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Roman spends his time working from his office in the city, which means I rarely see him. Left to my own devices, and now that I’m not a flight risk, I’m able to go out whenever I like, as long as Enzo takes me in the car.
On a day when my brain simply can’t absorb any more information, I decide to get together with my sisters for an afternoon coffee out on the town. We meet at a coffee house in my old neighborhood. The area is protected by the Italians, so we don’t have to bring any extra security.
Ginevra takes one look at my engagement ring and her eyes bulge out of her head. “Holy shit, Sophia, I’m surprised you can hold your own hand up. That rock must weigh a ton and a half!”
Arianna pulls her back into her chair. “Don’t make a scene, Ginevra.”
Our youngest sister is unfazed by Arianna’s chiding. She sits in her seat and winks at me.
“It’s so good to finally see you both again.” I hug Arianna, then Ginevra, before taking my seat. “Tell me about everything I’ve missed. How’s Mama?”
I’ve only been away from my family for a couple of weeks, but it feels like a lifetime.
“She’s fine.” Arianna slides my usual order, a hazelnut latte, across to me. “Papa and her have been at odds with each other ever since Roman basically kidnapped you. He’s getting the cold shoulder treatment lately. It’s been a bit tense over dinner, but other than that it’s fine. We still don’t know what Roman is holding over Papa. Papa swears it’s not blackmail.”
“Roman hasn’t said anything about it. He seems more focused on Nik than on Papa.” I shrug. “I’m not sure which one of them was originally his real target.”
“Was?” Arianna frowns. “Has something changed?”
My cheeks heat. “It has. At first, Roman only seemed to want this arrangement for business purposes, but now, I’m pretty sure, he actually wants me. We’ve come to our own agreement that suits both of us. And,” I sip my latte, “he’s going to pay my way through college.”
Ginevra smacks the table in her excitement. “That’s great! You’ve always wanted to get your degree.”
Arianna’s frown deepens. “But, is he going to let you find a job afterward? Or is it a trophy degree?”
“He’s going to let me work. He promised.” I smile at my doubting sister. “It’s fine, Arianna, we’ve worked it all out.”
“Okay. I just don’t want to see your dreams dangled in front of you and then crushed. People play some twisted mind games at times. I don’t think most men are to be trusted.”
“Since when have you become so pessimistic?”
She tilts her head to one side. “You’ve obviously been away so long that you don’t remember me. I’ve always been this way.”
Ginevra giggles. “Yeah, without you around, Sophia, the household is miserable. Arianna casts her negative energy over all of us.” She dramatically sighs. “Most days, I wish to be kidnapped just like you were, so I can escape this black cloud that I call my sister.”
Arianna glares at Ginevra, who remains unaffected, as always. I smile behind my coffee cup. I’ve always been the blunt, but relatively even-tempered one. Ginevra and Arianna are such opposites in so many ways that I’m surprised they haven’t killed each other yet without me acting as a daily buffer between them.
“I missed you two.”
“Aww, that’s sweet.” Ginevra leans her elbows on the table. “Now tell us the truth. Have you had sex yet?”
I choke on air.
“Ginevra, that’s inappropriate,” Arianna grumbles.
Gin shrugs. “What? No, it’s not. We’re sisters, we should be open with each other about our sex lives. No one else is going to share any information with us. And I’m not going into my marriage bed unprepared.”
Out of all of us, Ginevra is the most prepared. Never mind the fact that she’s the youngest and still a virgin. At least I’m pretty sure she is untouched, like the rest of us.
“We haven’t gone all the way yet, but we’ve done some other things that felt really good,” I confess, my cheeks blazing.
Arianna turns her glare on me. “Don’t encourage her. You know what she’s like. We’ll find her in a back alley with some poor boy she coerced, even though he knows if they’re caught, he’ll be dead.”
“Ah, rude.” Ginevra swats at Arianna. “I wouldn’t dothatin a filthy alley. I have more class than that.”
“Not much.”
I laugh. “Mama must be tearing her hair out dealing with you two.”
