Page 15 of The Prices We Pay (Vittori Enterprises #1)

Josephine

L uca’s eyes bore into me with a raging inferno.

I can feel his stare burning my skin as he looks me over from head to toe.

I’m not sure if the intensity of his gaze is because he’s angry that I was here on a date, or because I stole the attention away from his best friend, or because I’m at his friend’s club and he doesn’t want me here.

But regardless of the reason he’s so clearly angry with me, he has no right to be.

He may be my boss at work, but I’m a woman of my own free will. I can go wherever and date whomever I want.

Man or woman .

However, despite my intestinal fortitude, I can’t bear the heat of his stare. So I don’t.

Instead, my eyes lock with Dante’s. There’s a tenderness in them that’s such a juxtaposition to the rest of his hard exterior.

It’s what has drawn me to him since the day we met.

I can see a war waging behind those deep hazel iris’.

He’s a man who wants to protect everyone around him, even if it means risking his own life.

He wants to keep those he loves most as close to him as possible, but at the same time, he feels as if he doesn’t have the capacity to love at all.

“You looked like you needed saving.” My eyes move to Sebastian, who’s sitting opposite Luca, his arm casually draped across the booth behind him. My eyes catch on the tips of Sebastian’s fingers resting on Luca’s shoulders.

I cross my arms over my chest. “I did, huh?”

Enzo huffs out a laugh, still standing next to me, his arm now wrapped around my waist, his hand resting on my hip. “Kassidy literally looked like the worst.”

“Oh, so now you remember her name. ”

He taps the tip of his nose and winks a devious eye at me.

“Not to mention your body language looked wholly disinterested,” adds Dante.

“Since when do you know so much about my body language?” I retort.

The woman sitting at the table with them uses her hand to cover her smile, clearly in on something that I’m not.

“You’d be surprised at the things I notice, Amore Mia.” I sallow hard at the nickname. I don’t need to know much Italian to figure out what it means.

My love.

But I’m not. I’m not his love. It must have been a slip of the tongue. Yet, unlike I wanted to with Kassidy, I have no urge to dissuade him from using it.

“Wasn’t aware you dated women,” Sebastian adds bluntly. However, I can tell it’s not coming from a place of judgment. More like… intrigue.

Knowing he researched my entire life, I cock a brow. “Yeah, you were. ”

He barks out a laugh, and just the sight of his smile and those dimples has me clenching my legs a little tighter. “Yeah. I was.”

The three other men at the table are now smiling along with the woman. Not knowing how to respond, I turn my attention to them. “I’m Joe,” I say, introducing myself.

The blonde one stands and reaches his hand out for me to shake. “I’m Finn. This is Ronan and Mac.” He points to each one, respectively, taking a strand of the woman’s curls between his fingers. Finn’s eyes stay glued to her as he introduces me. “And this is our wife, Harper.”

Wife?

As he sits down next to her, I spot the only visible tattoo on the side of his neck—a single word: “Harper.” As I look at Ronan and Mac, I see they have the same tattoo.

All three of them have her name tattooed on them for the world to see. All three of them wear matching bands. All three of them so clearly in love with the woman in front of me. She’s really their wife.

All of theirs.

I fucking love that.

Likely noticing I’m staring, Harper winks at me rather than drawing more attention to the fact I’m slightly stunned. “It’s so nice to meet you,” she greets warmly. “There needs to be another female presence around. This many men is just too many men. Especially that troublemaker right there.”

My smile grows as she points to Enzo. Her words are all tease, but she looks at him lovingly. “Bella.” Enzo places his hand over his chest in mock offense. “You wound me.”

Ronan extends his leg from under the table, kicking Enzo in the shin. “Ouch, you fucker. That hurt.”

“Good,” he snarls. “What have I told you about calling her that?”

For the first time since I walked over here, I saw the corner of Luca’s mouth turn up at Enzo’s scolding.

Harper simply laughs and rolls her eyes at their antics. “Why don’t you join us?” She gestures to the open spot next to Dante. His jaw clenches, but he shifts slightly .

“Oh, no. That’s okay. I don’t want to intrude.” I look up at Enzo. “But thank you for saving me.”

“Don’t be silly!” Harper exclaims. “You’re not intruding on anything. These three are done with work for the night, and you look like you could use some stimulating conversation.”

“You guys work here?” I ask in confusion. Don’t get me wrong, Kings is a nice club, but Harper’s men look like they have far more important things to be doing than working at a nightclub.

“Nah. We own it,” Mac says matter-of-factly before taking a drink of what looks like whiskey.

“Yup. That makes more sense.”

“See?” Mac backhands Ronan in the chest. “Told you I look like a respectable businessman.”

Enzo’s breath skates across my cheek as he whispers in my ear, “Come on, Sweetheart. Sit with us. Please?”

I sigh in exaggeration, even though we both know I’m going to say yes. “Fine. Since you asked so nicely.”

Gesturing me toward the table, I take the open spot next to Dante, and Enzo plops down next to me. “What’s your poison?” Sebastian asks, sticking his hand out to flag down a server.

The glint in his eye lets me know that he’s fully aware of his double entendre, and as I eye each of the men that I work with, I know the answer isn’t one of them.

It’s all of them.

“Club soda with lime,” I answer regretfully. Times like this are when I wish I could down a bottle of tequila. But I can’t. Which means I’m going to have to get through the rest of this evening fully aware that each of them is looking at me like they can see right through me.