Page 25 of Bobby

“Funny. Where are you going for lunch? I’m starving.”

Normally I’d welcome my brother to any meal with me. He doesn’t add much to the conversation if it’s with those he doesn’t know, but I’ve never turned him down from joining me.

Until today.

“Sorry, but this is a private affair.” I step around my desk, pretending I don’t see the way he jolts, as if I slapped him, or the way he looks at Marco for guidance. Thankfully, Marco is my man, not his, and knows when to hold things close to the chest. Like now. He gives nothing away as he holds the door for us both to exit through.

“Private, huh? The last time you told me that was when you discussed why Sally Fisher was labeled a good kisser, and it wasn’t for her lips on someone’s mouth.”

I stumble slightly, not because of what Danny said, but because he remembers it. I was fifteen. And it’s been that many years since it happened.

Entering the elevator, I press the button for the ground floor as Marco and Danny enter as well. Danny keeps looking at me, but I keep my face neutral and give nothing away.

Until the elevator stops twenty floors from the lobby. Our elevator program is designed to only go where I dedicate it with my key card, meaning it’s not meant to stop on another floor unless I selected it. Or unless a person I’ve granted access to stops it using their own key card. A week ago, only my brothers and Marco had that access. Not anymore.

“Oh, hey. I was hoping I wouldn’t be late for our lunch.” Willow smiles with so much warmth.

I breathe her in as I dip my head and move just slightly back, not enough to give her much room as she enters.

My brother and Marco move away as much as is civilized in an elevator filled with people. You know, where you don’t brush your arm against anyone else.

Willow greets Marco with a wave and smiles at Danny. His eyebrows nearly hit his hairline with how comfortable she is with me and my second. Funny, considering the man shaves his head daily.

“Did you still want to go to Da Nonna Leone, or did you want something closer to the office if you need to get back earlier?”

I can feel my brother practically breathing down my neck with questions. Da Nonna Leone isn’t a casual location that just anyone can get into. It’s famiglia. More importantly, it’s the Leones’. Reservations are taken months in advance, unless you’re a Leone, and then you get in when you want. Benefits of owning the place. Also, as in every family-run business, there’s always an empty table waiting for a Leone. Even if the restaurant is packed, those who run our businesses know not to seat anyone at our tables unless it’s one of us.

Tommy ran into someone who forgot that rule. The man is no longer breathing. For other reasons as well, but that was one that didn’t help his case in the end.

I look down at Willow. Even though she’s wearing the heels I bought her, she’s still a few inches shorter than me. “You said you wanted the Pollo Alla Nonna Carmela again. There’s only one place in the city you can get it.”

It’s also not something on the menu. I know this, but she doesn’t, as she had me order for her last time. But unfortunately, Danny knows this as well. I’m showing him my hand before I even have time to play it.

I chance a glance at my brother in the elevator’s reflection, but he isn’t staring at me anymore. He’s looking at Willow’s badge. The one she’ll take off when we exit the building but is still wearing around her neck. The one that clearly shows her full name.

I breathe out a steady breath and look at my shoes, debating whether I want to say something or just let the inevitable happen. Because by tonight, before I even get Vinny the numbers he wants, he’ll get the information Danny found on Willow. Everything will be in the report that I got after Saturday’s dinner with her and the girls. I know exactly what he’ll find.

I also know what will be left out.

Her honeysuckle scent. The way her girls can turn any gray cloud into a rainbow with a simple laugh. It might say she’s smart in the file, but it won’t show how brilliant her mind really is. How her level of detail rivals my own, or how she’s both loyal and kind without losing her backbone.

He might find out who she is on paper, but he’ll never know her like I’ve come to know her over the past week.

When the elevator doors open to the lobby, I gesture for Willow to go first, then look back at my brother for a second before nodding to Marco. “We’ll meet you there.”

His lips twitch before I slide my keycard over the access panel and punch in my office floor again. I step out the door a second before it closes, a cursing Danny still inside with Marco blocking his exit. Another perk of my programming is that it doesn’t stop the elevator once it’s engaged unless the same person who scanned in the floor scans it again.

“Is Marco not coming?” Willow asks.

I shake my head. “He’ll meet us there. Danny forgot something upstairs, and he escorted him back up.”

“Oh. Who’s Danny?”

“My brother,” I say casually as I open the door. There’s already someone waiting at my town car to hold the door for us. No doubt Marco alerted the team that I needed a new driver. I can drive myself, but I much prefer my attention on other things. Usually it’s work. Today, it’s Willow, who will discuss work. So really, it’s still work.

“I thought I noticed a family resemblance.” She nods at the man holding the door as she slides into her seat, and I relish the simple joys she brings. No demanding to meet Danny or wanting to know what he does or why he’s here. Just noting our similar traits. It’s refreshing.

Being a Leone has both benefits and drawbacks. Usually with women, they want to meet us all. If they can’t claw their way into one of our hearts, they try the next.