Page 149 of Bene

He knew it all.

“While I understand that you might consider yourself in love with—”

“Gian,” Cara said quietly.

Vanna’s stomach flipflopped, threatening to spill what remained of her breakfast after her first round of throwing up that morning. At least, Bene had been there to hold her hair back, and make her feel better after. She willed the vomit away, begging her body to not betray her.

It was just nerves.

She could handle that.

His gaze flew to his wife instantly. “He brought her here.”

“See,” Marcus muttered to Corrado beside him.

“Shut your face,” Corrado replied.

“Well—”

“That’s enough,” Cara told the two, and then to Gian, “don’t make rash decisions; because he clearly didn’t.”

“You don’t think some of things he did were rash?”

“Stop it. Think about it, Gian. All he did, he would have known what it meant to bring her here, so consider that it means something, and we should discuss it before you say something you cannot take back. Is our son not worth that? And the other thing Chris told us—we have to consider that, too, now.”

What other thing?

Vanna knew better than to ask.

Still not the time.

“That’s not fair, bella.”

“Gian.”

“Cara—”

“We’ll talk, and then you can talk as much as you want,” the woman said, offering no room for argument. “Please, Gian.”

“It won’t change what I think or feel.”

Cara smiled softly. “Oh, is that what you think?”

“I know what I know, and that’s more than enough.”

“Exactly, what you know … but you don’t know them.”

Gian visibly stiffened. “I—”

“We’ll talk, and then you can talk,” she repeated, “please.”

He sighed, gaze skipping to Bene and Vanna again in just enough time to see him press a quick kiss to her temple. “Fine, we’ll talk first.”

“Good. I miss my library. Let’s go.”

“Right now?”

“No better time, Gian.”