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"No, don't cry." I raise my glass. "To Nonna."
Michael walks back to his seat and raises his glass of prosecco. "To Nonna."
"To Nonna." The others raise their glasses.
We down our drinks just as Gino bursts into the room with Andy. He all but drops the cat on the floor, and the animal hisses at him before walking toward Karma, who picks him up.
"Someone, please keep that beast away from me," Gino snaps. He turns to leave, then glimpses the tiara on Nonna's head. "Like she didn't already have a big ego." He sniffs, then turns to leave.
There's silence, then we all burst out laughing.
"A-n-d, never let it be said that family can't put you in your place." She chuckles. "Thank you." Her eyes shine. "Thank you, everyone. I will always treasure this tiara and this memory." She takes in everyone's faces as the staff bustle in with the dessert.
"Eat up," Luca turns to me, "so we can get to the nightclub."
18
Aurora
I turn on my side and try to close my eyes, but all I can see are images of the alphahole dancing with someone else. Putting his hands on her waist, pulling her close until her hips are flush with his groin, until she can feel the evidence of his arousal as he leans in close; pushing the hair off the base of her neck, and pressing his nose into the curve of her shoulder. He drags his nose up the side of her neck and bites down on her ear. She groans, throwing her head back against his shoulder. He slides his palm down the flatness of her belly toward the apex of her thighs. He grips her pussy and squeezes. She moans and turns her face toward him. Her features dissolve into mine.
I snap my eyes open. My belly trembles, my core clenches, and heat flushes my skin. I throw my cover off and sit up. "Santa Rosalia," I snarl, "what the hell is wrong with me?" Why can’t I get the man out of my head?
The first half of the dinner, he stared at me. Then he turned away and engaged in conversation with Luca. He barely gave me a second glance. When the meal was done, he bid me a polite goodbye and followed his brothers out. I learned later that the brothers had headed out for the nearest nightclub; there was only one in town. Michael had opted to stay back with Karma. I had asked Cass why they hadn’t invited us, and she had looked at me like I was crazy.
Apparently, the Sovrano brothers wouldn’t stoop to inviting women with them when they go cavorting. Damn it. I should have followed them, stowed away in one of the cars or something. And if I had done that, no doubt, they would have discovered me right away.
I slide out of bed and use the bathroom. I get a drink of water and am about to slip into bed when something taps on the windowpane behind me. I yelp and turn toward the darkened rectangle of the window Did I imagine it? Or did something actually hit the pane? I take a step toward it when the tapping sound reaches me again. I jump, and the hair on the back of my neck rises. Who the hell could it be? I head for the windowpane, then yell when familiar features greet me.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I whisper scream.
Christian grips the windowsill outside and signals to me to open the window. My heart begins to race and my pulse slams against my temples. I grip the latch, lower it, and pull the window open. He instantly throws a leg over the sill, then the other. He straightens, tumbles into me, and we fall toward the floor. He manages to grab me and twist, and somehow, I end up falling on top of him. The breath whooshes out of him as he groans. I begin to pull away, but he grabs the back of my neck and holds me in place.
"Let me go," I hiss.
"No fucking way," he growls, and I wrinkle my nose.
"You’ve been drinking."
"No shit." He chuckles. "I had to find a way to forget about the fact that you’re in the chalet next to me, and yet I wouldn’t be able to see you."
"Oh…" Something hot curls in my chest. "Did you miss me?"
"Like I missed a hole in the head."
"A-n-d, there he is," I snap. "Why did you come here anyway? Thought you’d have gone home with whomever you met at the bar."
"The nightclub."
"What-bloody-ever."
"Jealous, Flower?"
"No, and don’t call me by that stupid nickname."
"It suits you." He hauls me close and runs his nose up the curve of my neck. Just as I'd imagined earlier in my half-asleep half-awake state, with that other woman.
I turn my head away, then dig my knee into his groin. He hisses in pain. His grasp loosens enough for me to scramble away. I jump to my feet, or try to, because he’s already thrown himself at me. He grabs my ankle and tugs.
