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CHAPTER10
Luciano
Lunch was going betterthan I could have imagined. I had been certain that there would be bullets flying before they’d even taken seats at the table.
Yet between my mother and Bria, they’d managed to keep the conversation on track and defuse the situation. No one had threatened anyone and we’ve made it through the first course already.
“What part of the business side of things do you want to learn more about?” my mother asked, truly wanting to get to know her future daughter-in-law better.
“Bria seems to thrive on the field side of business. I think she’ll get bored behind a desk. She’s really good at the action side of field work,” I commented, wondering how that information would be received.
Mother frowned at my words. “You’d never send her out though, that would be too dangerous.”
“Women aren’t meant to do field work,” her mother agreed.
I was confused. Did her mother not know what Bria did for her husband? Could she actually be that sheltered from the workings of her family? Be that closed off from her own daughter?
“Actually, I would send her into the field knowing she’d have my back. After what I saw yesterday and her actions that saved a few of our soldiers’ lives along with her own, I think she’ll be able to handle herself nicely.” I smiled at her and rubbed a hand down her thigh. My fingers itched to get more creative with my caresses.
“There may be a few times when she’ll have to pull back due to expecting a child, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” I picked up her hand and kissed the knuckles.
The look of surprise on her face was worth having said it because she beamed at me. After witnessing her reaction, I would have to remember to do this more often. I was already softening for that smile of hers. I was fucked.
“She is one of the best people I’ve had handling my field work in years.” Marco lifted a glass in a semi toast to her work. “I tell her what needs to be done and she does it. Sometimes she simply knows and takes care of the situation before it ever gets truly out of hand.”
“Yeah, you were so proud of my work and abilities that you were willing to give it all away for the protection from your enemies. We wouldn’t be sitting here having lunch otherwise, so I wonder how much I should trust your praise?” Her words were razor sharp, and I would have felt bad for her father but there was obviously tension there between them.
Marco narrowed his eyes at his daughter, but took a big swig of his drink. Once the glass left his lips, a smile was in place.
That was something that I needed to know more about. What had made her relationship with her father sour so much? It wasn’t any wonder that she didn’t have respect for Angelo or her father.
“Well, we like to give credit to those that work hard and you, my darling, have already shown the Romanos your loyalty a few times over. Continue in this direction and you’ll be just as revered as I am one day.” I winked at her.
I didn’t think that she was going to be that well-liked by my men, but I could be proven wrong if the past twenty-four hours were any indication. She had already won my mother over and the men were showing obvious signs of loyalty. I wouldn’t be surprised at anything the future held. This arrangement was turning out better than I could’ve ever predicted.
“On that note, the men should move into the drawing room and take care of this problem that you’ve been having, Angelo.” Marco raised his empty glass as if that was his excuse.
Bria stood and walked with me, but I lagged behind just enough so that we could have some time alone.
“I know what you’re going to ask, and I think that you should stay here and spend the time with your sister and mother.” I cut off her words before she could even offer.
She appeared to think about it before she stepped closer to me and fiddled her fingers over the buttons of my shirt, gave me sultry eyes and mouthed back at me, “If you promise to tell me everything that’s said.” I wanted to fucking smile. When has a woman ever made me want to smile because she was being adorable. Her pout was cute but not quite enough to get me to change my mind, but it made me want to get it over with quicker so I could get her alone.
“You are certainly a handful.” I mumbled and leaned in and gave her a steamy kiss that would close her mouth long enough that I could catch up before my father started something.
I ended the kiss abruptly. “We’ll talk later.” I left her breathless and sagging against the wall.
“Don’t let her in here under any circumstances,” I warned Nick, pinning him with a glare.
“Yes, sir,” he agreed, crossing his arms and taking up guard position in front of the door.
I arrived just in time because right in the middle of the room was my father, holding his gun to Marco’s chest as Marco stood there with a bored expression on his face. Was this man crazy? Or had a death wish?
“What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, old man? Is that why you wanted us to merge our families, so we have to clean up your mess?” my father accused Marco, waving the gun a little wildly.
“Hey, now. Let’s put the gun down and talk about this like the gentlemen that we are. We can do this in a much better manner than shooting each other.” I put my hand on his gun and Marco relaxed his stance enough that I didn’t realize he was a little tense with the gun aimed at his chest.
Marco sauntered over to the leather couch and sat down. “You can look at my books right now. I have nothing to hide. I’ve been working on getting everything together so that once the wedding takes place, you can go through them and take over. I can prove there isn’t any human trafficking going on,” he offered easily.
