Page 106 of Sins of the Orchid

“Would it matter if we said you may not?” Santi drawled, his voice dark and matching his expression. “Seeing how you’ve already sat down.”

Nobody ever spoke back to my grandma that way - except for my father and Santi. Even Luigi, Lorenzo, and Adriano avoided Grandma like the plague because of her whiplike tongue and difficulty holding their own against her.

Ignoring Santi, Grandma’s eyes returned to me. “Where is your brother? Your uncle?”

“They had to fly back to New York,” I murmured, throwing a fleeting glance Santi’s way.

“How convenient,” she scoffed. Sometimes, I wished she would just act a little bit softer.

“It was, until you showed up,” Santi deadpanned.

My eyes snapped his way, and he winked. Actually winked! A ruthless don of the Cosa Nostra who had killed hundreds of men winked at me. I had to bite the inside of my cheek or risk laughing.

“Amore, what is this nonsense I hear about a new company you started?” Grandma turned her attention back to me. “Keeping secrets?”

Yes, there was a double meaning to that jab. “Grandma, the new business has nothing to do with Regalè fashion. While it is a fashion company, it is a completely different brand of clothing. You don’t have to worry about a conflict of interest.”

She waved her hand. “Regalè is yours,” she said. “I’m not worried about any competition. But why do it, Amore?”

I chewed on my lower lip. The truth of the matter was that I loved creating designs with Maria, Mr. Russo’s housekeeper. We had been doing it for so long, and within the last year, we finally decided to make it official. It took me a bit of convincing her since I was the only one with the financial capital. But we finally came to an agreement. With my obligations to the Regalè company, I wouldn’t have as much time to work on our company.

“Amore?” Grandma’s voice sounded slightly agitated. “Didn’t I teach you anything? You do not start a business with a stranger.”

I knew she’d harp on about it. It was part of the reason I refused to ask her for her opinion.

I shrugged. “I used a lawyer to draft the paperwork and I trust her.”

“She is a stranger, Amore,” she hissed under her breath. “We are Regalè.”

I couldn’t resist rolling my eyes at her snobbiness.

“She’s not a stranger,” I told her, keeping my cool. “I’ve known her for years. And I trust her, so that’s that.”

Two heartbeats of silence, then Grandma transferred her frustration to Santi.

“And I’m guessing you encouraged it, Russo,” she spat.

He didn’t even flinch, his gaze unchanged. His lips tugged up in an almost cruel smile.

“Amore can do whatever she wants,” he drawled. “She’s good at her work and knows what she’s doing.”

His vote of confidence meant a lot.

“Grandma, the business was my decision,” I told her. “Maria and I came to terms, and I ran with it. Nobody else has a part in it and it is none of their business.” I let the words sink in, then added. “Including yours.”

“And this?” she retorted, her eyes ping-ponging between the two of us. “Is this nobody’s business as well?”

Before I could answer her, Santi spoke up. “Mind your own business, Regina.” His voice was cold as a whip.

“Wrong, Russo,” she hissed under her voice. “So fucking wrong.” My head whipped in her direction. My grandmother rarely ever cursed. “She doesn’t belong in your world.”

“The fuck she doesn’t,” he growled low, and the look he gave her turned my blood cold. This was the ruthless, cold Santino Russo.

My hand reached out and I placed it over Santi’s before he could say something else or even worse, shoot my grandmother.

I locked eyes with her. She had been overprotective ever since Mom died, and I loved her for it. She had big dreams for me of taking over the company, and I was onboard with them. I loved her company as much as she did. She’d also sacrificed a lot. But I also wanted to make my own mark, my own legacy. And I certainly would not be loving or seeing men that either she or my father thought good for me.

“Grandma, it is my business who I see or what I do,” I told her in a firm tone. “Why are you here? You weren’t scheduled to come to Italy until next week.”