Page 30 of War Within
“I cannot tell you how worried I was. Like I said, I thought you may believe I stood you up.” He sighed, taking my hand in his. “To be honest, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.”
Heat began to flush my cheeks. I wanted to hide. I genuinely liked him, but there was nothing I could do. He would get caught in the crossfire. “Marco, I don't know what to say. That’s very sweet of you.”
He continued to chat, but I wanted to tell him about his father. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Marco. He was not a part of this scam. He would never forgive me for doing this to his own dad. I was stuck. I did not even know what to say. If I were to follow through with this, there was no way I could let his father know he was supposed to be my date.
I am not sure Giovanni would be too happy with that either.Hey so your son was the date I stood up to come here with you. Yeah, that would have gone over like a vampire at a Roman Catholic baptism.
“Hey son, this is Jane.”
I winced, hearing the deep, Italian accent behind me.
“I know dad!” Marco’s wide grin was excruciating. “This is the girl I told you about.” He glanced at me, before pulling me to his side. “It turns out she works for you.”
Taking a slow, profound breath, I yearned to self-combust.
“What?” Giovanni’s gaze widened, darting back and forth between us.
Kill me now!
Marco circled my shoulder with his thumb. “I know, right? Small world.”
“I’m sorry. Excuse me.” Not able to take it any longer, I ducked under his arm, marching to the stairs.
As fast as my legs would carry me, I hurried to my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I threw myself on the bed, covering my eyes, groaning. Picking up my phone, I scrolled to my other boss’s number.
“Hey Jane?” A voice came from the doorway. I had not even heard the door open.
Jumping off the bed, I adjusted my sweater. Trembling, I shifted my weight. “I didn't know Marco was your son, I swear.”
“I’m not mad.” He chuckled, taking a step closer, trailing his fingertips up my arms. “Only confused. Just take a deep breath and tell me what’s going on.”
Remaining silent, I averted my gaze, staring out the window at the delicate flurries.
“Are you dating my son?” He dropped his hands, taking a step back.
Forcing myself to look into his eyes, I sighed. “No. I mean, we have hung out a couple of times. He was the date I was supposed to go on.”
Giovanni scowled.
“I swear I didn't know you even knew him.” I defended myself with little effort.
His face softened, but it was easy to see he was still perturbed. “It's okay. We’re not together. You are free to do as you wish.” Lifting his hand, he ran his fingers through his fluffy hair. “Not to be weird, but have you guys uh—”
“No!” I snapped louder than necessary. “But he also does not know anything about what's happened with us.”
“And he doesn't need to. He's my child even if he's an adult.” Walking toward the door, he paused. “We better get ready, or they will think something is up.” Spinning on his heels, he marched over to me, cupping my jaw in his hands. “Before I go.” He pressed his lips to mine, lingering a soft, yet simple kiss. Backing away, he smirked. “See you downstairs.”
Skiing was the most awkward experience. Since I had no idea how to ski, I carried my skis around like I knew what I was doing, without ever actually doing much. I think Giovanni was too distracted with his kids to notice.
Valentina was having the time of her life. At one point she laid down, making a snow angel. She tried to talk me into joining her, but I was not interested. Neither was her older brother.
“Valentina stop!” Marco snapped as she danced toward him with a snowball. “You’re eighteen for fuck’s sake!”
Giovanni lifted his hand to his chin, arching a brow behind his sunglasses. His head of Serbian security, Emir, tried to stifle a smile as he watched Valentina’s attempt to involve her brother in the fun.
“What can I say?” Valentina tossed the snowball at Marco. “I love snow!”
“God, you're being annoying.” He brushed the white powder off his navy blue ski suit.
