“Prego, Nico. You’re welcome.Buonasera.”
Nico kissed Luna’s cheek, “Goodnight.”
Chapter 16
Nicobroughtheroutsideafter their dance. Autumn knew she would not remember everyone’s name. The only ones she memorized were Vera and Mario. Autumn had worried about Nico behind the closed door with his adoptive mother. Nico had been tensing even as he smiled saying everything was alright.
What exactly did he have to talk to Luna about? What was that name he called her?
Autumn wasn’t afraid of Luna, but she knew to be careful of her. Autumn thought of her conversation with Mario as she danced with him while waiting for Nico.
“Ma and Arturo don’t mess with each other,” Mario muttered.
“Why is that?” Autumn asked as he twirled her around and dipped her, making Autumn laugh as he brought her back up. It was surprising to find a live band at this dinner party, even though Vera mentioned to Autumn that Luna went all out when Nico came to town.
Mario glanced around them and shrugged. “It’s probably one of two things.”
“Oh?” Autumn raised an eyebrow.
With a glance around, Mario cursed under his breath. “I shouldn’t be telling you this. Nico will have my head if he finds out.”
“I won’t say a word.” Autumn crossed her heart over the dress.
Mario rubbed the side of his neck. “Fuck it. When Ma adopted Nico, Art flipped his gasket. He wanted Nico, and it wasn’t from some familial duty. He wanted the kid in his pocket as a soldier, but dearest sister, Marguerita, Nico’s mom, didn’t want him anywhere near Art or in the life.”
Autumn’s eyebrows lowered. “But Luna—”
“Is the Black Widow, yeah, and she promised to keep Nico out of the life.” He shrugged his shoulder, “And she did.”
Autumn blinked. “Did Arturo go to war with Luna?”
“Not the one you’re thinking of.” He looked over her shoulder, deep in thought, then back to her, “Through the courts. Art knew it was madness otherwise.”
After Mario dipped Autumn again, she came up laughing. Over his shoulder, she caught Nico’s eyes. She smiled at him. His intense sky-blue stare snagged onto hers, but another gentleman asked her to dance.
As Nico opened the door to the small bungalow, Autumn looked over his shoulder. There were wood floors throughout the first floor. She noticed a spiral staircase with a fancy oak banister leading to the second level. At the side of the stairs sat a couple of bags.
Her head cocked to the side, and Autumn turned to Nico, “What…”
He turned her and smoothed his hands up and down her arms.
Autumn was getting goosebumps as he touched her. She wasn’t afraid of him but having a man this close and not for her self-inflicted torture…she didn’t know what to make of it.
She wasn’t faking her attraction to him, he was so intense. More so with that kiss, they had shared in the ballroom just before they left the main house.
“We’re staying the night.”
“I have a job to get back to, Nico. And I have Dune to worry about.”
He raised both of his eyebrows and framed her face between his hands. “You’re on vacation, remember? Technically, you shouldn’t be in Boston in the first place. Hererra is taking care of your cat.” His hands moved over her shoulders, then down her hips, “You’re tense. You should relax.”
She put her hands on his chest, her fingers curling into the fabric of his white dress shirt. She looked at the pearl-colored buttons down the center. Not one was missing or out of place. “What are we doing, Nico? It doesn’t feel like we’re pretending anymore.”
“Were we ever really pretending, Autumn?” He tilted her chin up. Nico’s eyes stayed on her lips, “You never felt the attraction between us?”
“It’s not that simple.” She looked into his eyes and didn’t feel disdain. There was heat and…something else.
“How is this for simple?”
