Page 65 of The Love of Priest 2

Although his six-month stay in Italy was for the sole purpose of decompressing and disconnecting himself from New York for a while, Priest was filled with knowledge from Matteo and Suzette.

Britain eyed Suzette as she reached over to the center table that decorated the den, pouring red wine for the four of them.

"Well, you we're definitely tied up, but something tells me that this engagement wasn't the only thing keeping you in New York for so long.

" Suzette side-eyed Priest as she returned the cork back into the spout of the fine aged wine.

A light chuckle aired out of Priest as his broad shoulders shrugged dismissively. "I mean, I'm sure you two have been keeping up," he said, finding no need to spill a long-winded explanation about why he hadn’t returned to Italy at the time he told them he would have.

"We definitely have, Priest, and I have to say I'm not impressed.

Matteo, however, thinks you are some big mastermind that he's brought up.

" Suzette vibrated in laughter at the thought of how boastful her husband Matteo could be when it came to Priest. Although she was far more hands-on with the business, Matteo still found it fitting to call Priest his protégé.

Priest felt some sort of guilt wash over him as he glanced over at Britain.

He could tell she was making sense of a few things and wasn't pleased to figure out that she had ended up accompanying him to the house of the two people he conducted business with.

In Priest's defense, Matteo and Suzette weren't really the type to get into business in front of anyone other than Priest himself; however, because Priest was on the verge of marrying Britain, they trusted his judgement about her.

"I played my hand the best I could," Priest vaguely advised, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

Suzette noticed how dismissive Priest was becoming, which meant the topic wasn't what he wanted to discuss. However, she couldn't just give him a slap on the wrist for the chaos he brewed in New York.

Suzette trusted Priest with a large portion of her business out in New York, and although he made a great name for himself, Priest still had standards to meet and questions to answer.

"Why don't you two speak business while I give the future Mrs. Justice the tour of the house," Matteo suggested to Priest and Suzette, easing them out of the challenging stare down the two were giving each other.

At the mention of the word business , Britain immediately caught the notion of who she was sitting before and the power they had. Her hand parted from Priest’s as she saved face with a light smile. "I would love that, Matteo," she agreed.

With a charming smile on his face, Matteo politely offered Britain his hand, assisting her off the plush couch. Once she rose to her feet, she smoothed down her dress before following behind Matteo. "We'll just be a second," Suzette assured.

Matteo nodded his head. "Take your time, sweetheart," he told her as he and Britain ventured off further into the home. Britain was making good use of the tour, hoping she could gain some inspiration for her and Priest's house that was slowly becoming a home.

"I always tell people this is Suzette's house, and I just live in it," Matteo chuckled. "Every little detail this house has is her."

"It's wonderful. She did an amazing job," Britain complimented as her orbs continued to gaze around.

"So how did you and Priest meet? He's tough to get through to," Matteo asked.

She chuckled, agreeing with him. Priest was definitely a hard person to crack, but to Britain, he came so easily.

She normalized the feeling of vulnerability for him, and that alone was all he needed to fall in love with her.

"We met at a wedding, actually. He's best friends with the groom, and I happened to be best friends with the bride," she explained, a smile growing on her face at the thought of the beginning of her relationship with Priest.

"Wow! How ironic is that? Now you two are planning your own wedding. As long as I've known him, he's been a man of his word. He even keeps the promises that seem unrealistic and unattainable. In marriage, trust is a big aspect. Luckily, you can trust Priest with everything."

Matteo spoke very highly of Priest. Priest’s trustworthiness was Matteo’s very reason for scouting him out.

Many people were upset that Suzette and Matteo decided to leave their empire in the hands of Priest, who was considered a street thug, but they saw past that stigma and his rap sheet.

He had a work ethic like no other, and he was a mastermind who could brew up a scheme in seconds.

Priest was it, and the fact that he was so humble about it made him even better.

Britain couldn't help but feel a warmness rise in her cheeks.

