Page 12 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

TWO

Johnathan’s eyes widened, and Siena grinned at the sight. Surprise looked good on the man. His confident smile earlier had sharpened his strong jaw and chiseled cheekbones, and made her think, I bet he could kill a woman with that smile. Stop her heart with a look, and restart it with a wink.

The surprise, though?

That took his sexiness, and turned it almost boyish in a blink.

“You didn’t know who I was?” Siena asked.

“Marcellos don’t tend to … mix a lot of business with the Calabrese family.” Johnathan’s confident grin took over once more, and his gaze traveled over her form. “You must be Matteo’s daughter.”

“One of a few,” she replied.

Johnathan cocked a brow. “I only know the Calabrese boss to have one.”

“The three illegitimate ones don’t get much recognition in the family.”

Across from her on the bus, Johnathan cleared his throat.

“Ah, I see,” he said.

So was the way of their life.

Nobody ever said being a principessa della mafia was an easy thing. In fact, it was one of the most suffocating things to be. All the rules and expectations that never ended. Having a Cosa Nostra boss for a father—and high-ranking brothers—left a young woman like Siena under their control and demands.

She was used to it, now.

Twenty-five years dealing with it all had done that to her.

“Kind of strange to see a Capo riding on a city bus,” Siena said.

“And what do you know about Capos, donna?”

The way he called her woman, and his hazel gaze drifted down over her jean-clad legs left a heavy feeling thumping in her throat. Siena was used to men staring—a byproduct of having taken after her exceptionally beautiful, but cold, mother. She wasn’t, however, used to a man like Johnathan doing it.

A man connected to the mafia. One that might face punishment from her father or brothers for disrespecting their family name by treating one of their women in any way that wasn’t honest and pure.

Like she was some angel.

Or a saint.

Siena was none of those things.

She quite liked the way Johnathan was looking at her.

“Well?” Johnathan asked. “What do you know about the business, huh?”

A lot.

More than he probably thought she did.

Siena simply said, “Do you think I shouldn’t know who is who when it comes to the Three Families in New York? Wouldn’t that be a little dumb of me, considering who my father is and all?”

“Fair enough.”

She mentally patted herself on the back for dodging that bullet. After all, one who dealt in the business did not discuss the business.

It was a rule.