Page 23 of Dante
Thanking the kind blonde, she poured some cream and a packet of sugar into her coffee that was sitting in the middle of the table.
The big sounding footsteps, followed by, “Mornin’,” didn’t require either of them to look up to know who it was.
A refreshed-looking Amo took his seat while Leo joined them, looking the exact opposite. Not even his sunglasses could hide his weariness, and his father took notice as he then danced his eyes between his son and Nadia, making her grow nervous. It would be fine if Dante found out she had a deep conversation with his son; she just instinctively knew Leo didn’t prefer it, as most of their conversation revolved around Dante.
“Late night?” he asked his son suspiciously.
“Nah, he went to bed right after you,” Amo surprisingly answered, getting Leo and her off the hook.
“Oh,” Dante spoke, and it was like you could see his suspicion move from Leo to Amo. “So … you two sat up late, then?”
Huh?Nadia didn’t quite know what was hidden in his tone until a slow smile appeared on Amo’s lips before he spoke.
“Why would it matter?”
Uh, no!“No, it was an early night for everyone.” She made it extremely clear for them.
Did she just see a wash of relief pass Dante’s face? He didn’tlookpleased with his soldier right now. In fact, it kind of looked like he wanted to kill him. But what did that mean …? Could Dante have been jealous if she had sat talking with Amo all night?
Nadia practically laughed that idea off in her head. There was no way Dante Caruso gave a shit what she did as long as she stayed on this yacht.
“So, what’s for breakfast?” Amo asked Lila when she poured him and Leo some coffee into their awaiting cups.
“Yogurt parfaits!” she announced before leaving to go get them. As she brought them each a beautifully displayed serving, she could tell Amo didn’t appreciate the beauty of them, due to their size. “You’ll want to be sure to save your appetite for lunch. The chef is preparing something yummy.”
“Great,” Amo voiced, practically eating his parfait in one bite.
Leo had done the same. Except, as soon as he finished, he went to go lie down on one of the sun loungers. Amo actually followed behind him, only he had thrown his shirt off before lying in the sun, revealing that his shorts were actually swimming trunks underneath.
“May I borrow your phone?” she asked Dante before he could get up to do the same. “I really need to let my friend know I’m okay.”
Not saying a word, he reached into his pocket then slid out his phone before giving it to her.
“Thanks.” You could hear the surprise in her voice that he had actually done so. Nadia didn’t know why, but she was afraid he would assume she would try to call the cops or something, saying he had “abducted” her. Again, it showed the trust they were gaining in each other.
She hit the ten-digit number, and the other end rang for a few moments before it went to voicemail. “Shit.”
Dante lifted his cold gaze to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she muttered. “I’m sure she just thinks it’s a spam call. Do you mind if I text her?”
“Go ahead.”
It was hard not to be nosy as she went to the messaging app on his phone. She really freaking tried not to glance down at the preview they gave you for the previous messages, but her eyes instantly went to a particular message, due to the graphic Emojis that were used …
THINKING OF YOU????
It was everything Nadia could do to keep the regurgitation from coming out of her mouth.
She had half a mind to text the poor woman back that Dante clearly didn’t care enough about her to add her number in the contacts, but that would require Dante finding out she had doneso. Hopefully, the woman would get a clue soon that even the Caruso mob boss was shockingly …just like all men.
Sure not to look at any other messages after having her fill, she quickly punched in Haley’s number and sent her a message.
LOST MY PHONE. USING SOMEONE ELSE’S TO TELL YOU I’M SAFE. SEE YOU MONDAY.
At least now, if she didn’t see Haley on Monday, she would call the cops and come looking for her, and that gave Nadia relief enough to enjoy the rest of her weekend.
“Thanks,” she told him, handing back his phone while trying to still get that godforsaken text message out of her head, along with the bad taste out of her mouth. “Are there any books here?” Knowing she wasn’t going to be able to sleep in the sun all weekend, she itched to read one.
