Page 88 of Bene

He wouldn’t notice.

It always felt like he was smiling with Vanna.

“Often,” Cara murmured, stroking his cheek again. “And if she does that for you, then I like her very much, Bene. I think that’s what counts.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Is she that kind of girl, then?”

“What kind?”

Cara winked. “The kind you could fall in love with—is she?”

Bene dragged in a quick breath, surprised at the answer that seemed ready at the tip of his tongue. His heart beat harder in his chest, moments of his time with Vanna flashing through his mind as other images—things that could happen, things he wanted to see happen—followed right behind. He wasn’t expecting that, and his silence echoing after his mother asked the question only seemed to have her grinning as though she already knew his answer.

“Bene?”

He let out the air he’d been holding in as he told her, “Yeah, I think she’s exactly that kind of girl for me, Ma.”

Cara nodded. “Go and find her, then.”

He didn’t need to be told a second time, but he made sure to give his mother a hug, lingering with her for another moment, before he headed out of the kitchen. Only one thing, or rather, person, was on his mind, too.

Vanna.

Bene found Vanna easily enough in the grand entrance of the mansion, and he was glad to see she had stuck with his brothers. Not that any of the other guests at the dinner party would do anything to make a problem, but he didn’t know them that well, either. However, if his mother cared enough to invite them for this thing to support the shelter, then they were probably decent.

Probably.

Didn’t mean he cared to find out.

Instead of crossing the room to join Vanna and his brothers with the rest of the party guests, he stayed back near the mouth of the hallway leading further into the mansion to enjoy the view. It was almost as though she fit right in with the rest of them, laughing at whatever Marcus said to Christopher, and quick to bend down to speak to little Maria when the girl tugged on the side of her dress.

She looked happy.

Carefree, even.

And he wanted to appreciate it.

Bene was about to join her and his brothers when the sight of someone else standing across the entry had him grinning for a whole new reason.

Beni.

His twin stood near the front doors with his wife at his side, already passing off his jacket and August’s to the woman handling that at the front. His parents didn’t keep servants in the house often, but for parties and other events, they came to help. A team of maids came throughout the week to keep the large house spotless as well, although his mother was always quick to throw on old clothes and get down to business for that, too.

Knowing Vanna was okay for the moment, Bene left his hiding spot and crossed the room to greet his twin. As though he could feel his brother coming his way—he probably did what with their crazy, nonsensical intuition about each other—Beni lifted his head with a smile, his gaze already landing on Bene moving toward him.

“You didn’t think to let me know you were coming?” he asked.

Beni shrugged, drawing his wife closer to his side. “Dad said he had a surprise for Ma this weekend, and asked if we could come to join in. I guess Corrado got called to Vegas last minute for something, and the baby has an ear infection, so Les and Ginevra didn’t want to fly.”

Ah.

That explained why they weren’t there, too, then.

Although, he never thought to ask.

With his other brother living in New York with his two spouses and their baby girl, they didn’t get to see him nearly as much as they liked. But if he was being fair, sometimes that was okay with Corrado … because the man had his moods.