Placated, she went back to her lunch preparations. “Thank you,” she told me. “I was trained by the best chefs in Italy.”
More puzzled than ever, I got out the wine glasses and silverware. I’d just opened the wine to let it breathe when the doorbell rang.
“Would you get that, please?”
“Sure,” I told her. It occurred to me that she probably didn’t know my name either. And maybe it was better that way.
That feeling of foreboding returned as I opened the front door and greeted the mafia boss and his men.
CHAPTER 7
Tristan
My breath caught and my heart fluttered within my chest when she opened the door.
Luna was stunning. Even more so than I remembered.
I stood on the stoop beside Enzo as we protected Luca’s back, frozen in place as she greeted our boss with a nervous smile and offered to escort us to the formal dining room. We knew the way. We’d been here numerous times before. However, Gino always liked to put on a grand show of Luca’s arrival, like he was some sort of royalty. Which, I guess, in the world ofLa Cosa Nostra, he was.
Instead of watching for threats, my eyes were glued to her rounded ass in those tight-knit pants as she led the way down the long hallway and into the heart of Gino’s home. Her long hair hung freely down her back, swishing back and forth with every sway of her hips, and I had to clench my fists at my sides to keep from shoving Luca out of the way and tangling my fingers in it. She glanced down a separate hallway, presenting us with her elegant profile for only a matter of seconds before she faced forward again. Was it my imagination, or did she look better today? There appeared to be more color in her cheeks, and the desperation was gone from her eyes, at least.
I was…disconcerted when she left us with Gino, softly closing the door behind her. I almost followed her before I remembered where I was and why. Still, it took me a minute to get my head back into the game.
Gino stood when we entered, showing his respect, and gave Luca his customary greeting by kissing him on both cheeks before nodding hello to Enzo and me. Surprisingly, he was alone in the room, but his men had to be lurking about somewhere, ready to jump us at a moment’s notice if needed. Either that, or he was even morescemo—stupid—than I thought.
Gesturing to the chair on his right, he invited Luca to sit with him. I took my position behind our boss, against the wall and away from the windows, as did Enzo. We wouldn’t be enjoying the meal. We were here solely to make sure Gino didn’t start any shit.
Luna returned with a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses. She poured a taste for Luca to approve, then filled his glass before serving Gino. The muscles in Gino’s jowls jumped as he ground his teeth, but he said nothing. Luna had shown the proper etiquette by serving the boss first, but it was clear that Gino didn’t appreciate coming in second in his own home.
With a nervous glance at me and Enzo, she retreated from the room, forgetting to close the door this time.
My gaze followed her until she rounded the corner, then remained on the empty hall where I’d last seen her for a long moment before I did another sweep of the room and the other doorway that led into the rest of the house.
Had she liked the chicken I’d left her last night? Or did she enjoy the eggs more? I’d learned to cook on my own when I found that other people’s cooking never seemed to measure up to my expectations, although Lisa—Luca’s cook and housekeeper—did a fairly good job. I’d taught myself after…
Well, after I was free.
My mind wandered back to Luna as Gino regaled Luca with the story of the wine he’d had his chef choose for their meal. At the wedding, she’d been drinking a lemon drop martini. Did she like wine, or did she prefer sugary cocktails? What were her favorite foods? Favorite colors? Did she have any allergies? I needed to know everything about her. Where she’d come from and how she’d ended up in the foster system. What her childhood had been like. Who had given her her first kiss. Why she’d bet her life away to a man like Gino and let him use her body. Did she, like many women who’d ended up where she is, do it because she believed it was her only choice? As Luca said? Either way, I didn’t judge her for those choices. I was only curious. I wanted to know what made her tick.
But what I really wanted to fucking know was why, out of all the beautiful women in the world, this one had me by the balls.
No. That wasn’t right. I wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship with her. She was nothing but a temporary fascination. Probably brought on by my exposure to Luca and Enzo and their recent relationships. I wasn’t jealous. I didn’t wish to deprive them of that joy in their lives. But I didn’t understand it. And maybe my fascination with Luna was just that—my way of trying to understand it. And once I did, she would no longer be a distraction and I could go back to my normal life.
As Luca and Gino droned on and on about Gino’s position in the family and how he was ready to take on more responsibility, noticeably steering Luca away from the topic of the Irish, I kept my eyes on the doorway, watching for Luna. Except for that first time, she didn’t look at me when she came back into the room to refill their wine glasses. That was probably smart, if the way Gino also watched her was any indication. Still, he caught me staring at her more than once, narrowing his eyes at me each time, but I wasn’t threatened by him. Though I did want to ask him what he thought to accomplish by starving her. I knew from experience that if he beat her down enough, eventually, she would break.
I thought of the light behind her blue eyes dimming to nothing more than a dull reflection, and a red haze clouded my vision. My eyes once again found the empty doorway she’d disappeared through, and I fought to keep myself from striding through it, finding her, and dragging her out of this house.
I was still struggling to regulate my breathing when she returned and helped the chef serve the lunch. Drinking her in, I reminded myself of the reasons I couldn’t throw her over my shoulder and walk away, namely because I wouldn’t make it past the front door.
Enzo leaned toward me and asked quietly, “Are you alright?”
“I’m good.”
After a moment, he straightened again.
Once she’d set everything on the table, I stepped forward to taste Luca’s food before he consumed any of it, earning a glare from Gino.
“Eh, what is this, Luca? Do you really think I would poison your food like a woman?”
