Page 62 of Thin Lines (Donati Bloodlines 2)

He smiled. “I do. Calisto has a good restaurant.”

“It had good food,” Emma agreed.

And the owner was to die for.

Literally.

Emma dropped her husband’s gaze, hoping he wouldn’tsee the truths she was hiding in her vague words. She had a hard time pushingaside the memory of Calisto’s mouth on hers as he pushed her harder into theoffice door while his hands drove up the skirt of her dress. They hadn’t hadthe time for much—the kissing and his quick, hot touches hadn’t been enough.

She still couldn’t forget it.

“I’m surprised he made time to eat,” Affonso said.“All Calisto ever does is work.”

“He made time,” she said simply, offering nothingelse.

Certainly not how Calisto’s hand had found her barethigh under the table as he discussed some issue with her enforcer just twofeet away. She wouldn’t dream of telling Affonso how she’d let Calisto feel herup while she downed a glass of wine.

“But he got called away,” Emma said. “So it didn’tlast very long.”

Somehow, she managed to keep the heat out of her tone.It was a goddamn miracle.

Affonso raised a brow. “That may have been my fault.Something came up and he was the best man to handle it. How about tomorrownight?”

Emma looked up from her plate again. “What abouttomorrow night?”

“I have Ray coming over for dinner with his wife. I’llinvite Calisto, too. Make up for interrupting your lunch today.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat, confused.

Affonso had no reason to suspect that there wasanything going on between her and his nephew. Emma surely hadn’t given the mana reason to believe something of the sort, and as far as she knew, neither hadCalisto.

Yet, there Affonso was, offering to bring a man intotheir home. Family, sure, but a man.

Emma’s husband was terribly jealous. Affonso had noissue with telling men to back off his wife if he thought they were getting tooclose. He certainly didn’t mind reprimanding Emma if he believed she had donesomething wrong, even if it was as innocent as talking to a stranger.

“Why?” Emma asked quietly.

Affonso shrugged. “Why not?”

That wasn’t a real answer.

Emma didn’t trust her husband. Not with a fuckinginch.

“I didn’t know we were having people over for dinnertomorrow. Isn’t the Thanksgiving dinner in two weeks going to be busy enoughfor us?” she asked.

Affonso waved a hand like it didn’t matter. “I haveRay over all the time. You’ve only met his wife twice since we married. Youshould make a friend.”

Emma didn’t think so. She wasn’t fond of her husband’sunderboss, or the man’s wife. Lola Missotti was spoiled rotten to her core, andplastic all over. And for every implant and injection the woman sported, Lola’spersonality rang just as fake.

“You didn’t ask me,” Emma said. “What if I don’t wantto have dinner tomorrow with Ray and Calisto?”

“It’s isn’t about what you want, sweetheart. It’snever been about you.”

She should have known that.

Right at that moment, Emma believed she knew exactlywhy her husband didn’t mind that she had spent time with Calisto withoutAffonso being present. It was the same reason why she had sought Calisto outearlier in the day.

Calisto cared about her.