo shrugged. “That’s her business. It sure looks to me like she’s serious about considering him. I wouldn’t have let him in the house if she wasn’t.”
“That’s nonsense. This whole thing is nonsense. I’ve known her all her life, and our families have been allies even longer than that. If she doesn’t know by now whether she wants to marry me, then something must be wrong.”
He went back to rifling his papers. He muttered in an undertone like he was talking to himself. “In any case, you and Romeo aren’t her only suitors, either.”
“What did you say?” I practically bellowed. “Talk to me like a man and not like a little kid you can just dismiss with a wave of your hand.”
“I said,” he repeated with exaggerated slowness, “that you and Romeo are not her only suitors. Try to deflate your head a little, and people might take you more seriously.”
I gaped at him with my jaw on the floor. “Who is it? Who are her other suitors?”
He took a deep breath, flared his nostrils, and pursed his lips. “Fine. I’ll tell you—not that it’s any of your business. I proposed to Gia if you must know.”
I couldn’t put my eyeballs back in their sockets. My brain short-circuited trying to grasp what he just said. “You!”
“Yes, me. I wasn’t going to, but when she told me she was serious about considering Romeo, I threw caution to the wind. I figured that if she was going to such lengths to consider someone who is her known enemy, she might want to consider me too.”
I collapsed and had to prop my arms on the desk, but I couldn’t stop gawking at him. “But you’re… you’re…”
“I’m what? I’m old enough to be her father? Is that what you were going to say?”
“I only mean…”
He waved that away. “I love Gia. I’ve loved her since she was little, and now she’s the most beautiful, intelligent, astute woman I’ve ever met. I would do anything for her, including marry her. Marrying me would be the best thing for the family. We wouldn’t have to worry about bringing in an outsider to take over.”
I gasped for air. I didn’t seem able to get my head to kick back into gear. Leo Evangelista—proposed to Gia!
The whole thing staggered my mind. Him! Hewasold enough to be her father, but he had also been the lynchpin holding the Leone family together for decades. He’d been a hell of a lot closer to Gia than I ever had been.
What chance did I stand next to a guy like that? No wonder she was postponing her decision. If she married Leo, they would put the fear of God into the whole mob world. The Leones would become even more powerful for all the reasons he said.
The family wouldn’t fall under any other don. All of Don Alonzo’s power would remain consolidated with Gia and Leo until they had an heir.
My guts twisted thinking about Gia having an heir with any other man. Leo Evangelista! What woman on the planet wouldn’t melt into a puddle at his feet? He was every woman’s dream. Him being almost fifty only made him ten times, a thousand times more powerful, intimidating, and attractive.