She reaches across the table and squeezes my forearm. “Aww, it feels good to be needed. I’ll check with my brother and let you know.”
If people think Augusto is protective of Bianca and me, they haven’t met Georgi. He’s always been strict with who Raya’s allowed to date, and that’s why she’s still single at thirty.
Unlike me, she wants to fall in love and have children, but with the tight grip Georgi has on her life, I don’t see any chance of it happening soon.
It’s a pity there’s nothing romantic between her and one of the other men in the Cosa Nostra. Georgi once tried to arrange a marriage between her and Augusto, but they both put a stop to his plans real fast.
Things were super awkward between her and my brother for a few months.
I enjoy some of my tea, and when my phone beeps again, I have to suppress a groan.
Digging the device out, it feels like a knife is plunged into my heart when I read the message from Christiano.
Do you want me to lose my mind?
My thumb hovers over the notification, and I almost go into the chat, but stop myself in time.
I have to keep my distance. If I give him an inch, it will be game over for me.
“What’s wrong?” Raya asks, her eyebrows drawing together.
I swallow hard before I whisper, “Christiano.”
“Did he message you?”
I nod and drop the phone back into my handbag. “Since the wedding, he’s sent over fifty messages.”
Her eyes widen as she gasps, “Holy shit, that’s a lot. What are you going to do?”
“Nothing.” Staring at the cup in front of me, I shake my head. “If I respond, it will give him an in, and then there won’t be any stopping him.”
I can see the questions forming on her face, but like always, she doesn’t pry. She once said she’s there for me if I want to talk about Christiano and hasn’t brought it up again. It’s the one thing I appreciate most about her.
My parents also don’t mention it, and Augusto is too busy at work to care about my romantic life. Riccardo has been living on cloud nine with Gianna and doesn’t come down to Earth long enough to notice what’s going on around him. It’s just Bianca who hasn’t gotten the memo.
Doing my best to suppress the heartache caused by talking about Christiano, I force a smile to my face. “That’s enough about me. What’s new in your life?”
“Absolutely nothing.” Raya finishes the last of her coffee. “Georgi is stressed because the Bulgarian Mafia is selling arms in his territory, so he’s keeping me busy at work.”
“I didn’t know,” I say and quickly add, “In that case, don’t worry about asking for a day off. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Don’t worry about it. Me taking a day off won’t cause trouble,” she assures me. “Besides, I can do with some time away from Georgi. I swear, sometimes he drives me up the wall.”
“Brothers tend to do that,” I chuckle.
She checks the time on her wristwatch, then says, “Shit, I'd better get back to the office.”
When she reaches for her handbag, I shake my head. “You go. This is on me.”
She gets up, and stopping beside me to squeeze my shoulder, she chirps, “Thanks, bestie. See you on Monday.”
I watch as she leaves before I signal for the server to bring the bill. Once I’m done paying, I walk back to my car, and as I get in behind the steering wheel, my phone rings.
I pull the device out, and seeing it’s Christiano calling, I close my eyes and press the screen to my chest while lowering my head.
I’m sorry.
Please move on.
