Page 28 of Heart's Temptation
I was about to say how, you don’t have my number, when again, I reminded myself that everyone at this table probably knew more about me than I did.
Romeo stood up and reached out his hand to shake, then surprised me by tugging me in for a perfunctory hug.
“Welcome back,” was all he said before sitting back down and leaving us in an awkward silence.
“This is Raffaello.” Simo spoke in a modulated tone that parents often used while speaking to babies. He jiggled the rattle and little Raffaelo seemed appreciative of his uncle’s efforts. The baby cooed, his eyes moving in and out of focus on the rattle.
I was introduced to Gaetano’s new bride, Gabriella, who was almost as short as me, but held an air of mafia princess in the way she held herself. From the little I knew, Gabriella had run from her family to avoid an arranged marriage. There was a story there about how she and Tano ended up together that sounded better than any mafia romance I’d ever read, and I’d read plenty.
“Welcome.” Gabriella’s hug was soothing, and I remembered Marko had said she was a nurse, or studying to be one.
Tano, who in the past had been the most reserved in the group, gave me a one-armed hug, before tugging Gaby to his side. Something about her seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. We chatted amicably until the staff started bringing in platters of food, and I was escorted to my seat between Gio and Marko.
Marko placed food on my plate and then leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Eat it all, tesorina, or else.”
I was sandwiched between two men who had stolen my heart and my virginity all those years ago and all I wanted was to succumb to being theirs again. But I’d hurt them, and we still hadn’t talked about it. Our conversation had been limited to basic communications. They were angry with me, and I couldn’t blame them, didn’t, in the least, but I’d wished we’d been able to work through the past and begin anew, especially with my retirement looming after the show ended.
Or else? I wished to whisper back but didn’t have the heart to play the game. Instead, I moved my fork around on my plate. I’d always had a tough time eating when I was stressed, which until I met Marko and Gio, had been almost all the time.
“Does someone need to sit on my lap and be fed dinner?”
I gasped but kept my gaze on my plate.
Gio chuckled. “Don’t think I won’t do it Niki; you know better than that.”
Those gentle threats had turned me on in the past, but now, the idea that his adult brothers and mother would witness him feeding me like a child was embarrassing, not sexy. I straightened in my seat and forced forkful after forkful into my mouth, chewing and swallowing on autopilot like I’d done when I was a kid.
Back then, if I didn’t eat everything on my plate, my father would rap my knuckles with a spoon or fork. I’d learned to eat, and later I’d learned to throw it all back up. Only Gio and Marko knew this, and I could feel their gaze intently upon me.
Before I was finished, Marko pulled my plate away.
I gazed up at him quizzically. “Enough, or you’ll get sick if you keep eating like that, Niki. I thought having a career as a dancer would have helped you rectify your bad habits.” His saddened Daddy tone pulled on my heart strings and the tears threatened to fall again.
“Did I mention I’d seen you perform, Niki?”
My gaze darted to Gabriella, grateful for the distraction. “Really? No, you didn’t. I hope I didn’t disappoint.”
“Are you kidding? I was enthralled. Do you remember performing in Toronto three years ago and meeting Don Calabretta and his three daughters?”
The image of the Italian women, three all very similar in looks, and then the tiny gorgeous one… “Oh my god, that was you? I remember thinking that you looked so different than the rest of your family.”
“Yeah, well that’s a whole thing that would take longer than dinner to explain.”
“We’re having a date next Saturday. Gaby, you should join us.” Vittoria spoke up and the two of them discussed where and when and Vinnie jumped in saying he’d set up something special at Buono come il mammas.
She’d said she’d call, and I guessed she’d already decided when we’d meet. This should be no surprise; it was a trait of their family, to tell me my plans. Instead of being annoyed by it, I liked that I was being tugged into the fold. Who knew, maybe Isabella’s words were prophetic and my relationship with the men would soon be rectified.
Romeo finally brought the noisy chatter to an end when he thumped on the table the way his papa used to.
“There will be no Mammas in the foreseeable future. I’ve been meaning to speak with all of you regarding security. We have an outside threat, and not just the one Niki is dealing with, but a very real issue with the Irish.”
I stood so fast my chair tipped dangerously close to falling. Marko’s arm streaked out to steady it. All eyes turned to me. “I’m sorry. Did you say the Irish?”
Romeo’s eyes shuttered and I was no longer speaking with Gio’s brother, but the Vitale Don. Beside me, Marko and Gio tensed, ready to intervene on my behalf if needed, or drag me to their dungeon. I hoped it was the latter.
“Do you mean the Irish mob?”
By his glacial stare, Romeo hadn’t appreciated the question. I’d asked. I felt ill with the knowledge that this could have something to do with me, but I had to know.