Her smile widened a bit as she nodded in agreement.

Priest was as honest as they came. Years before they got together, Britain actually prayed for a man as honest as Priest. Who knew she would have been gifted with him just a few years later? "That he is," she nodded.

They continued the tour of the home, and Britain gawked at all the extravagant pieces that decorated the walls.

Matteo made everything so comfortable for her.

The conversation came easy, and they never had an awkward moment of silence, mostly because they were both chatterboxes who could go on for hours.

The home had two wings to it that were separated by a gorgeous garden full of blossoming ruby red roses. The view was similar to the views that would be depicted on television. With a fountain set right in the center of garden, the view was cinematic.

"So, you know how Priest and I met, but you haven't told me how you and your wife met him," Britain inquired as she turned to Matteo with a light smile.

Britain knew Priest never lied to her, but he did like keeping her out of things.

If he thought something wasn't worth knowing, Britain was left completely unaware of it.

It drove Britain up the wall that he left her out of so many things but always had her in the midst of situations that she could have been prepared for if she knew all the details.

It was a fault of his, but she chalked it up by considering it his way of protecting who he loved the most.

A light laugh filtered out of Matteo as he and Britain continued to saunter through the garden.

"Before I knew him, I heard a lot about him.

He was someone who had a lot of eyes on him far before all the attention he has now.

Everyone really wanted to know what path he would take because he's the kin of Leonard Justice.

I know they both like to deny the fact that they are family, but it's the truth," Matteo shrugged.

"Leonard had many connections. Most of them turned sour, as did the one he shared with my wife and I, but I never stopped watching.

Priest, however, was always the piece of the puzzle that never fit into Leonard's whole life.

He stood out, so I kept my eye on him. He was no stranger to trouble, so when he got himself locked up for a few months, I realized that bail hadn't been posted as quickly as it usually would, and my wife and I bailed him out. "

"You were the one who bailed him out when all the allegations first came out?" Britain asked, trying to make sense of the timeline of Priest's life.

Matteo nodded his head in confirmation. "Yeah, no one really wanted to post his bail, afraid that the Feds would look into who had that type of money and why were they interested in bailing him out. It was just too much of a risk, but Nonna and I took the risk."

"So, you and your wife weren’t the start of everything changing for him," Britain let out, trying her best to figure things out. The one thing Priest never told her was how he went from landscaping one day to living in a high-rise penthouse the next. It was a secret he didn't divulge to anyone.

Matteo shook his head. "He made his way on his own. With his work ethic, I'm not surprised. We came in after he was established. We just helped him expand."

Britain nodded, retaining all the newfound information.

After the tour of the garden, she and Matteo returned inside the home where Suzette and Priest were still conversing.

Upon Matteo and Britain's entrance into the room, their conversation came to an abrupt halt.

"How was the tour?" Suzette averted her attention to Britain.

A smile plastered Britain's face. "It was wonderful. The garden is to die for."

"Thank you," Suzette replied, mirroring Britain's smile. "Dinner will just take a moment longer?—"

"Actually, we can't stay," Priest cut in as he glanced down to the Richard Millie that laced his wrist.

A disappointed look masked both Matteo's and Suzette's faces. "You two just got here. I barely got the chance to get to know Britain," Suzette told Priest, hoping to get him to reconsider.

Priest stood up from the couch, his mind already fixed on leaving. "I apologize for that, but something came up. Maybe some other time?" Priest suggested.

Suzette sighed before nodding her head, agreeing to meet again some other time. They shared goodbyes with each other before Matteo and Suzette walked Britain and Priest to the door. Britain was pretty oblivious about why Priest wanted to leave so abruptly, but she could tell something was up.

He assisted her into the car before getting in himself. As he circled the fountain to exit the lengthy driveway, Britain let out a sigh. "What was that about?" she asked, unable to go without knowing the reason why they rushed out of Suzette and Matteo's home.