Page 39 of Unraveled

Gian’s lips pressed to the top of her head. “I only know you—what you let me know, of course—and I think you do Cara very well.”

She smiled. “I think you would have liked Lea, though.”

“I like you, love. And that’s the important bit.”

“Is it?”

“Sure.”

Cara fell silent, lost in the sensations of Gian stroking her skin under the blanket and the comfortable breeze coming in through the window. She hadn’t known how much she needed the quiet and a break from life and a city that never stopped moving. Sure, below them, another city was moving like the end was near, but she barely heard a thing.

It was only Gian’s speaking again that broke her from the daze.

“We should do this again soon,” he said.

“That might make it seem like we’re dating, Gian. We hooked up, ran away for the weekend, and now you’re planning the next one. I don’t get involved with your type of man—I told you that once.”

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

Cara bit her bottom lip. “Maybe.”

“We’re doing this again.”

It wasn’t even a suggestion that time.

“Are we?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Gian.”

He almost missed the call of his name by the familiar voice, as he started his ascent of the church steps. It was unusual for his closest enforcer—Chris—to call him by his name, as it was usually “boss” only to the man, but Gian understood why the sudden change.

Edmond clapped Gian on the shoulder as he continued climbing the church steps to a waiting Mass. When the boss was around, Gian could not be “boss” to his own men, as anyone in a higher position than him took precedence.

It hadn’t much mattered with his grandfather, but Edmond was not Corrado.

That was obvious to everyone.

“I messaged you this morning,” Gian said, turning to face the enforcer standing on the bottom step. “It’s not like you to be late, Chris.”

The barrel-chested man shrugged his wide shoulders. “Sundays are my off day—that’s what you always say, anyway. No business on Sundays. I put the phone away.”

“All right, I’ll take that.”

Only because it was true.

“You needed me for something?” Chris asked.

Gian ignored the passing people—many he recognized—as he reached for the velvet case inside his jacket pocket. Pulling the item out, he rested it on his palm. It was as long as his hand, and about as wide. “I need you to run this across town for me.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. I don’t make you run errands very fucking often, so don’t start complaining now.”

Chris held his hands up, a silent apology. “No worries. Where’s it going to?”

Gian didn’t answer right away, instead, opening the velvet case to check the item inside for a fifth time since he had picked it up earlier in the week. He’d wanted to give it to Cara himself. He hadn’t seen her since the weekend before, but it looked like it was going to be another couple of days before he could drag himself away from the nonsense that had become his life. He figured the gift would be a nice way to tell her to look forward to a visit, and that he hadn’t forgotten about her.