Page 19

We pulled up to Dante’s estate and Larissa craned her neck to look out of her window, her eyes widening at the sight of it.

“Wow,” she murmured. “Your brother’s house is beautiful,” she reflected on the Mediterranean-style mansion.

“Oh yeah?” I couldn’t help but grin at her. An infectious energy surrounded her, washing away the nervousness I’d felt about tonight. “Want to move in?”

She turned to me and rolled her eyes. “No chance. This place…it’s intimidating.”

“And mine isn’t?” I scowled, trying to act offended.

“It used to be,” she teased back. “Until I learned you’re a softy at heart.” She playfully banged her shoulder against mine.

I laughed a deep, rumbling laugh. Things between Larissa and I had grown easier, in the best sense of the term.

Ever since she realized that I hadn’t kidnapped her out of a personal vendetta, but rather to protect my family, she’d loosened up with those walls that she maintained around her.

She might not have agreed with how I did things, but she certainly tried to understand.

So, of course, when she asked if she could meet my whole family, I had to set aside my reservations. She had already met my brothers and helped heal Dante and Luca as well. I had no reason to keep her away from my sisters.

The worst part wasn't that I'd brought her because I couldn’t say no; it was that I wanted her here, wanted to see her laugh with my sisters and spar with my brothers.

I wanted to watch her exist in my world as if she belonged in it, though I never allowed that thought to surface in a conscious manner.

The driver pulled up to the house, and I stepped out, walking over to Larissa’s side to help her out.

As I opened her door, I reflected on our location and purpose.

To any reasonable bystander, bringing the sister of a rival Italian crime family—especially one I had abducted two months ago—to a family gathering would have seemed like a foolish move.

Then again, no one in my family knew who she was exactly, or what I’d done. If they caught wind of the fact that I’d kidnapped an Ajello, and news reached Caspian, there would be hell.

But as long as we could keep it a secret, there was no reason she couldn’t indulge in an evening with all of us.

Yet once again, my heart began to race. If something went wrong, if my family tried to pry into her background, I feared what Larissa might say.

I knew she still wanted her freedom, and a small part of me wondered if she’d try to take it.

She knew by now that her true identity was a secret I’d kept to myself.

If probed, she might reveal who she was just to cause me trouble.

Any reasonable person would.

I prayed for this entire evening to be casual, with personal questions kept to a minimum.

“Hey, listen,” I started as I extended a hand out to her. She stepped out, and her gorgeous blue-green eyes shifted colors as they met mine. And in that cream and gold dress, she looked like a divine angel. Time lost all meaning as we stood there, her beauty all I could focus on.

She cocked an eyebrow in my direction, and that was when I realized I’d lost my train of thought.

“Never mind,” I shook my head, knowing it was too late to ask her for what I truly needed of her. Also, the guilt gnawed at me. I was this close to begging her not to tell them she was an Ajello, but I had been the one who had kidnapped her. It didn’t seem fair to put her in that position.

For once, I needed to let the evening play out.

“Come,” I said, giving her my hand. She landed a quizzical look in my direction but didn’t question me further. Her fingers slid against mine, and I felt a jolt. I squeezed harder as we walked.

The front door swung open before we reached it, and my youngest brother Achille bounded out, dark hair wild and the same whiskey eyes as mine filled with mischief.

“There you are!” He practically skidded to a halt in front of Larissa, pulling her into a hug. “Oh, you worked magic. Dante and Luca are back to their overconfident, assholish selves.”

“Ignore him,” I muttered. “He's twelve.”

“I'm twenty-eight, you fossil,” Achille corrected, grinning at Larissa. “But you are a sight for sore eyes!”

Larissa blushed. Actually blushed.

Achille walked ahead of us, leading us into the house. Without thought, I wrapped an arm around Larissa’s shoulder and pulled her closer. “Be careful. He’s a sweet talker.”

Larissa looked up at me and giggled as she rose onto her toes. Her mouth approached my ear, and I felt a tingle down my spine as she whispered, “I figured.”

This moment transported me to another time and dimension. If anyone saw us, we could have passed for a couple, and a deep nostalgia came over me, for a thing that never existed in the first place.

The realization was confusing and messed with my head. I pulled away with a polite smile just as we entered the living room.

