Page 2 of His Vow
“I know, but I don’t want them to notice.” I look away, unable to hold the intense expression turning his pale eyes darker.
“I don’t see how they can’t,” he mutters. “But I won’t say anything.”
Bruno bounds down the stairs to meet us, and Dante edges closer to me. I know Bruno scares him. The horrible taunts are bad enough, but when they’re delivered with his special brand of threatening posturing to someone half his size, it’s downrightmean. I drop my arm around Dante’s shoulder, but Antonio moves to stand in front of us.
They are the same age and of similar size, though I’d guess Antonio is more athletic just from what I’ve seen and heard.
“What do you want, Bruno?” Antonio says with barely disguised disdain, and Bruno’s cheeks color. I cover my smile with my hand as I silently cheer Antonio on. It’s about time someone stood up to the bully.
“Just wondering why you stopped. I was winning,” Bruno whines.
Gio appears behind him, a taller, broader version of Antonio. “As first to the gate, I’d say I was the winner.” Antonio and Gio share a look I’m sure would be followed by a fist bump if they were standing closer. I’d already gathered from the few times I’ve seen the boys together that all four brothers are close. And as the two oldest, Gio and Antonio take their roles seriously, particularly when it comes to the younger two, Leo and Nico.
“Nice one.” Antonio steps around Bruno like he isn’t even there. “We decided to have another swim. It’s too hot for running.”
Bruno frowns at my brother and me, rather than his cousins. Of course he aims his malice at us, the weakest links, and Dante leans closer into my side.
“We’re going home,” I say, continuing up the steps to our villa next door. And as we draw level with Bruno, he blocks our path, ripping a gasp from my throat. We take a step sideways, but so does he.
“Leave them alone, Bruno,” Antonio says, grabbing his arm. “If you want a fight, pick on someone your own size, like me.”
Gio stands shoulder to shoulder with his brother. “Don’t be an asshole, Bruno.”
I bump Dante to go, and we run up the remaining stairs to our gate without looking back. Losing our chance to thank Antonio properly or even say goodbye.
When we’re safely back on our terrace, Dante voices the same thoughts in my head. “Antonio is nice.”
“He is,” I agree, trying to keep my voice neutral, as he’s the nicest boy I’ve ever met, and merely admitting that to my brother makes me blush.
“And I hate Bruno,” he adds, screwing up his face like he ate a plate of broccoli. Dante detests broccoli and will sneak it onto my plate behind our father’s back to avoid getting into trouble.
“Hate is a strong word, but I don’t like him either.” I turn to look down at the glimpse of blue far below.
What I don’t add is that Bruno just ruined my perfect afternoon.
Chapter one
Antonio
Present Day, Florence
“You will do what I say.” My father’s voice booms through the conference room’s speakerphone. Giovanni and I share a look, then mute our microphone.
“Fuck him,” I mumble. “Why does he still think we’re going to roll over and do whatever he says?”
My father is and always has been a narcissistic, mean bastard, and as an adult, I’ve made it my mission not to let that stop me from doing the right thing.
Gio frowns at me. “Tone it down, bro.”
“When are you going to stop defending the asshole?”
“He’s our father, and that deserves at least some level of respect.”
“Maybe if he’d ever acted like a father, I could buy that bullshit.” My gaze narrows. I love and respect my brother, but we’ll never agree on this point.
“Fine. But even ignoring that, our father is still chairman of the board.” That’s one of the biggest challenges we face in expanding our business into new markets, so I don’t need to be reminded.
My hand curls into a fist. “Even if we have the facts to back up our proposal when this audit is complete, he still won’t sign off on the new distribution contract.”
