Page 40 of Merciless Monster

“Don’t forget the Colosseum and the Pantheon, you brute,” Catherine chuckles. “Not all of us are obsessed with gangster movies, Harold.”

The irony of this conversation isn’t lost on me. I wonder what Harold would say if he knew who I was. I imagine he’d be less of a fan of the arts then.

“What do you do in Rome, Dante?” Harold asks.

“I own a few businesses.”

“He’s being modest, Dad. Dante does very well,” Mia says with a smile.

“Mia tells me you and Catherine are retired. Are you enjoying it?”

“It took a bit of getting used to at first. I almost drove my poor wife nuts. But I have my hobbies now so I keep out of her hair.”

I laugh as Mia’s mother throws her husband a cheeky look. They’re a nice couple who seem to be in love even after many years together. Such relationships are a rarity.

My father was killed when I was in my twenties, so I had to take over from him. There wasn’t time for anything but work. He and my mother were close too. I know she misses him terribly. But that’s life.

“I hope you’re hungry, Dante,” Christine says.

“Yeah. She made enough food to feed an army,” Harold chirps. “You’d better eat or I’ll be having lasagne for dinner for the next week.”

“They’re adorable,” I whisper to Mia while her parents are talking to each other.

“They are indeed.”

* * *

The clerk at the front desk is staring at Mia. I’m going to knock his block off if he keeps doing that.

We’ve just arrived at the wine farm and I’m irritated. My efforts to find Kyle have all come to nought. All I need now is for this horny asshole to push me. No one fuck with my woman. No one.

“Good afternoon,” he grins. “Welcome to The Grape Escape. Do you have a reservation?”

He’s talking to me but he keeps looking at Mia.

“Yeah. De Luca,” I half growl.

“Ah, yes. You are in the private suite, Sir. My name is Raúl. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you while you’re here with us.”

Oh, hell, no! Did he just look at Mia’s tits? This dirty Spanish fucker needs to be taught some manners. I won’t make a scene here in front of Mia, but I’m not going to let this go.

“The porter will show you to your suite, Mr. De Luca,” he smiles and hands me a key.

“Thank you,” Mia says kindly, clearly having missed the creep’s innuendo.

I say nothing. It’s safer if I keep my mouth shut at this point. Anything I say will make Mia uncomfortable, and I don’t want to do that to her.

The porter shows us to our suite, overlooking the vineyards. It’s the best money can buy. I wanted to spoil Mia. I know she’s never been away from Angelo. She told me as much. I want to distract her. This weekend is special.

“Oh, wow. This is gorgeous, Dante.”

“No. You’re gorgeous.”

“You’ve earned yourself plenty of points, Mr. De Luca,” she grins.

“Job done,” I grin, pulling her closer. “Let’s see if we can press some things in here while the workers are pressing grapes out there,” I purr.

“What an excellent idea,” Mia giggles.

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