Once we’re alone again, I glance over at him. “Why are we here?”
“What do you mean?”
“This,” I murmur, gesturing around us. “We haven’t left the house for anything in how long, and now we’re here dining out like nothing is wrong. And where’s Carlo?”
The man grins knowingly, but Cesare shoots him a look, and he keeps his mouth shut.
“We’re just meeting someone. Carlo is next door, and he wanted us to wait here,” he says simply.
“Meeting with who?”
“A potential ally.”
My brows pinch lightly at that. “Ally?”
As if realizing what he said, Cesare clears his throat and tries to press a pleasant expression. “A business partner.”
“Okay, ‘business partner’…” I murmur, not entirely believing it. “You don’t usually bring me to business meetings.”
“No, we don’t.”
His vague responses force something to tighten in my chest, and as nerve-racking as it is, it feels more like a spark of hope.
“Then why bring me now?”
Cesare studies me for a long moment, then he sighs. “Because things are complicated…and because you’re family. If the deal goes well, then you are needed here.”
Family. The word hits me harder than it should.
After Dad died, I expected things to change between us. I thought we’d soften somehow, or at least talk and grieve together. My brothers have always been a distant feature in my life, and for the sake of being family, I wanted us to mend that gap. But it hasn’t happened.
I should be cautious, given how they have had ample opportunities to get closer to me, but somehow, this little thing feels like an olive branch, and I don’t want to let it pass me by.
Nodding lightly, I lean back in my seat. “What kind of business partner?”
“One who can help with our Lukov problem,” Cesare murmurs over his glass.
The name doesn’t mean anything to me, and I frown. “Lukov?”
“They’re Russian,” he says. “They have enough power to be incredibly annoying for our plans.”
Of course, that’s all I get.
Once the food is brought out to us, I settle in, trying not to show just how curious I really am. They never include me in any of this, and I hardly know anything about what my brothers actually do. I’m usually just an afterthought left in the dark, and not an actual player in the game.
The fact that I’m even here is very intentional, even if Cesare hasn’t divulged all the details to me yet.
“So,” I eventually say as carefully as I can, uselessly nudging at my pasta with my fork. “How does this ally benefit?”
After taking a generous drink from his glass, Cesare grins. “That’s where you come in.”
I pause at that, feeling as if that spark of hope hangs in the air between us, unsure of where this is going. On one hand, it could be nice to be included and given the insider knowledge of what my family gets up to. But on the other hand, I can’t shake the subtle dread that makes my stomach sink. If they’ve never brought me into the loop before, then why would they now?
“What do you mean?”
Cesare leans back, draping his arm over the back of the chair like this is some casual conversation. “There’s a deal on the table, and Carlo’s working out the details as we speak. If everything goes well, then we need you nearby.”
Having myself brought into the equation makes my blood run cold, and I don’t like whatever he could be implying.
