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“Well, that’s why I’m here.” He cleared his throat. “Sienna, I know the answer to this, but I just have to ask it. Did you take this?” He held up the leather notebook, something I’d never seen before.
“No, why? Whose is it?”
“It’s okay.” He closed his eyes and whispered something I couldn’t understand. “Thanks.”
“Vinni, what’s going on?”
“Let’s just say I believe you’re her current target.”
“Me?” I wasn’t shocked, and I wanted to tell Vinni the truth. I hated lying to him, but Elio and I couldn’t afford her running off, not when we had too many lingering questions.
“Just be happy you’re leaving for a while. Hopefully, she’ll straighten herself out before you get back.”
“Wait,” I eyed the notebook again, “did you find that there?”
“It was on the hall table, just as you come in.”
That slippery little rat must have planted that evidence just before he came over. I remembered hearing the front door.All right, Noemi, you want to play dirty, we can play dirty.
Elio showed up late for dinner, and when he was filling Vinni in about some dockyard news, I took the opportunity to call Francesco.
“What are you up to?” Wyatt caught me at the door just as Francesco arrived.
“I’m going to deal with Noemi,” I grabbed my purse, “and you’re going to distract Vinni by whatever means necessary.”
“We all have our talents, my dear, and mine is to find a way to show Vinni he’s playing for the wrong team.” He grinned.
“Right, so go change into a bathing suit, flex those muscles, and invite him for a long soak in the hot tub.”
“I aim to please.” He caught my arm. “But in all seriousness, watch your back, Si. Most sons wouldn’t have put you first when second-guessing something their mother told them. She must be scary.”
“You have no idea.” I shrugged at his uplifted brows. I felt so bad for Vinni and Niccola. It was only a matter of time before their world exploded, too.
With a quick kiss to his cheek, I left Wyatt and shot out the front door to the car.
* * *
“You know what you’re doing?” Francesco asked as we walked toward the steps of the beach villa. “Because if this goes sideways, it won’t look good for you.”
“She tried to play a Greta move with Vinni and maybe even with Niccola. I’ve worked too damn hard to prove I’m here for all the right reasons. If there’s something I can do to tip this woman off her game, I’m going to do it before we leave tomorrow.”
“I’m giving you fifteen minutes. If you’re not out by then, I’m coming in,” he warned me. “It’s bad enough that Elio doesn’t know you’re here.”
I rested a hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. “I’ve been through more than most in this lifetime. I promise you, Francesco, I’ve got this.”
“Fifteen,” he muttered, but I knew he heard me.
Careful not to make much noise, I slipped through the front door, down the hallway, and into the room where I’d first come face to face with dear old Nonna Greta. Goosebumps rose along my skin as I thought about that day, with her wrinkly skin and those cold eyes that burned into my soul.
When I spotted what I wanted, I tucked it into my palm as I listened for the footsteps I knew would come. I’d purposely made enough noise to draw her from wherever she was in the house.
“Vinni?” she called. “Son, is that you?” She turned on the lights as she checked each room. “Niccola?” The lights became brighter as she switched each one on, then she entered the room I was in. She clicked the light on and off, but I had unplugged it. “Greta?” she called again.
I clicked on the lamp then, and she jumped, putting her hands to her chest.
“Lord, you scared me!” She caught her breath, and the anger seeped back in. “So, now you’re breaking into my house?”
“Seems fair, seeing as you did the same to me this afternoon.”
