“Leave him alone,” Autumn scolded, though she was fighting her laughter. “At least he’s trying.”
“Trying to poison us, maybe,” Giovanni muttered, inspecting his nugget with suspicion before popping it into his mouth anyway.
“If it helps, I ordered dinner from that new Italian place,” Achille defended himself, but he couldn’t maintain his serious expression. “It should be here in thirty minutes.”
“He ordered takeout,” Kate whispered loudly to Larissa. “For a family dinner he’s been planning for weeks.”
I laughed, watching the scene unfold as I sipped my drink.
Across the room, Alisa sat with my sisters, laughing at something Beatrice said. Even after all these months together, watching her still sent sparks tingling up my skin.
She’d become part of my family, so naturally it was like she’d always belonged here. And seeing her there, surrounded by the people I loved most in this world, made me realize just how fucking lucky I was.
Gastone Ajello, Elena’s husband, nudged my arm. “You’re staring at your wife like a teenager. Stop. It’s making me sick.”
“Can you blame me?” I grinned, not bothering to deny it.
“Young love,” he sighed dramatically. “Remember when we used to look at our wives like that, Gio?”
“Speak for yourself,” Giovanni called from across the room. “I still look at Larissa like that.”
“When I do, Elena calls it ogling,” poor Gastone bemoaned.
Ultimately, we were all lucky bastards when it came down to it.
I made my way to the bar to grab another drink, catching bits of conversation as I passed. Elena was discussing something about her latest charity event while Beatrice was regaling Alisa with stories about our childhood.
“So Dante decided he was going to climb onto the roof,” I heard Bea saying, “but he slipped and fell right into the swimming pool with all his clothes on.”
“Please tell me someone got that on video,” Alisa laughed.
“Unfortunately not,” Elena sighed.
“Don’t believe everything they tell you,” I said as I joined them and leaned down to give Alisa a quick kiss. “They forgot totell you they blackmailed me and said I had to if I wanted my phone back.”
“We did that for your sanity,” Beatrice protested. “You were addicted.”
“Addicted?” I screeched in protest
Alisa looked up at me and gave me a wink. “Somehow I believe them more than you.”
“Traitor,” I whispered against her ear, letting my lips brush her skin just enough to make her shiver.
I straightened up to find that Larissa had joined in. “You two are adorable,” she said. “And Alisa, I’ve been meaning to ask—would you be interested in joining our book club? We meet once a month, and it’s basically an excuse to drink wine and gossip away from these guys.”
“I’d love that,” Alisa replied warmly.
“Fair warning,” Autumn added. “Last month’s meeting ended with Beatrice demonstrating some pole dancing moves on Elena’s staircase banister.”
“Which nearly gave my husband a heart attack when he walked in,” Elena added with a laugh.
“Hey, it was educational,” Beatrice defended herself. “I was teaching you all proper form.”
I watched as Alisa laughed along, completely at ease. She’d formed real bonds with my sisters and sisters-in-law, and I loved that she made such an effort.
But now I needed her a little for myself. All evening, there had been a heat building in my spine, from the moment she walked out of her bedroom earlier today in that blue dress thathugged every curve. A dress that made me think of all the ways I wanted to take it off her.
“I need to borrow my wife for a minute,” I announced, reaching for Alisa’s hand.
