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“Oh…” The host clearly never expected Bosco to ask for anything else. He grabbed two menus and escorted us to a private table that was spaced noticeably farther away from the other patrons. With a low-burning candle and a small vase of roses, it was a romantic scene.
Like a gentleman, Bosco helped me into my chair before he sat down. The waiter appeared out of thin air, and Bosco ordered a bottle of wine for us to share.
I recognized it right away because it was a bottle my family produced. “You like Barsetti wine?”
“Yes.” He glanced at his menu before he met my gaze. “They make fine wine.”
“I hope you aren’t saying that to impress me.”
“Not at all,” he said. “You’ve made it very clear what impresses you.”
“Which is?” I asked, interested in his answer.
He wore a serious expression, his blue eyes painfully beautiful. “Nothing.”
Unsure what to say, I continued to stare at him.
“A woman who doesn’t need anything is impossible to impress—and that’s why I like you.” He leaned forward with his elbows on the table, infusing me with his presence like he was right beside me. He ignored everyone else in the restaurant even though I saw a few beautiful women look at him. Undeniably handsome, he had dark hair that complemented his tanned skin, and his shoulders looked even broader in the blazer he wore. The V-neck of his shirt showed the musculature of his chest, a hint of his powerful pectorals under his clothes. He was a tall man with a powerful physique, so he attracted the attention of every woman in the room—including mine. “The Barsetti name is a respectable one, even in my world.”
“I’m glad to hear that…I guess.”
“I know your father and uncle retired to a quiet life decades ago, before I was even born, but I’ve heard tales of their brutality and strength. I suspect your family is one of the reasons Bones retired, because he was never the kind of man I expected to retire. He’s too good at what he does—and he loves money too much.”
“All that changed when he met someone he loved more than money—my cousin.”
“Must be an exceptional woman.”
The waiter returned with the bottle and poured two glasses. Then he took our order and walked away again.
Bosco kept looking at me, like he wanted me to respond to what he’d said.
“She is. We’re a lot alike. I feel like we’re sisters more than cousins.”
“That explains a lot. Barsetti women seem to have a special quality.”
“It’s all Barsettis,” I said proudly, knowing we were a tight-knit family that understood loyalty more than anyone else.
The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “I like a woman with pride. Another sexy quality.”
“Why don’t you tell me about your family?” It was the first time I’d asked him a personal question.
His eyes slightly softened like he appreciated the question. “My mother passed away five years ago. Cancer.”
“I’m sorry.” It was one of the worst ways to go, and I pitied anyone who had to go through it.
He nodded. “It was rough. I was really close to her. So was my brother, Ronan.”
“What about your father?”
“That asshole took off after Ronan was born. Decided being a father wasn’t his strength, so he abandoned us. I was raised by a single mother, and let me tell you, she did one hell of a job. Worked two jobs to support us, and she got us into the best schools and gave us the best life she could.”
I liked the way he spoke about his mother, the same pride in his voice as there was in mine. “You never heard from your father again?”
“No. He’d be stupid to show his face. I’d shoot him right in the stomach and watch him bleed out and die.”
I grabbed my glass and gripped it, slightly stunned by easily those words rolled off his tongue.
“I’m not angry at him for leaving. Ronan and I were fine without a father. Our mother played both roles, and she did it a lot better than he ever could. My hatred is on my mother’s behalf. I hate him for abandoning her, for knocking her up and leaving her stranded. That’s why he deserves to die. I know I had a better life without him around. My mother was the one who had to struggle, not me.”
He’d now said something else that surprised me, something that touched my heart. “It sounds like you really loved her.” It made sense that he ended up the way he did, a criminal because his life hadn’t been perfect the way mine had been.
“I did. Miss her every day.” He drank his wine then licked his lips. “I started making serious money in my early twenties. That’s when I told her to quit working and relax a bit. Ronan and I put her in a nice apartment here in Florence along with an allowance. She said those years were some of her best. She even had a boyfriend.”
