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“I’ve missed you today,” she whispers, her breath shimmering over my cheeks, her perfume wafting around me. “Does that make me needy?”
“Yes,” I tell her. “And I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
“Is it busy up there?” she asks, swallowing.
“Not really. Me, Mom, Dad, Scarlet, Elio, and Jessica, Scarlet’s mom.”
“Scarlet’s mom is here?” she says, her voice getting tighter.
“Hey, it’s okay.” I smooth my hand across her face. “It’s just a meal. I have to say… I’m so happy you chose not to cover your beautiful face.”
She reaches up and touches my hand. “I had to pin it in place.”
“I noticed, and it’s gorgeous. Come on. Let’s not keep them waiting.”
Once inside the elevator, she murmurs, “Luca, before we go up there, I have to tell you something.”
“Okay…”
She bites her lip, making her look so captivating. I have to focus on not letting tension flood my length, making me rock-solid. I have to concentrate with everything I have, not to let my balls fill and my desire unleash. It would be so easy to grab onto her thick, gorgeous leg, squeeze to feel her curviness, and spank her big, round ass again.
“Dad knows I know about the whole mafia thing,” she says, averting her gaze.
Something tells me she was initially going to say something else and then chickened out. I don’t want to push her; even if I did, there isn’t time. The elevator door opens with a beep.
“That’s okay,” I tell her. “After tonight, we’ll work out what to do. You need to know, Ruby, you’re not in this alone.”
“So, you’re going to be a historian?” Mom says almost the moment Ruby sits down.
Elio chuckles. “Give her a chance, Mom.”
“You’re pouncing on the poor girl,” Dad puts in.
I sit beside Ruby, my hand on hers to offer her some support against what feels like a gathered army. Even Elio is beaming. The only one who doesn’t look hungry for every little morsel is Scarlet. In fact, she looks slightly concerned, but that’s probably because her mind is on Molly.
“That’s the plan,” Ruby says. “I’ve always loved history. It’s like disappearing into a different world. Well, it’s our world, but…”
“They know what you mean,” I tell her.
She smiles at me and reaches up to move her hair into place. Then she drops her hand as she remembers pinning it back to stop herself from doing precisely that.
“What part of history do you find the most interesting?” Dad asks.
“That’s an issue, actually,” she replies. “I need to pick a specialization, but I love it all. Whenever I think I’ve found my favorite era, I stumble on something else, and so on, and so on.” She bites her lip, glancing at Scarlet, then down at the floor.
Scarlet looks at the floor, too. What the hell is going on between those two? Elio gives me a look. He’s noticed it as well.
“Sir,” Sebastian says, knocking on the door. “The starters are ready when you are.”
Dad claps his hands, standing slowly. He winces a little as he leans against his cane. “Excellent. Shall we?”
I help Ruby to her feet, noticing how she stares across the room at Scarlet. As Scarlet walks past, Ruby suddenly steps forward. “Scarlet… I… Can we talk?”
Elio and I exchange another look. He’s silently asking me if I’ve got any clue what’s happening, and I’m doing the same, but neither of us has a clue. Finally, Scarlet nods, and the two women leave the room, walking quickly like they need to settle whatever business this is before they lose their nerve and back out of it.
“What’s that about?” Elio asks me.
“Honestly, I’ve got no idea.”
“Scarlet was nervous about tonight. She said…”
“What?” I demand when he trails off. “Don’t get all mysterious on me now.”
“She said she was worried that Ruby would be awkward around her. She was worried Ruby would assume a bunch of stuff that’s not true. That’s a quote.”
“What stuff?” I ask.
“She told me she’d prefer not to say.” Elio sighs. “Whatever it is, it’s not good.” He narrows his eyes. “I told you, little brother. This is fate. There’s too much connection here, too many coincidences. Somebody upstairs is having a grand old time at our expense.”
I want to make a joke and tell him he’s losing his mind, but the more events unfold, the more convinced I am he’s hitting the mark. “I just hope, whatever it is, it’s not too bad,” I whisper. “What if Scarlet and Ruby don’t get along? What would we do? We couldn’t choose, could we?”
Elio stares at me bleakly. “Jesus. Hell no.” He clears his throat, looking lost for words, a rarity for him. “I don’t know what we’d do,” he says after a long pause.
CHAPTER 17
Ruby
“We can talk in here,” Scarlet says, leading me into a library filled with books.
