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I turned to the menu, as if I hadn't looked it over a hundred times in the past. When Lino's hand took mine and made me look over at him, I tipped my lips up at the odd look on his face. "What is it?"
"Do you have any idea how many times I took you here and wished I could just hold your hand?" He brought it to his lips, kissing the back so lightly that I giggled.
"Probably as many times as I wished you could just take me home after."
He grinned at me in response, shaking his head. "I've created a monster. How is a man supposed to keep up with you, vita mia?"
I snorted at him, pressing a hand to my face as I giggled. When the waiter brought our wine, we waited in silence until he'd left. "That's funny." The man was insatiable, with a stamina that still managed to shock me even though I spent many nights being woken up at random moments so he could have his way with me.
"What exactly are you insinuating, woman?" he laughed, and I rolled my eyes at him in a fight to control my giggle when the waiter returned.
"Are we ready to order?" he asked, and Lino turned to him with a broad smile that I realized he'd been using less and less in the months before my divorce. Like something had eaten away at the happy front he wore in public, and he'd gotten closer and closer to the hardened cousin who ran the show.
"I'll have the ribollita, and she'll have the beef polpette with a green salad on the side and crispy polenta," Lino ordered, and I glared at him as I shut my menu. His look dared me to say it hadn't been my order, and I couldn't help the curiosity. I didn't order the same thing frequently, so it had become a game for him to try and predict what I might order.
Somehow, he was always right.
Always.
The waiter smiled, and I knew in that moment it was someone I recognized. "You two are adorable," he murmured before he strolled off to tend to his other customers.
"Did you hear that? We're adorable." Lino teased, poking at the scowl on my face. "Was I wrong?"
"No," I grumbled.
"I don't know why you get so upset. It isn't like I've ever ordered wrong." When I stayed quiet and sipped my wine, something red and sweet that he knew I'd enjoy, he spoke again. "How was work?"
I scrunched my face up momentarily, before forcing the lie to my mouth. "It was good."
"Uh-uh, what was that face, Little Dove?"
I ran my tongue over my teeth, before diving into the most vague explanation I could find. "Do you remember a while back when I said one of the employees was sleeping with a client's wife? Well, he evidently found out today. Came to confront Jasper and the employee about it, and obviously that wasn't a fun conversation. It wasn't bad by any means, just awkward. I mean, I've seen the guy's wife with her legs spread on a desk and another man between her legs, so it was kind of hard to look at him, you know?" My words were quiet, aware of the setting of our conversation. Lino slammed his wine down to the table, the liquid splashing within the glass.
"Why was he let into the building in the first place?" Lino demanded, and I looked at him with wide eyes.
"I don't imagine Jasper wanted to tell security that a client wasn't allowed inside because an employee had fucked his wife. We were trying to keep that information quiet." I took another sip of my wine, setting it down quietly to contrast the angry way Lino had caught attention from nearby diners.
"If security isn't up to par there, you'll have to work somewhere else. I understand you want to work, and you like your job. I can find something for you that will challenge you in the same way but ensure your safety. My security at the club is top notch."
I rolled my eyes. "Right, because I totally want to watch your employees come on to you all day long, Lino. Be realistic."
"You don't have anything to worry about. I would never have an affair, Samara," Lino explained. "Besides, maybe your presence would put a stop to it more efficiently since you're so bothered by it. We could see each other throughout the day."
"I would never have an affair either, does that mean you want to watch men hit on me?" I returned, crossing my arms over my chest. Lino eyed the move, and I was struck by the familiarity of the scene. Dobson's affair had prompted Lino to try to convince me to work for him before, and it seemed it had given him another reason to push his luck.
His face turned thunderous, even as he noted the change in my posture. "You're only giving me more reason to bring you to work for me. My employees would know better than to even look at what's mine."
I smiled, leaning into the table to hold his eyes as I spoke. "Listen to me very, very carefully Angelino Bellandi. I am not leaving my job. I am not coming to work for you. I will keep working at Lamb and Rowe for as long as I see fit. I have conceded to you in a lot of things over the last month, but this is where I draw the line. Do not push me."
I'd expected him to argue, to make demands, but instead he nodded. "Fine, but Emilio will be guarding you more closely if I can't trust the security on the premises."
"You have got to be kidding me!" I hissed. "There are all kinds of confidentiality clauses that say he can't—"
"So Jasper will get him the paperwork to sign, but he will either be up there with you or downstairs screening all visitors going to see you or Jasper. That is the only way I'll compromise on this, Little Dove," Lino argued, leaning back in his seat as the waiter dropped our food in front of us.
"Fine. He can work with security downstairs. I'll talk to Jasper on Monday," I sighed with a roll of my eyes. The only thing that made it better was the way Lino kissed my hand one last time before tucking into his food.
I wondered if things would ever even out, if we'd ever find a pattern that worked for us where we didn't bicker with one another about my safety.
