Page 24 of Time Served in New York
“He truly doesn’t understand?” Isabetta asked.
I smiled as I slowly shook my head. “He might be able to pick up a word here and there because he knows some Spanish, but I doubt it.” Just in case hecouldunderstand a few words, I decided it would be best to send him to mingle with his friends. I tiptoed up and gave him a kiss on the cheek before I asked in English, “Why don’t you go hang out with the guys for a few minutes while I talk to my aunts?”
“Sure, Big City,” Christopher said before he gently shook Isabetta’s hand and then Madallena’s. He gave them his sexiest grin, complete with those disarming dimples, and in flawless Italian, said, “It was a pleasure to meet you both. I see now where my love got her beauty and charm.”
When the three of us stared at him in shock, Christopher winked at me and grinned. “Surprise!”
“How in the world . . .” I sputtered.
“That audiobook series I’ve been addicted to was really a language app,” Christopher said in English before he leaned over and gave me a kiss that was hot enough to curl my toes. Then, in the guise of a hug, he whispered in my ear, “I wanted to know what you’re saying when you come apart in my arms.”
“You devil,” I whispered as he walked off. He turned his head to look back at me, and with another wink, blew me a kiss.
“I bet he’s a handful,” Madallena said under her breath as we watched him join Boss, Preacher, and Hook on the other side of the room where they were talking to my brother, Federico. “Are all the men in Texas this . . . rough and wild?”
I heard Isabetta sigh as she brought her hand up to fiddle with the string of pearls I’d never seen her without. “They’re so polite and charming, but I can sense danger in them.”
“Exactly,” Madallena whispered. “That’s the sexiest part.”
“Notallthe men in Texas look like them, I just somehow managed to surround myself with some that are exceptionally handsome,” I said as I motioned toward the doorway where Captain was walking in with Matalie, August, and Rodeo. “You should see them at home when they’re comfortable. It’s quite a sight.”
“I seem to recognize that one from somewhere,” Isabetta said as she studied Rodeo, who was escorting August with his hand on her lower back. “Is he a model? I believe I’ve seen him in a magazine. Possibly an advertisement?”
I had just taken a sip of my champagne, and the bubbles burned my nose when I started choking. I thought I was going to be okay until Madallena tilted her head and said, “I seem to remember him shirtless for some reason.”
I was still trying to catch my breath from my coughing fit when my aunts wandered off to talk to one of my cousins. Jenn, Blue, and Brea walked up and looked at me curiously until I was finally able to gasp out, “I choked on my champagne.”
“Sip, don’t chug,” Blue reprimanded. “We’ve still got a few hours of this, right? I’ve been taking it slow because I think I might still be drunk from this afternoon.”
“Might?” Jenn asked.
“You look fresh and clean,” I teased Brea as I grinned at her and Blue. “I heard about the exciting ride you got in the lobby.”
“I am so glad I missed that,” Jenn said with an exaggerated shudder. “I was napping.”
“You were passed out with your head resting on Paula’s boobs,” Blue snapped. “I have pictures.”
“I have video,” I said as I gave my friends an innocent smile. “I asked the concierge to email it to me.”
“Oh fuck off,” Blue muttered as she looked around the room. “I need you to give me the scoop on all these people. Some of them look perfectly normal, but others have that dangerous vibe.”
“Well, the guys are talking to my oldest brother, Federico, but you’ve met him already. Maylee and Bug are talking to Ziggy and Aurelio, my other brothers.”
“Did you notice that Maylee was the one to introduce Ziggy to Bug?” Jenn asked.
“That doesn’t surprise me. Ziggy travels to Vegas a lot to check on the family’s properties.”
“I wonder if . . .” Blue started to say something, but when she saw the look of disgust on my face, she immediately stopped talking.
“I recognize Stamp’s boys, but who are the guys they’re talking to?” Brea asked.
“Those are Stamp’s nephews, Dante Jr. and Principe Jr. Their fathers were killed some years ago by Paula’s dad.”
“Whoa,” Blue whispered.
“The two older men with them are Salvador Jr. and Bastiano Moretti. Their father is the man Stamp went to prison for killing in Dallas.”
“Holy shit,” Jenn hissed as she looked at me with wide eyes. “And they’re all just hanging out in the same room?”
