Page 83 of Heartless

A little smile bloomed across her flushed face, “Maybe.”

Bianc grinned.“Cami’s right.All you have to do is stand there, and they’ll flock to you.And not only the men.”

Sienna giggled.“That part is easy, I guess.”Then her tone quieted.“But dating takes more than time and energy.”

Bianc tilted her head to the side and touched her cheek.“Dating also takes heart.”

“Yes.It does,” she whispered.

At the shift of tone, I leaned in.We all did.

Bianc’s eyes softened.“Caring for your mama took all of yours, didn’t it?”

Sienna covered Bianc’s hand with her own and nodded.

“I’ve lost mine when I was fourteen.Was she a good mama?”

Tears slid down her cheeks, and her voice trembled.“The best.”

The women’s heads touched.“The best ones leave us too early.I’m sorry you’ve lost your mama, cara.”

“I’m sorry you’ve lost yours, Bianca,” she murmured back.

My throat got tight.Cam’s breath hitched, and Sile cleared his throat.

After swiping her fingertips over Sienna’s cheek, she said, “Do you want pistachio gelato?”

A wet giggle escaped from the beautiful girl born with a broken heart.“Yes, please.”

With a grin, Bianc sat back.“You should come with me to Florence when I go back.What do you think, cara?”

Sienna’s jewel-colored gaze widened.“I’d love that.”

I clenched my fist around my beer bottle.

“That’s a good idea,” Cam chimed in.My bastard brother just smirked.

Not a fucking chance.Not when I’d just started uncovering the wealth of warmth and kindness hiding behind those beautiful eyes.“No.”

“Jake,” Bianc and Sienna protested at the same time.

Bianc frowned.“Jake, she’ll be farther away from him, and no one will touch her if she stays with me.You know Zio Edo wouldn’t let—”

“Sienna’s staying here.”

“Why?Hidden here or hidden there makes no difference.And in Florence, we’ll—”

“Bianc, she’s staying here.”

Sienna sat back and her voice cut through Bianc’s stubborn stand-off.“Camila, Silas, you can see me, sitting here, right?”

Sile and Cam chuckled.

While my opinionated surrogate baby sister kept glowering, Sienna touched her hand, bringing Bianc’s attention to her.“When are you leaving?”

“I’m not sure yet.I’m going to visit some friends in New York, then I’ll see.Why?”

Her tone soothed.“Bianca, I definitely want to visit you, but not because I’m hiding.Once the situation here is back to not-crazy, I promise I’ll get a passport and I’ll be knocking on your door.”