Page 37 of Bene

Vanna listened to their conversation as she helped to clean the table, and then proceeded to load dishes into the dishwasher. Gemma barely spoke to her at all, but that wasn’t anything unusual. The woman never held much affection or care for Vanna, even when she agreed to bring her into the home after her father’s death.

She didn’t take offense.

It wasn’t personal.

It just was.

After they brought the drinks to the table, Vanna excused herself to the kitchen to finish cleaning, even though there wasn’t much left to do, if anything at all. She busied herself with wiping down the counters while watching through the entryway.

Occasionally, Mario would look her way, but mostly, he watched his father, and engaged in the conversation at the table. A little king in waiting, or so he thought. She used to think his strange infatuation with her would die once he figured out she didn’t feel the same, but if anything, the man seemed determine to prove she would someday be sitting at his side at the table with the rest of them.

Vanna didn’t think so.

But one thing at a time.

She had other shit to focus on right now.

Finishing her work in the kitchen, Vanna washed her hands as a familiar ding echoed. She darted for her purse to find the phone hidden inside and checked the screen to see the contact that lit up the ribbon with a text.

It was an unknown number, but the text explained it clearly enough. Bene.

Vanna smiled.

Well, well, well …

Hey, it’s Bene. You free tonight?

That’s all his text read.

She shouldn’t leave the Detti home yet.

She had other things to do.

And yet, the vendetta …

That man.

Those thoughts warred. She needed more on the Guzzi family to have anything useable to ruin them, and nothing she had now would work. That much had been confirmed by the man who received her initial findings from Bene’s place. Not to mention, she would be a damn liar if she said she hadn’t thought about Bene a lot in the last couple of weeks. It was memories of him that helped her find relief in too-hot showers with only her hand between her thighs.

Vanna didn’t hesitate to reply, I can be—give me a time and place, we’ll meet up.

That was that.

Vanna stepped out of the cab to find Bene leaning against the brown brick of a small bar that wasn’t very far away from his place. “Was that intentional?”

He arched a brow. “Pardon?”

“Did you get me over here so that we were closer to your place when the night is over?”

A laugh answered her back.

And damn.

The man looked sexy doing it.

She took a moment to admire the leather jacket and dark-wash jeans he’d thrown on that fit perfectly to his strong thighs, and the tall, dark, and handsome appeal of the rest of him. Everything about this man seemed to be dangerous for her body, considering the only thing she seemed to feel around him was the strongest lust of her life.

It made things hard.