Her eyes flicked away momentarily, and the corner of her mouth lifted in a pained smile. “That I’m a tough bitch.”
“Tough. Fucking. Bitch.” I brought her face close to mine, our foreheads almost touching as I stared into her brilliant green eyes. “With a man who will go scorched earth for her.”
The day was almost over when I got a text from Santino, whom I hadn’t heard from in weeks.
Can you meet up?
For what reason?
Need to talk to you about something.
I read the message a couple more times, standing outside the winery because I was about to head to my Range Rover in the parking lot. My mind worked furiously to connect dots that weren’t even on the page. Then a smirk moved over my lips.Or you just need something from me.
I’ll meet you at Florio at seven.
I’m not going to drive three hours when you’re the one who needs a favor. Meet me in Caltanissetta if you want to talk.
Fine.
I knew Francesca was at one of the many funerals with her father. I felt bad for texting her when she was probably seated on a pew in a church, but I wanted to give her a heads-up about my plans. Didn’t want her to make dinner for me when I wouldn’t be home to eat it.I’ve gotta meet an old friend for dinner tonight in Caltanissetta. Probably won’t be home until after nine. Then I shared my location with her, realizing I hadn’t already done it. That way, if she ever wanted to know where I was or if I was on my way home, she could just check my location.
Her three little dots popped up and then her message.Thanks for letting me know, babe.
The biggest fucking grin stretched across my face when I read that. “Babe.” She didn’t say it a lot, but when she did, it turned me the fuck on. A possessive endearment. I was frustrated she hadn’t come clean to her dad, but I knew her hesitation had nothing to do with the way she felt about me.
I got to the restaurant first and ordered a stiff drink while I waited for Santino.
I noticed that Francesca had started to share her location with me, reciprocating my gesture of transparency.
We were in deep now.
There was nothing her father could do or say to put a stop to this relationship. He could try to kill me, but that wouldn’t work out so well for him. And he knew full well that I wasn’t the kind of man he wanted as an enemy.
Santino finally walked into the restaurant, looking the same except for the thick beard he now sported. He pulled out the chair across from me and took a seat. He ordered his drink from the waitress then crossed his arms over his chest. “That was a bitch of a drive.”
“Which is why I didn’t make it.”
He gave a quiet chuckle before he looked at the menu. “What’s good here?”
Last time I was here, I didn’t make it through dinner. I took Francesca to a boutique hotel across the street and made her cry when she came. We had the leftovers in bed. But I kept that information to myself. “The roast chicken is pretty good.”
The waitress came over and set his drink in front of him. “Ready to order?”
“Yeah.” I ordered the chicken then looked at Santino.
“I’ll have the same.”
She took the menus and walked off.
Santino uncrossed his arms and looked at me again.
I was relaxed in the chair, waiting for him to cut to the chase.
He rubbed the back of his neck like he didn’t know where to start.
“If you want something, just ask for it.”
“That doesn’t work.”