“Look who just came!” Achille announced proudly.

“Hello, hello!” Federico said, coming over to greet us.

Inside, Dante's house buzzed with the familiar chaos of a Lebedev gathering.

Luca was arguing with Dante over something at the drinks table, both gesturing wildly at each other as they drank.

In the corner, my sisters Elena and Beatrice were picking at the cheese from the grazing table, their heads bent together as they gossiped over their wine.

Dante handed us some drinks, and I rolled my eyes as I led Larissa to introduce her to my sisters, the only two people she hadn’t met, besides Caspian and Kate, who were still on their honeymoon.

“They’re so engrossed in their little gossip, they haven’t even noticed we’ve arrived,” I complained to Larissa.

Larissa just giggled. “I always wanted sisters,” she said sweetly, not minding their lack of attention. “They’re lucky to have one another.”

“Ladies,” I said loudly as we reached the grazing table, “I've brought someone for you to meet. A guest. This here is Larissa.”

Both women turned, their expressions shifting with curiosity as they eyed Larissa.

Elena was dressed in a simple, elegant dress.

Beatrice, on the other hand, was a riot.

Five years younger to her, she was our family's firecracker, currently sporting electric blue highlights in her black hair and a sparkly dress that probably cost more than my gardener's salary.

“So this is why Gio's been missing family dinners,” Beatrice said kindly, approaching with her hand outstretched. “I'm Bea. The cool sister.”

“Stop kidding yourself,” Elena countered with a smirk. “I'm Elena.”

Larissa smiled. “It's lovely to meet you both. Your brother’s told me such lovely things about you.”

I looked at her with surprise. That was a sweet white lie. I’d hardly mentioned my family to her, and all she knew of them was from their first-hand interactions, and that too only with my brothers.

“All lies,” Bea said cheerfully. “We are the thorns in our brother’s side.”

“That’s true,” Elena countered. She then motioned to the grazing table. “Hungry?”

“Yes, actually,” Larissa said. Once again, I was dumbfounded. She had just told me in the car how full she felt from all the cake she had eaten with her coffee that evening. She picked up a plate and began to serve herself.

Then, I realized what she was doing. She was finding a conversation starter with my sisters. An opening of sorts.

“This looks delicious,” Larissa commented as she picked up some canapes.

“Tiny, though. Don’t you think?” Bea frowned at the appetizer. “Dante's new chef is French and has no concept of portion sizes for Italian appetites.”

“Everything French is always so fancy,” Larissa giggled. “But we can forgive them for making us feel like outright bumpkins, considering how they’ve given us Paris.”

“Have you ever been?” Elena asked curiously. Before I knew it, they were discussing their travels.

I watched, transfixed, as my sisters and Larissa became fast friends.

They were simply three women laughing together as if they had known each other for years.

It was disarming to see, especially knowing how guarded my sisters typically were around newcomers, as most either sought favor or viewed them as a threat.

Yet there was Larissa, helping Elena arrange stuffed mushrooms on a platter while Bea kept them entertained with a story that had them all laughing in stitches.

Not once did Larissa glance over her shoulder at me as though asking to be saved.

She moved like she belonged, like this was her world and she’d forgotten all about me.

“So,” Federico's voice reached my ears as he appeared by Larissa’s side. “It’s been weeks since that night you helped our brothers. How have you been?”

Larissa turned to face him warmly and told him she was doing well. I watched as they exchanged some polite conversation where Federico thanked her again and Larissa politely waved him off, asking him not to mention it.

But there was something in his tone I caught on to. A sense of inquiry. When I averted my gaze from them, I noticed the rest of my siblings hovering, holding on to every word she said.

My worst fears were becoming a reality. My siblings were more than curious about her role in my life. I sensed it from the way they lingered nearby and made her the center of attention.

Dante walked up to me and handed me a whiskey. I took a measured sip as he turned to Larissa. “So what’s the plan? How long do you plan to stay…with Gio?”

My sisters’ heads whipped in my direction, followed by Larissa’s. I watched Larissa blush as she sipped her wine. “Oh, I don’t know just yet.”

“It’s been what?” Luca asked. “Two months now?”

“Two months?” Bea’s eyes widened as she exchanged a look with Elena. “Really?”