Page 96 of Alessio

Funny how she didn’t share food well.

She shared them perfectly fine.

Win some, lose some.

“Well?” Ginevra asked him, looking entirely offended he dared to take a bite of her donut she now held out of his reach. “Because I’m not leaving until I get another.”

Corrado chuckled. “You heard her.”

Alessio groaned. “Fine.”

“And,” the older woman who handled the patrons of the upscale, private boutique said, “we’re closed for the next two hours to make sure you find what you need, Ginevra.”

Ginevra’s wide eyes turned on Corrado and Alessio. Although, just him because Alessio was busy leaning over the glass counter to pull an item out from behind it. Something that was a no-no, but he didn’t follow the rules. Or, how to act like he had any sense of decorum.

“Les,” Corrado snapped, “leave it alone.”

“But it’s perf—”

“Would you like me to get that out for you, Mr. Sorrento?”

Alessio came back up with a sly grin. “The blue choker, if you wouldn’t mind, yes.”

The woman—Mandy—nodded. “I will do that for you.”

She left Ginevra’s side, who was still wide-eyed and taking in the large and modernly decorated boutique with high class designer names hanging from every tag, to slip behind the counter. Bending down, she found the particular blue-gem choker that Alessio had been admiring through the glass, and then decided he needed to touch because why not?

It was Les.

Sliding it across the counter, Mandy shrugged. “Sapphires imported from India, designed in Russia—seven thousand for the choker. It’s not an accent piece, but a solitary. There is no matching designs, it’s better—”

“On its own,” Alessio said, picking the choker up from the black velvet where it was displayed. “Add this to the bill, yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

“That’s too much,” Ginevra whispered at Corrado’s back.

He chuckled, amused at how she lowered her voice so the other two wouldn’t overhear. She was trying her best not to become overwhelmed by the boutique, and the items inside, but she was still wide-eyed and stunned.

He liked that look on her.

“It’s a good price, actually,” Corrado returned, turning to face her. “And it’s going to hug your throat nicely.”

Ginevra balked. “But—”

“We should look for something blue to match.”

“You’re … impossible.”

Corrado arched a brow. “I didn’t pick the jewelry, I’m just saying the rest should match.”

“The more expensive things are, the worse it is to wear them.”

“Why?”

“Because I worry it might break, or get ruined, or—”

“I don’t want to tell you those feelings are nonsense, because Alessio likes to tell me that all too often, I dismiss others’ experiences and emotions, and I shouldn’t do that.”