Page 63 of Enduring Caine
“Did Johann help?”
“Not such a secret, I suppose.” Henri finished clearing the plates with a grin. “He wasn’t my only sous-chef today.”
Cesca pointed to a couple of the trays. “I stuffed the dates and put together the tiramisu.”
Antonio nodded appreciatively. “Then those are the first ones I’ll try.”
Before we could dig into our desserts, Giovanni stood with his wineglass. “Samantha, we’re blessed to have you here. For all the time and effort I spend selecting the men to protect my family, apparently all I really needed was for Antonio to find a girlfriend.”
Everyone laughed, but I bowed my head. If only Giovanni’s pleasure extended to my sleeping arrangements. “I’m sure Cristian would have gotten out of the way if I hadn’t distracted him. I was fixated on the view across the square and everyone thought I saw something.”
Antonio patted my leg. We were finally sitting in the right seats at the dining table. I was to his left, next to Giovanni, so his good hand was on my side. The other remained in a sling.
Cesca lifted her glass with the small taste of wine in it. “I’m happy you’re both here, too. And I’ll have to get the details about what happened later. It sounds really scary.”
I clasped Antonio’s hand on my lap. He didn’t want this part of his family to know about my FBI past or to have any inkling I might ever go back to pursuing art crimes. The easiest way to do that was to appear as weak as possible, and I’d undermined that by tackling Cristian. It would take work to reset their impressions. “It was, Cesca. I was shaking for hours afterward.”
One positive had come out of the day’s events: Leonardo was working. That meant he wasn’t at the dining table and we didn’t have to hear a constant barrage of insults and snark.
Giovanni took a swallow from his glass and sat, encouraging everyone else to enjoy the toast.
Henri paused on his way out. “I forgot something. We haven’t shown Samantha the wine cellar yet. Johann said she might be interested?”
I put down my fork, a piece of opera cake still on it. “Yes, he was telling me it’s from when the villa was a monastery?”
Henri nodded. “There are several casks with wine made from the vineyards here. One that should be ready to bottle. Perhaps you can help me taste it?”
Giovanni clapped Henri on the back. “Better than the colored water you like from France, isn’t it?”
“Oui, monsieur, your wine is exceptional.”
Antonio picked up my hand and gave it a light kiss. “Samantha was saying earlier that she’d also like to see the gallery again tonight. Is that possible, Zio? Perhaps before the wine cellar?”
Giovanni swallowed a mouthful of wine. “An excellent idea. There are several pieces she didn’t get to see yesterday.”
“And a movie after that, Papa?” asked Cesca.
Cristian laughed and nudged his little sister. “Not one of those ridiculous American romantic comedies, I hope?”
Cesca’s lips clamped shut and she looked down. She did that a lot. This was a girl who wasn’t used to getting the things she wanted. Unless it was also what these men wanted for her.
The thought curled my gut. “I really like romantic comedies.”
Antonio chuckled. “It’s true. Why do you think she’s with me?”
A smile danced across Cesca’s face, and both her father and brother laughed. What would happen to this poor girl when the FBI and TPC found sufficient proof of what was hiding inside these walls? It was going to destroy her, wasn’t it?
I squeezed Antonio’s hand, partially in thanks, partially because I needed the support. The fingers of my free hand gravitated to my necklace, but instead of the diamond, the pendant was a large, flat black disc that I’d packed for wearing with my work clothes, which all came with me when Antonio asked me out of the blue to join him.
Affixed to its back: Elliot’s camera.
“Bella,” said Antonio, releasing my hand and reaching for the pendant. “What’s this? Where’s the necklace I—”
Shit.
He cut off almost as quickly as the panic spread through me. I’d told him earlier I had a pendant I could attach the camera to, but he must have forgotten.
“Habit. I always wear this necklace with this blouse.” It was a robin’s egg blue dress shirt, one he loved.