Page 46 of His to Break

“They’ll love whatever you serve.” I pick up my shirt and thrust my arms into the sleeves. “The table looks great.”

“I didn’t think you’d notice.”

“Yeah, you got new stemware, right? And those roses?”

Vinnie shakes her head despairingly. “They’re peonies, not roses.”

“It’s all just flowers to me.”

My wife is just about to tell me off for being a heathen when she suddenly stands to attention. “That was the elevator.”

I thought I heard it too, but I told Dino to message me when they arrived. I bend to retrieve my cellphone from my pants pocket. “Ah, shit. I missed a message from Dino. Antonio, Mamma, and Olivia are here.”

Vinnie runs her fingers through her hair. “You finish getting ready and I’ll go greet them. Do I look okay?”

I reach out and pull her close to give her a hug. “You look beautiful. Don’t worry, my mother’s crazy about you already.”

“It’s not her I’m worried about,” Vinnie grumbles as she wriggles free and heads for the door. She takes a deep breath and disappears, leaving me to carry on dressing.

Obviously, she’s nervous about spending time with my brothers. Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I would be too. They’re more reserved around strangers than the women in the family, more wary. They’ll be watching her closely, analyzing every word she says. Perhaps I should have warned her about that, but I didn’t want to put her on edge.

As I pull on the pants Vinnie picked out for me, I hear the ping of the elevator bell again. Quickly shoving my feet into my shoes, I grab my belt. I’m still fastening it as I make my way along the corridor. The loud clamoring of voices fighting with each other to be heard suggests the rest of my family has arrived. Vinnie may need to be rescued. When the Volantes are all together, we’re a lot to handle.

I come into the living room and find Vinnie being passed from one person to the next as everyone greets her with a hug and kiss on each cheek. Far from looking overwhelmed, she’s smiling broadly. I push my sister out of the way, ignoring her protest, to put an arm around my wife’s waist and draw her to my side.

“You made it,” I say to Gio.

He nods, tense as he always is around me. “I wanted to meet the infamous Vinnie Bianchi.”

“I hope I don’t disappoint,” Vinnie replies.

“Nah, you’re much prettier than the Carlo clone we expected.” Gio flashes her a grin. Is he flirting with my wife? Usually, it’s Matteo who oversteps the mark.

Hearing my low growl of annoyance, Gio winces apologetically. Vinnie frowns at me and slaps her hand against my chest. “Why don’t you pour everyone a drink?”

“Of what?” This hosting business is not in my comfort zone.

“There’s wine on the table. You can… oh…” Her attention goes to the kitchen door, where Benny is beckoning to her. “It looks like dinner’s ready. Please, everyone, take a seat wherever you’d like.”

As she rushes off to the kitchen, Antonio gestures for me to take the seat at the head of the table. It’s incredibly gracious of him to allow me my rightful position in my own damned house. He catches my glare and grins. Asshole!

Leaving a seat empty for Vinnie, Alessandro and Emilia sit together, presumably so they can grope each other under the table, and Gio takes the space next to them. Antonio sits on my left with Mamma, Matteo, and Olivia next to him. When Vinnie returns to the room, she drops onto the chair beside me and lets out an exasperated sigh.

“You didn’t pour the wine.”

“Ah, shit, yeah. Who wants some?”

Vinnie’s eyes narrow and I know I’m fucking up whatever image she had of us hosting the perfect dinner party. It was never going to happen. I don’t do this shit.

“Allow me,” Alessandro says smoothly. I guess Emilia’s got him trained. He gets up and grabs the two bottles of wine from the table and then goes around filling people’s glasses.

I lean over and whisper an apology to Vinnie, not because I’m sorry if I’m a terrible host, but because I know this evening is important to her.

“It’s okay,” she whispers back. “I know this isn’t your thing.”

She surprises me by grabbing my face and kissing me tenderly on the lips, a move which elicits an appreciative ‘ah!’ from Mamma.

Vinnie sits back as Benny brings the first plates of food through. The appetizer is smoked salmon with crème fraiche, capers, and a neatly cut triangle of rye bread. It looks delicious, but I can’t help noticing how Antonio’s mouth tightens as he watches Benny serving the food. He thinks I made a mistake employing Vinnie’s friend, and he’s not afraid to let me know it.

---