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Luca’s answering smile was sharp. “Should have asked her sooner, then.” He turned back to Mr. Rinaldi and explained. “We’re signing a contract with the Irish. This is Rian O’Conner.”
Mr. Rinaldi narrowed his eyes. “I know who he is. I want to know, what are he and his gangsters doing with our Ginevra?”
My lips twisted in annoyance. I wanted to be charming, but this was some bullshit. “A better question is, why did we need an alliance with the Irish in the first place? If only all the families that my father dragged out of poverty, the families he invested in and funded for decades as he cleaned up his territories and got out of trafficking in people, had continued to support him.” I leaned back in my chair. “They didn’t, though.”
“So you’re back for good?” Mr. Rinaldi asked. “And Antonio thought the most useful thing he could do with a smart woman like you is marry you off?”
When Rian stiffened, I reached across the table to lay my hand on his.
Mr. Rinaldi continued, sighing. “All those brains, Ginevra, and you’re back here as a pawn in your father’s games.”
Rian leaned forward, his eyes warm as they stayed on me. He squeezed my hand. “We’re lucky to have her.”
The Rinaldis knew. Of course they knew. At this point, the whole fucking city knew. My family sold me to three Irish men, and here I was.
When Mr. Rinaldi turned to one of his staff members and asked him to bring his checkbook, I knew we’d won.
I waved him off. “Mr. Rinaldi,Zio, that’s not why I’m here today. Come by the house this week. Say hello to my father. Then we can talk business.”
His answering smile was genuine. “Your family’s lucky to have you home.”
My answering grin was cheeky. “I think so too.”
21
RIAN
Patti Russo sure did set a welcoming table, even if the Italians ate hours after dark. Liam and I raced for the empty seat beside Ginevra, laughing and pushing and shoving as we dashed to the dining room. I won by a nose, sliding into place as Liam dove for the seat. I couldn’t stop my eyes from dipping down her neckline to admire the gentle swells of her breasts.
Ginevra gazed up at me through her lashes, grinning at our antics, then followed the path of my eyes. She bit her lip and tilted her head up, and I couldn’t resist brushing her lips with my own before turning to the table.
“It’s wonderful to hear laughter in the house,” Patti said. “It’s been a dark couple of days for us.”
Liam grumbled as he pulled up a chair beside Luca. “It’d be less dark if I got to sit beside my fiancée.”
Luca laughed out loud. “Isn’t she Rian’s fiancée too?”
Patti passed around the first course, and Antonio poured the wine. “To family,” he toasted. Liam, Cormac, and I looked at each other. We’d fought long and hard to come up from poor Irish kids, living six and eight people to one-bedroom apartments, parents strung out or absent, fighting and scrabbling for every inch of territory as we grew up. I wasn’t ready to say we’d made it, not yet, but we were getting damn close.
“To family,” I agreed, raising my glass.
The Russos were charming, well educated, well read, and erudite in their opinions, even Sofia, who’d never been to college. I looked at Ginevra with new eyes, allowing myself to imagine for a moment, what our family might look like in ten years, if we survived, if we allowed ourselves to relax, if she wanted kids, if Liam and Cormac wanted kids.
I gazed down at her as she teased Sofia about her tennis shoes and her new transition to casual clothes, imagining Ginevra’s belly round and her breasts swollen with pregnancy. When she noticed me staring, she looked up at me, nudging me with her shoulder.
“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked me, keeping her voice low.
“Daydreaming about the future,” I said.
Her answering smile was curious. “How so?”
When I pulled her knuckles up to my lips for a kiss, her eyes were soft and sweet. I wished I could bottle that look and keep it with me always. She kept her hand in mine as she returned to the larger conversation.
After we’d finished our wine and our espresso, Antonio pushed away from the table. “I’d like to invite you all to join me in my study.”
While the Russos filed out, I snagged Ginevra by the wrist, pulling her into me as the room emptied. Liam and Cormac crowded close until we pressed tightly against her. She looked up at me with bright eyes. “Last chance to change your mind,” she murmured.
Liam’s laugh cracked through the room like a thunderbolt. “We were about to say the same thing to you.”
