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“You were both reckless.” Giovanni reached for her hand and squeezed, making her gape and flush. “Thank you for today, Vespa,” he said before slipping past her to descend the stairs.
Vespa rubbed her hand along her pants. “Dammit. Now I feel all squirrelly. I didn’t expect him to be so grateful.”
“Giovanni is a sweetheart,” Antonio murmured. Then he just stared at her.
Vespa’s eyes traced his face in return, and her body relaxed. “You don’t look too hurt.”
“Worried about me?” he asked, already basking in the idea of it.
“Like hell. I came here because I figured we should talk. We didn’t really, at the Barone estate.” Her hand lifted to squeeze around her bun, like it always did when she was trying to hold herself together.
Antonio reached for her other hand. “You’re right. We should talk.” He kept his grip light as he tugged her toward his room.
When they got there and she closed the door behind them, she didn’t say anything. Antonio lowered himself to the bed, content to watch her. She’d walked in to die for him today. No one had ever done that for him, not even Giovanni. Antonio was the one who protected his brother, and he usually used calculation to keep trouble off their backs.
He’d been reckless instead and deserved the coming lecture, but he also felt strangely euphoric. Like he was fucking floaty, as Vespa would say.
“I talked to Giovanni and Montrell, Vespa,” he admitted. “I’m joining the Coronellas.”
She froze, her eyes blowing wide as she gaped at him. “You what?” The words came out choked.
“It’ll take a little while to fully extract myself from the Di Salvos, which will be fine since we’re still aligned, but in the future—”
“Wait!” She held up a hand. “Fuck, just wait a minute. You’re speaking gibberish. I didn’t ask you to give up anything for me. You can’t leave the Di Salvos!”
He held a hand out toward her. Vespa eyed it suspiciously before taking it and letting him pull her to the bed to sit.
“You gave up everything for me when you walked into that room, Vespa. Let me return the favor.”
“Not everything. I would never have given up Montrell.” Her eyes met his.
Antonio smiled. “I never want you to. Just as I won’t do anything against Giovanni. Honestly, this is similar to an arranged marriage. Me joining the Coronellas will solidify the alliance to the extent that neither side will be likely to go against the other.”
“Fuck that! I’m not marrying you.” Vespa looked as if she’d swallowed a bug.
Antonio wasn’t offended. “Did I ask you to marry me?”
Her brow wrinkled. “No, but you said—” She cleared her throat and tried again. “And I kind of admitted—” She broke off again.
He leaned into her side, resting his head against hers. “You don’t have to say the words. And there will be plenty of time to figure out all the details. I’m trying to tell you that I never want to choose a side that you’re not on.”
She shoved away from him, beginning to pace and grip her bun. “Shit, this is a mess. If anything, I should be the one coming to the Di Salvos. You like to manipulate and scheme and plot, though today’s plotting was a shitshow. Fuck! You’re not off the hook for that. But, the plotting, that’s Beatrice for Montrell, something he’s always needed. I’m just the muscle. I can—”
“You’re not ‘just’ anything, Vespa. Leandro Barone targeted you because you’re the heart of the Coronellas as much as Montrell is. They need you.”
She threw up her hands. “Well, the Di Salvos need you too! So no. You don’t get to give up everything that matters to you to prove you love me or something stupid like that.” She groaned. “Why are we even talking about this? I didn’t come here for this.”
“What did you come here for, then?” Antonio asked.
“I came for—” She swallowed, her hands waving in the air as if trying to stir up the words. “Well, you know.”
She was so adorable sometimes. “I don’t know. I think you’ll have to say it.”
“For…” She waved her hands again, like it would help, then groaned and dragged out her phone. Glaring at him, and then at her phone, she jabbed out two letters.
Antonio’s phone dinged, but he didn’t reach for it.
She turned her phone to show him the text. “For this!” she shouted, her face flushed.
