Page 35 of Claimed By the Possessive Mafia Prince
Dario chuckles. “We were?”
I look up to find Marcela staring stubbornly at her son. Her expression changes when she sees me looking. “We weredebating whether love at first sight exists, and, if it does, what should be done about it.”
“I think I’m too pessimistically practical to believe in stuff like that,” I say.
“Oh, really?” Marcela sounds disappointed.
Uh oh. That’s not good. “I mean–sorry, maybe it’s possible. Perhaps some people meet the right man or woman, and they know straightaway that this is the one for them.”
“That’s exactly what I think.”
“She’s telling you what she thinks you want to hear, Mother. You don’t know how intimidating you can be. Lay off her.”
“It’s fine,” I say, my voice far harsher than I intended.
The last thing I need is Dario thinking he needs to swoop in every time things get a little awkward.
“Whatever your motivations, dear, you’ve spoken the truth. I fell for Vittorio the moment I laid eyes upon him. I knew nothing about him, didn’t even know his name, and yet I knew. It was meant to be.”
Dario gives me a secretive look and rolls his eyes. I resist the urge to smile.
Marcela looks at her son. “You’re thinking about how cheesy I sound, aren’t you, young man?”
“Maybe a little, Mother. Come on–love at first sight?”
“So you’re as pessimistic and practical as Siena, then?”
“I guess so.”
“So, what you’re saying is, you and Siena have a lot in common…”
Dario shoots me another look, eyebrow raised. “I can’t argue with that.”
Marcela stands. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a spa appointment. But please continue your breakfast… together.”
“Sorry about that,” Dario says once she’s gone.
“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” I reply.
“There’s that guilty smile again…”
I wipe it off my face. “I wasn’t smiling.”
“Sure you weren’t.”
I stuff a sausage in my mouth to avoid the need to talk for a while, then I look around the restaurant. “So, have you picked your new lady?”
Dario stares at me. “I’m looking at her.”
“We’ve talked about this.”
“If you think I’m going to sit here talking about other women, you’re dead wrong.”
“So you’ve accepted this is going to be a romance-less trip, then.”
“I wouldn’t go that far…” He leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. There’s something resolve-meltingly manly about them. “Maybe I’ve decided to go the persistent route.”
“That sounds like creep territory.”
