Page 28 of Dante

I hope these guys get a volume deal on those things.

“After you,” he says, opening the door for me.

As he starts the engine and pulls onto the street, I notice a small, sleek building across from the club.

Black and modern, matching the exterior of Dante’s club.

The lights inside are blazing. I can see a ladder centered in what looks like a professional kitchen. It’s as if the electricians dropped their tools and walked away mid-project.

“Is that a new restaurant going up, Thomas?”

He laughs. “If you’re hungry, Mrs. Ricci, you’re going to have to wait a while. It was suddenly abandoned. As you can see, the interior is only half-finished.”

“Yes,” I murmur, feeling a bit of relief from the tension of the casino experience in Thomas’ laughter.

On impulse, I snap a picture of the restaurant and the 'for sale' sign in front of it.

“Something about it reminds me of my friend Alice’s restaurant from when I was a kid. Her family built it over the summer. Alice and I had so much fun riding our bicycles over every day to watch the progress. We felt like we were the owners ourselves.”

Thomas smiles. “Kids. I was like that when I was a boy, too. Thought I’d grow up to have my own baseball team. And look at me now.”

We laugh together this time, and the tension from Silvio’s office and Dante’s dismissal finally bleeds away.

Almost.

While I make small talk with Thomas, my body still hums where Dante’s hand touched my flesh.

I shift in the leather seat as I remember Dante’s breath hot against my ear. The rock-hard outline of his erection through his sleek silk trousers.

“You want to be a restaurateur?” Thomas asks.

I shrug, pulling my mind back.

“Hadn’t thought about it before now.” I look down at the glowing kitchen in the photo on my phone. “But it’s a hard business. I know that.”

“Well, then. There you go.”

He pulls up in front of The Circle Towers and opens my door.

“You okay getting up by yourself?”

“Of course. The lobby’s right there.” I wave to the concierge I met the first night. “I’ll see you around, Thomas.”

“See you, Mrs. Ricci.”

CHAPTER 11

GINA

After the horrors of the afternoon, I yank off my wig and club outfit as soon as I get home. Then I take a long, spiritually cleansing shower.

While I’m drying off, Dante texts me. He says he’s invited his brothers to dinner and that Ciro will orchestrate all the details.

And that all I have to do is show up.

When Alice calls to hear an update about my ‘glamorous’ New York life, I tell her about shopping with Angie in SoHo.

But otherwise, I keep it vague.