Page 303 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

SEVENTEEN

“Do you want the good news first, or the good news last?” John asked.

Siena grinned. “Well, where does the bad news fit in?”

“That’s the thing—there is no bad news.”

Her laughter drew the attention of the other guests eating with them at the restaurant table, but John paid his family no mind.

“Just tell me,” Siena said.

“Ginevra is coming back to the city this weekend—Greta and Giulia will be the first to greet her.”

For a split second, Siena thought her heart had stopped. But no, the beats just took a chance to recharge before picking up an even faster pace.

“Really?”

The girls would be ecstatic.

They had been asking … and asking more.

Siena didn’t know what to tell them.

“Really,” John said.

Not even thinking about it, she leaned over to give him a quick kiss. She planned to pull away just as fast—no need to give everybody else a show, but John held her there for an extra beat in time.

“Since you’re sharing news, what do you have on Andino?”

Siena frowned when John’s attention drifted away from her momentarily to deal with the men who had filed into the restaurant moments before. His uncles, and his father, each took a seat at the table.

“Good morning to all of you, too,” Siena said.

John shot her a sly smile. The rest of them had the decency to at least look a little bit sheepish.

“Our apologies,” Lucian said, shrugging. “John is not very good at keeping people updated, and so, we have to chase him around to find out things we need to know. Isn’t that right, John?”

John gave his father a look. “I update you all when there are things to report.”

“Are there things to report?” Dante asked.

The quietest of the three men—Giovanni, Andino’s father—rested back in the chair with a passive expression. It was almost like he didn’t want to give off the aura of hope, lest karma come around and see it, only to knock him back down again. Still, the conversation held his attention, and he didn’t look away once.

“Good news,” John assured.

“How good?” Dante pressed.

“You really didn’t think I would get this handled for Andino, did you?”

The three men quieted as they passed looks between one another. Siena cleared her throat, feeling just enough awkwardness to want to move to another table, maybe. John hadn’t asked her to do that, though, so she stayed.

Finally, Giovanni spoke first. “We absolutely thought you could—”

“And would,” Dante added.

“—get this done for Andino,” Giovanni finished. “What we were concerned about was the fact you chose to keep us out of the loop, and went forward with your plans alone. That’s not how this family works. We have always been a unit working together.”

“Except that’s not how I have to work,” John replied.