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I groan at the mental image. “Fuck. I’m going to be thinking about that a lot today. Sorry, not sorry,Bellissima.And you better get used to me ruining your panties,” I add with a wink.
Giulia fights a smile and rolls her eyes. “You said you’d be here another day?”
“At least.” I know she’s curious about what brought me here—what kind of business I could have back in her town. I think it’s funny to pretend there’s nothing that brought me here but her. Once she catches on, she’ll probably roll her eyes, but I’m looking forward to it.
She kisses me once, far too quickly, before leaving. Already, I wish she was back.
Chapter 17
Roberto
Isighandlieback on the empty hotel room bed, smiling. I really am falling fucking hard for Giulia because I'd be content to stay right here exactly like this until she's done with work and can come back for another round.
But I brought my laptop to get some work done on the side, and I'd better get to it. I shower and step into my pants before noticing my phone has a few new messages. The most recent one is from Marcus, and I skim it quickly before tensing.
Which one is your room number? We're worried. Fucking answer already.
Why the fuck would he want my room number? Unless…
I swear and hurry to finish getting dressed. If Bruno and Marcus are worried about me, there's a good chance they've tracked me down to get me out of the trouble they think I like to get into so much. And if they managed to find me here at this nice hotel in LA, they might be down there about to run into Giulia.
Just as I scramble for the door, there's a loud knock. I recognize the tune of it and throw open the door with a fierce glare that makes both my cousin and my friend take a step back. But despite their good instincts, they both look equally annoyed.
"What the fuck?" Bruno snarls. "You say you're going on a business trip and comehere?You're going to get yourself killed, you motherfucking idiot."
"Why weren't you answering your phone?" Marcus snaps before Bruno's even finished talking.
I fold my arms. "My business, not yours. You two have serious abandonment issues if you can't handle two days without me. Go back to Chicago. Leave me the fuck alone."
Marcus ignores my words and shoves past me. He's roughly the same build and height as I am, and I'm not going to resort to brute strength to keep them out because that would only make them more suspicious, so it's not too challenging for him. Bruno follows him into the room, and I grit my teeth before shutting the door and facing them. Neither of them has mentioned Giulia, which is a relief since I'm guessing it means they didn't run into her, but I'm still on high alert and pissed that they're here.
"Spill," Bruno snaps. "Why the hell did you come here?"
"Business."
"With the Russos?" Marcus raises a brow. "The next meeting is in Oregon in five days, and you can message them to work out any kinks in the plan. So why come here for that?"
"Personalbusiness," I clarify.
"Oh, hell." Bruno gasps and points at Giulia's ripped panties, barely visible half under the unmade, wildly messed up bed. I wince. "Damn it, Roberto, tell me this isn't what I think it is."
I roll my eyes. "Can't. You obviously think I fucked a woman in here, and big surprise, I did. Great detective work. Now the two of you can kindly get lost so I can get on with things. Contrary to what my father thinks, my own businesses don’t run themselves."
"Who'd you fuck?" Marcus demands.
"Just some girl I met in a bar." I hate saying that, but I'm pretty sure Giulia would be ready to kick in my teeth if I said anything else.
"Bullshit," Bruno huffs. "You don’t stick around in the morning if it's just some girl. And you would've been answering your phone and telling us what the hell is going on."
As if my phone has chosen this moment to betray me, it buzzes on the nightstand charger, and Marcus and I lunge for it simultaneously. He gets there first, trying to glimpse the screen, but I twist his arm painfully until he drops it with a hissed swear. I shove him away, glad I got it first because the text is from Giulia—just four words.
Meet me for dinner?
I grin.
"Fucking hell, Roberto," Bruno mutters. "You're hooking up with that Russo ice queen, right? Is that why you've been so cagey and not telling us shit?"
The glare I fix Bruno is dark enough to make him shut his mouth and back off, but Marcus takes me by surprise and swears viciously.
