Page 90 of Between Us

Alessandra rested her chin on the heel of her palm and frowned. “It must’ve been a tough life.”

Tatyana lifted a shoulder, but there was sadness behind her blue eyes. “It was. I think that's why my father respected her so much. She had such a calm, down-to-earth personality. She kept him grounded when he first started to make money and gain influence.” Pushing her glass to the side on the shiny marble top, she gave Alessandra a small smile. “What about your parents?”

“Both were born here in Chicago. My father's family had been in the US for two generations by the time he was born, and my mom's parents immigrated from Sicily. There isn't much of a story to tell. Their familiesknew each other. From what they told me, they married in their early twenties and had my brother within the first year of their marriage.”

“Matteo, right?”

“Yeah.”

Tatyana gave her a knowing smile. “He's cute.”

“Don't ever let him know you think that. His ego doesn't need more stroking.”

Her sister-in-law laughed at that. “Roman used to be the same. He's still a cocky asshole, don’t get me wrong, but he was absolutely insufferable when he was younger.”

Alessandra felt her lips curve up. “Really?”

“Girls were fawning over him all the time, and he was loving every minute of it. It was really annoying.”

“My brother was...isthe same. My mom is afraid he'll never settle down.”

“He will, eventually. He has to.”

Alessandra nodded thoughtfully. Tatyana was right. For as much freedom as he'd been permitted for the sole reason of being born a male, Matteo still had to play by the rules. He needed to ensure the family name would carry on, and, unfortunately for him, the clock was ticking on that matter. With the way things were going as of late, it was better that he started thinking about choosing his own wife, before Nero stepped in and did it for him.

While the borscht boiled, the girls moved from the topic of their families to lighter subjects. It was past four in the afternoon when the front door to the apartment opened and steps echoed down the hallway.

Alek stood in the doorway and took them in with humor in his eyes. They'd gone through a bottle of wineand a bag of chips, plus a few handfuls of peanuts.

“Day drinking, huh?” he said, amusement coloring his voice. “Glad to see you two are having fun.”

“What did you get?” Tatyana was already on her feet and grabbing the take-out bag from her brother.

“The usual. I didn't know you were cooking.”

“I woke up in a mood today,” she said vaguely, although Alek seemed to understand what that meant.

Tatyana took out the food containers and spread them out on the island top. “Oh good, they hadblini.”

“Roman told Ilya to change the menu and make the salmonblinievery day instead of just on the weekends.”

“Who's Ilya?” Alessandra asked, getting up to grab plates from the cupboard.

“He's the head cook in one of our restaurants that Roman manages.”

Alessandra didn't know much about the Russian Mafia's dealings in Chicago, but most organizations had some legal businesses as a front for the illegal activities. She'd heard Roman mention a nightclub before, and she'd been once to the restaurant Alek mentioned.

“Blini?” Alek offered, taking out a thin pancake loaded with smoked salmon.

She shook her head, and he dropped it on his plate instead. “I don't eat fish,” she reminded him.

“You are one strange Italian. Never heard of one who didn't like seafood.”

“It used to drive my mom crazy when I was little. She makes the bestbranzino all'acqua pazza—at least, according to everyone in the family. It's a sea bass dish with vegetables.”

“Sounds good to me,” Alek said between bites of food.

Alessandra shrugged and glanced down at heroptions. There waspelmenistuffed with beef which she'd had before and liked. She spooned a few on her plate, together with some beetroot salad. The other remaining dish also had fish, so she skipped it, although it smelled surprisingly good.

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