I looked her over and shuffled against the cushion I’d placed behind my back.
“I feel the same. I’ve felt the same, but then I remember it’s me who’s sitting here and not her. It makes me want to remember the bad parts about her and gloss over the good parts, but really, she was the victim here because I still have my life.” That was a much calmer version of what I felt. “Claudius blames himself, and he’s on this mission to find Goliath. How’d I get myself mixed up in all this, Kelly? Maybe I could blame myself, take it as far back as that. I was the one who fell for a mobster. What did I expect?”
She looked down bashfully, then her gaze climbed back up to meet mine. “That part’s not your fault. You know that, Ava, right?”
“I don’t know anything right now. Maybe it was better when I didn’t know the truth.”
“It wasn’t, because you two were like a volcano waiting to erupt. You can’t help who you love, Ava.”
Was it as simple as that?
“What about common sense? General common sense. The kind that’s telling me I should stay away from him.”
“Is that what you want? Ava, if people did everything that made sense, no one would take any chances. It’s common sense that if all you have is a dollar to your name, that you make sure you spend it wisely. Maybe not put it on an investment that could multiply it tenfold or even a hundredfold. It’s common sense that you should choose a career that pays the bills, but what if you love to play the violin and you know that one day, you could be a legend if you stick to it?” She brought her hands together and gave me a weak smile. “As you know, I come from a really poor family. I think my parents were hoping I’d study law or something like that when I went to college, not the culinary arts. My dad was a garbage man, and my mom a cleaner, but they saved up and found a way to pay for my college tuition. It was common sense for them to force me to do something that would probably bring in more of an investment, but they always told me to follow my heart. So, I did, and when I made my first million, I gave it to them.”
I remembered that. It was a joyous moment even for me. Before we joined forces as business pals Kelly was doing well for herself with her own restaurant out in LA. She still had it now. She had someone else running it for her and all the money went to her family. She came to work with me only because we thought it was a cool idea. That was it, and it was. I was grateful for her. More grateful to have her in times like this.
When she reached forward to take my hands into hers, I took them and smiled at her. She’d made me feel a little better. I was still conflicted as hell, but she took the edge off. “Follow your heart, Ava, but for God’s sake, be careful. I feel like a bad friend to tell you that because Claudius is the fucking mafia king, but today, when I saw him… I saw all that he felt for you. I’d be a bad friend if I didn’t tell you that. But be careful. Okay?”
I nodded slowly.
Follow my heart…
I’d need to sleep on it and think about everything.
Everything. The danger, the risk, all that I felt for Claudius.
All that he meant to me.
There were so many reasons to stay away from him, but I was selfish too.
I couldn’t leave him alone.
Chapter 13
Claudius
* * *
Ididn’t sleep last night. I was too consumed with thinking about Ava.
It all made me cranky, and I could barely function when I went to the garage to close a deal on a Ferrari that the guys and I’d modified. The thing sold for five hundred Gs. The guy we sold it to was a street racer. He wanted to export the car to Japan and sell it there.
The guy even sweetened the deal by booking another appointment for a month’s time to look at the new Kawasaki bike that had come in last week. I’d planned to keep that for myself, but I couldn’t pass up another five hundred grand, and for a motorcycle? No.
Those few hours offered some distraction, but as the day wore on, Ava filled my thoughts again, and again when I went to Luc’s wine tasting.
He did events like that most Saturdays.
Pa was back from Italy, and the whole gang was here. The guys and their dolls. The whole turnout highlighted how alone I was. Even Saul was here with his latest doll, who’d lasted longer than the last. Six months. Meant things were looking serious. Had to be for a woman to accept a guy who’d replaced all his teeth with gold crowns.
The Four were playing poker in the corner, and Amelia and Gigi were talking it up with a customer. Gigi had her tarot cards, so I was sure she must have been talking about some weird shit. Magic this, magic that. Amelia was laughing though, so maybe the guy who was getting his fortune read while he tasted wine was going to get some weird twist on his fortune. That was always Gigi’s answer. Good fortune always awaited but with a twist you never expected.
Pa and Luc were behind the bar setting up more drinks but stopped what they were doing when they saw me. Pa called Dante over to take over, and he and Luc made their way over to me.
We’d planned to meet separately, apart from everyone.
I had a lot I needed to get off my chest.
