Page 50 of The Consequence of You
“What about having a fixed price lunch menu, aimed at local office workers? Keep it simple, just dishes that can be cooked and served quickly with a coffee to go afterwards. Iknow we don’t do that anywhere else, but it might work here.”
Luca looks up, his eyes sparkling.
“Great idea. I’ll ask Alesso to help them come up with a few ideas while he’s here. We can get some leaflets printed to promote it. It won’t cost much to give it a trial run.” He scribbles away for a few seconds, and then sits back in his chair. “I’m impressed, mia sorellina. Are you interested in coming to work for the family business with me?”
“Luca, you are far better qualified in this area than me, but I am happy to come and eat lunch with you frequently, if that helps.” I reach over and snaffle the last piece of tortellini off his plate and shove it in my mouth as he shakes his head in mock disapproval.
The waiter brings over a dessert menu and we argue animatedly over which one to split, eventually deciding to get three between us, using the reasoning that it’s necessary for work purposes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ASHER
I’m on my way back from depositing my race winnings at the bank when I see her. She is sitting at a table in the window of one of her family’s restaurants, laughing over a glass of wine with a man I don’t recognise. It’s been less than a week since the art gallery, and I’m beginning to realise there’s more going on in Callie’s life than I thought.
My heart thunders in my chest as I watch from afar. The man is dark haired and good looking, not unlike her ex-Nico, and I curse under my breath. She clearly has a type. Maybe she finished things properly with Nico because of this guy. Callie and I both expressed an interest in continuing ourarrangement,but we didn’t really set any boundaries. We should have, because the thought of this man putting his hands on her has me seeing red.
Before my brain can catch up, I’m yanking the door tothe restaurant open. I stride in, ignoring the maître-de as he tries to stop me.
Who does Callie think she is?Her bed is still warm from me, and just days later she’s out on a date with some other guy. When I near their table, I pull a chair from another one and slam it down between them.
A waiter approaches.
“Sir?”
“White wine. Sancerre,” I instruct, not taking my eyes off the man next to my woman. The waiter scuttles off, having clearly recognised me. I’ve eaten here plenty of times, so they know better than to risk losing my business.
“Asher. What are you doing here?” Callie doesn’t sound happy, but honestly? I don’t give a fuck.
“Who is this? Another ex-boyfriend?” As I look at the man, he stares at me coldly, not at all ruffled by my appearance, and for a second my confidence falters.
“Asher!”
“Tell him to leave.” But the bastard laughs right in my face, and I feel my temperature rise. I fix him with a cold stare while I study him.
He’s built, hard to tell his height as he’s sitting, but I estimate it to be fairly similar to my own. He looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t put my finger on why. Now I’m closer, I can see he has a few years on me, and admittedly, he’s pretty mean looking, but I still fancy my chances.
“Listen, old man. I need to speak to Calliope. Your date is done.” I wave between them as the waiter returns with a tray of desserts and my drink. I pluck the glass straight from the tray and drain it in one before slamming it back down. I grab a spoon and dig into the crème brûlée.
The man places his napkin on the table and stands up slowly. Thank fuck, he’s finally leaving.
That’s when I see it. The unmistakable black strap under his suit jacket.
Holy Fuck.
This guy is carrying. It’s the middle of the fucking day, in a family restaurant. Maybe I’m outmatched after all.
“Sorellina, do you know this little shit?” His voice is accented and deep as he addresses Callie. What I’m about to do is fucking stupid, but there is no sign of her bodyguard, and no way in hell I’m leaving her alone with this guy.
I place my spoon on the table and stand slowly. I was right, wearethe same height. That’s when it registers what he called her.
Sorellina. Italian forSister.
I breathe out a sigh of relief. It’s just her brother. That’s why he’s familiar. While I don’t recall ever seeing her with a sibling during our years at the academy, it could easily have escaped my attention. Perhaps I should be more worried about the very real possibility of him pulling out his weapon, given the way I spoke about him, but all I can think is thank fuck she’s not on a date like I assumed.
“My bad. I don’t think we’ve met. You must be Calliope’s brother?” I stick out my hand. “I’m Lord Pennington. Pleasure to meet you.” Callie’s brother’s expression doesn’t improve. In fact, it turns even more murderous as he leaves me hanging.
Withdrawing my hand, I ramble on, “my apologies, sir. Your sister is a very beautiful woman. I was merely making sure you’re not some kind of sleazeball sniffing around her. Had to make sure you were legit.” My voice falters as his eyes narrow.
