Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Her eyes flicked back and forth between mine as she absorbed that. “I’m not your boss.”
“I can work for any organization or gang anywhere in the fucking world, but I wanted to work for your father—and now I want to work for you. Cosa Nostra is as corporate as organized crime gets. A family business that started with the original Mafia a hundred and fifty years ago is much more appealing to me. You’ll pass this business down to your children and their children. It’s a legacy. And I want to be a part of that legacy.”
Her eyes softened as she looked at me across the table, and she shook her head slightly as she continued to stare. “I’m afraid you might get bored.”
“Bored?” I asked with a laugh. “How can I get bored staring at your ass in those jeans all day?”
“But I’m not always going to look like this.”
“I promise I will grope your ass every day until we die. Consider that one of my wedding vows.”
She released a quiet chuckle while she rolled her eyes at the same time.
I watched the laughter reach her gaze and slowly disappear before I turned serious once more. “It means a lot to me that you would walk away from the vineyard to support my ambitions with Cosa Nostra. It means a lot to me that you view us as a single entity rather than two different people. I would much rather serve you than lead a bunch of assholes. I’m very happy where I am.”
Whatever reservations she had seemed to dissipate as she accepted my words. “I just wanted to make sure.”
18
FRANCESCA
Someone knocked on the open door to my office, so I flicked my eyes up from my computer, expecting to see Elio, who stopped by to talk shop throughout the day.
But it was Leo.
I continued my hard stare under the assumption he would leave at my hostility.
But he stayed. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
I’d prefer it if we never spoke again.
“Boss,” he added, like sucking up to me would help.
It wouldn’t help one bit. “You need something?”
He hesitated by the door, clearly unsure if he should walk in or not. But then he stepped inside and approached my desk as he slid his hands into his front pockets.
“What did you need?” I repeated, trying to cut to the chase.
“Can we sit?”
“I am sitting.”
“I mean, face-to-face—”
“I’m fine right where I am.”
“Alright, then.” He took a seat in the armchair and turned it to face my desk directly. “Wolfe mentioned your engagement. I’m happy for you.”
I continued my stare.
“I think he’s right for you.”
“Thank you so much for your approval.”
“Look, I’m not trying to start anything—”
“Then why the fuck are you here?”
“Cristo, I want a relationship with you.”
I sat back in the chair.
“I would love it if…if I could attend your wedding.”
This was not the request I expected to hear. I’d thought he would say something stupid, like he wanted to move to a different position in the winery, like maybe he was sick of the wine tasks and wanted to be more involved in the arms side. “We aren’t having a wedding. Wolfe and I are just going to get hitched at the church.”
“Well, I’d love to be your witness.”
“The priest will be our witness.”
“Look, you won’t even know I’m there—”
“Look, you killed my dad.”
He stilled at the verbal punch.
“If Dad were still alive, we’d have a big-ass wedding, and he’d give me away. But that’s not going to happen now, is it? You took that away from me too, Leo. So you have a lot of nerve, coming in here and asking for this.”
He bowed his head and stared at his hands.
I wasn’t sure why I’d let him live. I wasn’t sure why I continued to employ him at the winery. I didn’t see this ever being any less hostile. “Maybe it’s best if you leave.”
He lifted his chin and looked at me, eyes wounded.
“I’ll never stop hating you.”
“If you hated me, you would have killed me.”
I didn’t have a rebuttal to that…my goddamn moment of weakness.
“I know there’s still hope for us. Otherwise, I would be dead or dismissed from the winery. I understand it’s going to take a lot more time than a couple weeks. I just didn’t expect you to get married so quickly. Maybe if this were a year into the future…maybe we would have had more time to work this out.”
“You don’t even seem like the kind of guy who gives a shit about weddings, Leo.”
“I don’t,” he said. “But it’s yours. You’re my sister, and Wolfe will be my brother. Family means even more to me now…now that I’ve lost the only parent I’ve ever really had.”
I had the urge to blast him with another insult, but I decided to swallow it. I’d already savagely eviscerated him. It wasn’t doing either of us any good at this point. My father’s funeral was two weeks ago, and while I would grieve my whole life, it was time to move forward. I knew I should handle this conflict differently as the one running the show now. “Leo, it’s gonna take time for me to come around. A lot of time, probably years, if it ever even happens at all.” Which it probably wouldn’t. “And I don’t think it’s fair for you to insert yourself into this matter since this is about Wolfe and me. It’s not about anyone else but the two of us, and you asking to be there is taking the spotlight off him and me and shining it on our damaged relationship instead. I’m sure your intentions are pure, but they come off as selfish.”