Page 84 of Niccolo

“Ciao, bella,”I heard a charming voice purr behind me.

35

Niccolo

It was during Adriano’s wedding that I saw my future wife.

I say that in jest, but she wasexactlymy type.

In fact, I’d never seen another woman who took my breath away quite like she did.

It’s not that she was an astounding beauty. AlthoughIcertainly thought she was, I’m not sure my brothers would have agreed.

It was that she lookedsmart.

What can I say? Women in glasses rev up my motor.

Not only that, but her eyes continually scanned the crowd – another mark of intelligence. She seemed to be taking things in, filing them away, then moving on restlessly, almost as if she were cataloging everything she saw.

She stood about 5’6” in heels. She wore a beautiful pale pink dress that accentuated her modest curves. Her long brown hair looked recently cut and styled; it perfectly complemented herslightly angular face. The frames of her glasses were sleek yet nerdy.

Ilovenerdy.

I’d seen her earlier, but I’d been so overwhelmed with last-minute calls to variousconsiglieresthat I hadn’t been able to do more than wonder,WHO is THAT?!

Now that my official duties were over, I could go find out.

I crept up behind her and tried to see what she was looking at.

Best I could tell, she was peering at Adriano and Bianca.

Or maybe,I jokingly told myself,she’s looking for ME.

Only one way to find out.

“Ciao, bella,”I said with a smile on my face.

36

Sofia

“Ciao, bella.”

Hello, beautiful.

My heart skipped a beat as I realized who was standing behind me.

The enemyconsigliere…

Whom I had been hired to help kill.

I turned around to see Niccolo Rosolini smiling at me.

He still wore his tuxedo, but he’d undone the bowtie around his neck and opened his collar, giving him a certain rakishinsouciance.

He looked almost exactly like Roberto, except his hair was swept back and wild – and his smile was impish rather than polite.

He wasn’t hard on the eyes; that much was certain.

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