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“You’re Nate’s mom?” he questions. “That is so cool. It’s nice to meet you. Nate told me he also just met his mother and I told him that was weird because I’ve known my mother all my life and-”
Christian clears his throat interrupting his son’s rambling.
“What have we said about acceptable conversations, Dan?”
“Right, sorry,” the boy says abashedly. “It’s really nice to meet you though.”
Despite myself, I smile. He reminds me of Nate.
“Nice to meet you too, Daniel.”
Christian looks at me, his gaze flicking to Rico who’s silent and brooding at my side.
“Why don’t we go upstairs? I’m sure you’ll get an explanation then.”
I nod and we all enter the elevator. Rico presses the button for the penthouse, and I don’t miss the way his hands flex, edging towards his suit jacket. I place a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. I don’t think Christian means to harm us in anyway. I just don’t like that this meeting caught us by surprise. The ride up is completely silent, only interrupted by the consistent bouncing from the little D’Angelo. He seems incapable of being still, eyes roaming, legs bouncing. His father appears used to it, he paints a stark contrast though. Completely unruffled. I’m guessing Daniel gets his quirks from his mother.
The elevator opens, depositing us right into the massive penthouse. As soon as we appear, there’s the sound of little feet approaching rapidly. Nate appears and my heart warms at the sight of him. He doesn’t even look at me though, his eyes landing on his friend. Both boys hug and this time my heart warms for another reason as they start speaking over each other rapidly.
We enter the house just as Xander arrives. He’s wearing a black Henley sweater that hugs his physique and blue jeans. He arches an eyebrow in surprise as he takes us all in.
“Hey, princess,” he greets, eyes falling on me. “I thought you were coming later.”
“I finished early and decided to come over. Imagine my surprise when I ran into Mr. D’Angelo downstairs,” I say, my tone light but also conveying how not okay the meeting was.
Xander catches on, his eyes narrowing slightly. Then he’s looking at Christian.
“Hi, I’m Alexander Steele. Thanks for bringing your son over.”
“No problem. If you don’t mind though, I’m going to stick around for a little bit. I know the plan was to drop him off but I figured we might all get to know each other.”
His tone borders no argument. And I hear the underlying message. Until he’s sure of where we stand, he’s not leaving his son alone in a house with me. Smart man.
“Right..” Xander trails off, looking from Christian to me. I realize he might not really understanding the dynamics of the situation. He claps his hands together, “Alright, how about I pull Katerina to the side for a quick conversation? You can talk to Rico for a while, neither of you mind, right?”
My cousin snorts in reply. Christian’s lips curl into a frown. I fight back a smile as I follow Xander into the kitchen. He doesn’t waste any time before speaking.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
My eyebrows furrow. “What do you mean what’s going on? What do you think is going on? Do you have any idea who that is?” I ask, slightly exasperated.
Xander appears entirely too calm. “Sure, Christian D’Angelo. Am I missing something?”
“Xander, he’s the Don of the D’Angelo family. One of the most feared and respected men in the outfit. And you just invited his son on a playdate to your house?”
Very slowly, I see his expression turn to one of realization.
“Oh,” he says then shrugs, immediately shifting back to calm.
“Oh?”
“Katerina, you do realize who you’re speaking to right? Of course I know who he is. I know every fucking thing about him and his family. I wouldn’t have allowed him here if I didn’t.”
“And?”
“And what? I verified his identity and I’m aware of what he’s capable of. This has nothing to do with your business. Daniel and Nate met in school and became best friends. Nate’s been missing his friend the past couple of days so I reached out to Christian who after some consideration agreed to bring him here so they could see each other. We’re all very well informed, princess.”
“Except me,” I mutter.
