A traitorous flutter appears low inside my belly.
God, what’s wrong with me? This man forced me to marry him, and here I amfluttering.
This is exactly why I have to find my way out of New York, and I have to do it quickly, before I become even more confused about my feelings.
“I wonder how Blake feels about everything,” Cosimo says as he cuts into his veal. “Sounds like you brought her nothing but trouble. Blake, I assume you had no idea who Nero was at first.”
Beside me, Nero stills. My gaze drops to the tight grip he’s got on his steak knife.
“No, I didn’t. I only found out recently.”
“You must love him a lot to stay by his side.” Cosimo’s lips curve into a mocking smile.
I can tell Cosimo doesn’t like Nero, and for a second, I wonder ifhemight be able to help me.
But the idea makes my stomach churn. Cosimo would never let Nero forget it, and Nero would be so furious he might just try to kill Cosimo.
I bite down on my lip. No. I don’t need that on my conscience. There has to be a way for me to slip away without causing anyone to be hurt.
“Oh, there he is,” Vita says suddenly, her gaze shifting to the doorway.
I follow her line of sight and see Alessio Ferraro entering the room.
Nero told me that Alessio is the head enforcer of the Ferraro family. He didn’t need to give me more details. I know what being an enforcer means.
No wonder Nero seemed so stunned when I yelled at the dark-haired man. I’m guessing most people don’t do that sort of thing. But I really wasn’t thinking rationally at the time or paying too much attention to anything but my bruised and beaten husband.
Alessio takes a seat beside his brother and gives Nero and me a curt nod. His hair is tied back from his face with an elastic band, but a few strands have escaped, casting shadows over his cheekbones.
Vita smiles. “Blake, Alessio tells me the two of you already met?”
“Briefly.”
“It’s a shame Rom couldn’t be here,” she says, referring to the youngest Ferraro brother. “I would have loved for you to meet him too.”
My curiosity gets the best of me. “Why?”
This whole evening has just been…entirely too pleasant. It’s like they’re trying to butter us up for something.
Vita doesn’t seem offended by the question. “We think it’s important that whenever anyone new joins our family, they feel welcomed.”
I glance at Nero. He’s cutting his baked potato into neat pieces, wearing a neutral expression on his face, but something’s just not adding up.
Nero said Gino Ferraro planned to kill him the day we returned. How the hell does someone go from that to this in the span of less than a week?
“Nero, tell me about this company you ran in Missouri,” Gino prompts.
The conversation steers toward Handy Heroes for the rest of the dinner. Cosimo and Alessio stay mostly silent, as do I, but Gino and Vita seem engaged in the discussion, asking questions and nodding along to Nero’s stories as if they’re old friends.
It’s only when the staff come around to take away our empty plates that something in the atmosphere shifts.
Gino folds his napkin into a rectangle and places it on the table. “There’s a bit of business I’d like for us to discuss. Would you two join Vita and me in the office?”
“The two of us?” Nero asks, tossing me a look.
“That would be great.”
Nero frowns. “Blake doesn’t need to be there if we’re talking business.”
