“Ah.” I stood from my seat. “Romeo is a good man. He is just a bit naughty. Ah, how would you put it? Perhaps fun. Is this what Viola is after?”
“I believe so.”
“It is settled then.”
I took a few steps closer to her. She took double the steps back. She had cornered herself though. She hit a wall. I studied her eyes before mine took in the rest of her slight body. A cross hung between her breasts. I decided on airing out some honesty, in hopes she would decide to share some of hers with me.
“That is a stunning piece of jewelry,bella. It belonged to my grandmother. This was one of her family’s homes.”
My eyes softened against hers, my lids closing a little, seeing how far she would allow me to take this. Not far. As if she knew what I was up to, she took a step to the left and sat down at the table.
I smiled as I sat across from her, fixing my suit. “I do not wish to make you nervous,bella.”
“I don’t like to be chased or cornered. I’m married.” She lifted both of her hands, showcasing two sets of rings, one on the traditional finger and one on the opposite side.
Her husband was a smart man. He doubled the claim on this one.
I shrugged. “I am as well.”
“You are?” She seemed truly shocked by the news.
“Yes, you are well acquainted with my wife?—”
“You’re the pasta feeder?—”
“Rosaria Caffi.” I laughed. “She occasionally uses Fausti when she wants something that she cannot obtain on her own.”
A fierce look came into her eyes, as if she was battling with Rosaria in her thoughts.
“Has she done something to offend you?” I asked.
“Not today.”
I laughed so hard that the sound almost resembled a growl. Perhaps it was the ruthlessness in me denying me the pleasure. It did not last long. Thebellaballerina tensed at the sound. I could not claim it had frightened her, but it had made her feel some kind of way.
“Do you know my husband?” she asked.
I wiped my eyes, a smile I could not control still on my lips. “No. Should I?”
“Why do you keep flirting with me? If you know I’m married, but more importantly,youare married.”
“Simple,bella. I want you.” There was no use in dodging the question, or dancing around it as she would. I had wanted her since the first moment I saw her. She was soft, supple, and intriguing in a way I had never found before.
However, in her presence or in thoughts...
My heart only sniffed around, curious. It did not roar. I was coming to accept that part of my legacy was broken inside of me.
Still.
This woman made my heart move without touching me.
She was mine, in one way or another.
A beautiful red flush touched her cheeks at my admission. “Dario and Romeo, are they your only siblings?”
She did not catch the hesitation, but the conversation with my brothers in the car was still at the forefront of my thoughts. We would have known if we had other siblings. My father would have not hidden him, and my grandfather would have demanded he be raised in our ways. I was confident when I gave her my answer. “Sì,bella. I should think if there were more, I would know.”
What was this about though? She was not asking for no reason. I was about to inquire when she said, “I’d like you to meet my husband. If that would be doable?”
