Page 13 of Unrelenting
“Certainly,signore.Shall I send Stefan over?”
I shake my head. As knowledgeable as the sommelier seems to be, I don’t need his assistance in choosing a wine.
“No.Tell him to bring me a bottle of the Barolo I like.”
“Of course. Would you like me to let Lucia know you’re here?” Angelina casts a wary glance at Olivia. I wonder if that means she knows what happened between me and her boss two nights ago.
Would Lucia have confided in her? I doubt she’d have spoken about our new relationship in such crude terms, but she must have told people something to explain Bruno showing up to escort her home last night.
“No, don’t disturb her while she’s busy.” Though I can be a selfish asshole, I can see the restaurant is almost full. Lucia loves her job, and I won’t get in the way.
As Angelina walks off, Olivia pours herself a glass of water. “So you really like this Lucia?”
“What makes you say that?”
“You blushed when the server asked if you wanted to speak to her.”
Though I’m confident I’ve never blushed in my life, my hand still goes automatically to my cheek.
Olivia cackles like the little witch she is.
“Oh, you do like her,” Olivia teases. Her voice gets loud enough to carry across the room. “In fact, I think you love her.”
“Shut up, Olivia!”
She immediately sobers. I feel bad for snapping at her, but she should know not to discuss private matters in public.
“I’m sorry, Renz,” she says, giving me her wounded doe eyes. “It’s just nice to think of you finding someone special.”
Her words give me pause. “Why me in particular? Why not Damiano? For that matter, why not Gabriele? If anyone needs to find someone special, it’s him.”
My brother has barely left his house in Rome since he was wounded in an attack two years ago. He sustained facial injuries and has lasting scars.
If ever a man needed a woman, it’s Gabriele, but I fear he will never find one.
“Well, because you’re sweeter than they are.”
“Sweeter?” My skepticism is on full display at her response.
“Yes, you’re a dominant ass and an incorrigible fuck boy but you have a protective streak a mile wide, and you like women. You like to talk to them as well as fucking them.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You’re like one of those cinnamon roll types, only you’ve been baked a little too long and you’ve gone hard on the outside.”
I shake my head at the nonsense she’s spouting.
“After Matteo, you’re my favorite Volante.”
“Uh-huh. Still not taking you to a nightclub, Livvy.”
She throws back her head and laughs. “Oh, well. Watching you staring at the kitchen door like a love-struck teenager is more entertaining, anyway.”
Ignoring her, I pour myself a glass of water as Stefan approaches the table with our wine. He’s carrying the bottle as if it’s an unexploded bomb. Like everyone else around here, he’s afraid of me.
“What happened there?” I ask, noticing he has a black eye.
“There was a dispute between patrons the other night. I tried to intercede.”
