“If this is about Leo, I—”
“Are you in love with my son?” I interrupted. I couldn’t bear it. I had to know.
“What?” She shook her head infinitely. “We haven’t even dated. He asked me out but I never said yes.”
I kept my voice as low as possible so her sister wouldn’t hear us. “Do you want to date him? Do you want him to keep chasing you? Fall in love with you?”
“What the… Don Bellomo, are you blamingmefor whathedid? You think I wanted him tostalkme?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I just need to know if you want him as much as he wants you because he does, very much. And from what I’ve seen,” my jaws clenched, “you don’t exactly hate him.”
She shrugged, looking down, blushing. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. He seemed…nice, at first. But I knew he was out of my league, even before I knew he was…” she gestured at me, swallowing, “a Bellomo, so I didn’t give it much thought.” She lifted her gaze to me, the green in them against her olive skin hypnotizing. “However, after our last conversation, I can assure you I want nothing to do with your son, Don Bellomo. Ever. All I want is to live in peace.”
The fire in my chest calmed a little. “Allora, knowing my son, he’s not going to stop. Do you know he sent me here today to ask you to move into my mansion?”
“What? Why would he do that?”
“Because he cares about you so much he wants to protect you. Well, he wantsmeto protect you from your otherstalker.” I snorted internally.
She looked away, apparently struggling with something. “The only stalker I have is Leo. If I need protection from anyone, it’s him.”
I loved how she always tried to keep me as her little secret. Her way of protecting me back like I’d protected her. Even if she hated me. My eyes dipped to her lips, the urge to kiss her more prevalent than ever. “I can protect you from him, too.”
“You’ll protect me from your own son?” she scoffed.
“I’ll protect you from anyone. From the whole world if I have to.”
She blinked once, her face a deep crimson now, her eyes sparkling at me. “Why would you do that, Don Bellomo?”
Because you’re mine. I protect what’s mine.“I told you. Your safety is my responsibility. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even from my own son.”
She held my gaze, her face a question mark, until Nicole returned with my coffee. Then she hid her eyes from me again.
“Here you go. Sugar. No cream.” Nicole gave me a steamy cup of coffee and sat next to Angel, a grin on her face. “To what do we owe the honor of your visit, Mr. Bellomo?”
My innocent Angel begged me with her eyes not to tell on her.Don’t worry, my sweet girl. Our little secret is safe with me.
“As hard as it is to say it, there has been a misunderstanding, and I’m afraid my son is to blame,” I told Nicole.
Her grin shrank. “What misunderstanding?”
“See, in traditional families like ours, things are a little different. There’s a girl that has been promised to my son since she was a baby. Sadly, Leo didn’t take that promise seriously.”
Angel’s brows hooked. “What?”
“Yeah, what?” Nicole repeated. “And what has that got to do with us?”
“Leo has shown interest in your sister, Nicole, without regard to consequences. His behavior is reckless, no doubt about it, but he meant no harm. However, our families don’t take matters related to honor lightly.”
Nicole’s smile vanished completely. A deep frown contorted her face as her stare darted back and forth between Angel and me. “You hooked up with Leo Bellomo?”
“No! He asked me out without saying he was a Bellomo,” Angel shifted her stare toward me, “or that he was engaged, and I refused.”
“It makes no difference, though,” I said.
Nicole’s grimace deepened, alarm evident on her face. “What does that mean?”
“The situation can upset the other family either way as it hurts the reputation of their girl.”
