Page 192 of Cara & Gian: The Guzzi Duet

“Yeah, I know, but you also don’t go out of your way to irritate the monster that man happens to be, so I made the middle-ground choice that I figured you would want me to.”

Gian scowled. “I’m going to be late for dinner with my mother, now.”

Celeste would not be pleased about that.

“I already took care of it, boss.”

“Oh?”

“She’s going to come for breakfast tomorrow, at that restaurant you like downtown. Just you and her, maybe your father, too. Also, I figured if you were in a public place, she would be less likely to make a scene about you getting out of jail or the fact you were in jail to begin with.”

Gratitude flooded Gian where Chris was concerned. The enforcer was decent. He did his job, even if Gian wasn’t always pleased about the way he did it, and he took care of his boss. That was the most important thing.

“All right, then,” Gian muttered, shooting a look at the SUV. “A dinner with my father-in-law it is.”

And a car ride with his wife.

Fun.

“Here,” Gian said, digging his cell phone out of the paper bag. The device was dead, and needed a charge. “You brought something to charge this, right?”

“Sure did.”

Chris never failed.

“I should have brought you a new suit to change into,” Elena said.

Gian passed her a look, noting the red dress, matching heels, and wide-brimmed sunhat she wore. For the most part, the hat had been a good shield between them, keeping them from needing to look at one another, never mind talk.

“Why would you do that?”

“You know how Daddy is,” she said quietly.

Gian went back to staring out the window. “He’s the one who wanted this dinner, Elena, knowing I was fresh off release. He can deal with a wrinkle in my shirt.”

“Still …”

“And you don’t need to be bringing me anything,” Gian added.

Elena sighed. “Sure.”

Gian glanced back at his wife again, taking note of the nervous edge in her posture and her hands fidgeting in her lap. Chris caught his boss’s reflection in the rearview, but quickly turned his gaze back on the road.

“You haven’t seen Gabriel since I went in, then?” Gian asked.

Elena shrugged. “I didn’t have to. He was in for a while, too.”

“He was released a month before me.”

“I made excuses.”

“Two blocks away, boss,” Chris said from the driver’s seat.

“Merci,” Gian replied, though he continued watching Elena. “Smile pretty and nod at whatever he says, because that’s what he likes to see from you. Keep your replies quiet and well-mannered, as that forces him to be polite, too. Don’t give him shit to pry into, where our lives or this marriage is concerned; neither of us wants or needs that. Thirty minutes, at the most, and I’ll excuse you. How’s that?”

Elena frowned. “You don’t have—”

“What good is your husband, if he doesn’t at least look out for you, Elena?”