Page 8 of The Prices We Pay (Vittori Enterprises #1)

Sebastian

“ I swear to god, I’m going to marry her.” Enzo’s excited voice booms through the apartment the moment the elevator to the penthouse opens.

Luca’s voice follows, “You barely even know her, Enz. And for the millionth time, we’re her bosses. It’s crossing a line.”

“We literally just came from murdering someone, and you’re going to lecture me about crossing a line. Plus, Seb is your employee, and you’re with him. ”

“That’s different, and you know it. Seb and I keep it private. You couldn’t keep your feelings for someone private if your life depended on it.”

“A man in love should be able to shout it from the rooftops, Amico.”

The two of them never stop bickering. You’d think that considering they’ve been best friends since they were in their mothers’ wombs, they would have sorted most of their arguments out years ago, but no. It literally never stops.

If I didn’t know they were practically joined at the hip, I’d think they hated one another.

“Who are they talking about?” I ask Dante as he plops down on the opposite end of our giant black leather sectional. He immediately moves to put his giant boots on the coffee table when I raise a brow at him. Thinking twice, he toes them off before resting his feet.

“Joe.”

“Joe?” I think about it for a moment, and then I remember the stunning woman I met this afternoon. “Right. I should have known Enz would be ass over tits for her.”

“I don’t think he’s the only one,” Dante grumbles.

“Ohhhhh, really?” I lean my head against the back of the couch and look up as Luca stops behind me.

“Oh, really, nothing. I’m her boss; she’s an employee, and we don’t know anything about her besides what’s in her personnel file.” Bending down, he plants a kiss on my forehead. “Hey, Mio Re.”

“Hey, Baby.” He shuffles around the end of the couch and sits next to me. “I could find out more about her, you know?”

He gives me a perplexed look. Not that I blame him.

Luca and I aren’t exactly in what you would consider a normal relationship, but our commitment to seeing one another happy is unwavering.

We love deeply, but neither of us has really asked how we see this playing out long-term.

However, one thing I do know… whatever he wants, I’m willing to give him.

“You don’t have to do that.”

Leaning in close so my forehead rests against his, I answer, “I know I don’t have to. I want to. Just say the word. ”

“Do it, Seb.” Enzo drops into the corner of the sectional, his usual spot. He likes to curl up there with as many pillows and blankets as physically possible.

I look back at Luca, and he nods. “All right. I’ll pull everything in the morning before I meet with her to set up her new laptop. Anything specific I’m looking for?”

“Whatever you can find. I want to know everything ,” Enzo answers excitedly.

“Enzo, man, you’ve got to chill.” I can’t help but laugh at Dante’s exasperated tone.

“I’ve got to chill? Me? Yeah, okay, Mr. ‘Next time you’re here late, let me know so I can protect you from everything evil and scary in the world.’” Dante glares at him from across the couch, and Enzo just snorts out a laugh. “Yeah, we heard you.”

Dante’s glare deepens. “One of these days, I really am going to kill you in your sleep.”

“Keep saying that, Big Daddy. You’d miss me too much.”

“Debatable.”

“I’ll wear you down one of these days. ”

“Wanna go to bed?” Luca whispers in my ear, effectively ignoring their bickering.

Standing, I reach down to help his tired frame back off the couch. “Come on.”

As we walk up the stairs to the second floor, Enzo’s voice sing-songs through the penthouse, “Sweet dreams, boys.”

I lead Luca into his room, knowing he still has to shower.

Sitting on the end of the bed, I watch unapologetically as he gets undressed.

The three of them wear the exact same thing when they go out on a mission—and when I have to join along, which is rare, I do too—but something about Luca in black boots, cargo pants, and a Henley makes my blood heat every time.

Especially when my eyes stray to where his holster tightly hugs his muscular thigh.

But as much as I love staring at him in it, I love watching him take it off even more.

As he pulls his shirt over his head, I watch the muscles in his back flex before my eyes catch a glimpse of the black band tattooed around his forearm. It’s one of only two tattoos he has, and below it reads, “In quest vita. ”

Enzo has a matching one that says, “E il successive.”

“Tell me what happened tonight,” I say as he toes off his boots before neatly setting them inside his closet.

“Nothing happened. It was an easy target. We were in and out.”

“Not the job, Luca. Tell me what happened with Joe.”

He pauses for a moment as he undoes his holster.

He sighs and resumes unwrapping it from his thigh and sets it on top of his dresser.

“When we got back to the parking garage, Enz forgot his keys, like usual, and I had to piss, so we all went up to the top floor.” I fight the groan that wants to spill from my lips as he slips out of his cargo pants, his perfectly toned ass filling out his black briefs.

“Anyway, we found her sitting on the floor in the middle of her office in a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Her hair was tied into a bun on top of her head, and she was singing along to some country song while she worked.”

“She saw the three of you dressed like that? ”

A small smile pulls at his lips. “Yeah. Told her we were paintballing.”

“Paintballing?” I curl my lips in, trying not to laugh. “She didn’t believe that for a second, did she?”

“No. Not one bit. She let it be, though,” he answers with a shrug.

“Okaaaay… Well, besides your terrible excuse for a lie, I’m failing to see what the big deal is.”

I’m not, actually. I just want him to say it out loud.

“The three of us just stood there in the doorway. Watching her. She just looked so, so—”

“Beautiful?”

His eyes soften a fraction as he releases a breath, seemingly thankful that I finished the sentence for him. “Yeah. She looked beautiful.”

Luca stands in front of me in nothing but a pair of boxers and averts his eyes.

The insanely gorgeous CEO of a multibillion-dollar company, the man who can command a room of the most notorious men and women in the country, the man who isn’t afraid to slay monsters in the night, the man who has confidence in spades, averts his eyes… from me.

Around almost everyone else, I’m reserved.

I don’t generally speak unless I’m spoken to, and I don’t offer my advice unless asked.

People often assume that because I spend the majority of my time behind a computer, I’m shy and have no idea how to command a room, but that’s not true at all.

It’s just how I was raised. I’m the quiet, polite guy who sits and observes—except when I’m with the three men in this apartment, especially the one in front of me.

They’ve always seen me for me and don’t try to get me to be anyone I’m not.

If only people knew who I was behind closed doors.

“Luca.” He doesn’t raise his eyes, so I stand from the bed and lower my voice. My tone leaving no room for argument. “Luca, look at me.”

Finally, his deep brown eyes meet mine, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows hard. “Come here.”

In three steps, Luca is standing toe-to-toe with me. I reach up with my left hand—the one covered in tattoos—and grip his sharp jaw. “Don’t hide from me, Baby.”

“I feel so guilty,” he answers softly. The shame in his voice is as clear as day.

“For what?” I knew the moment Joe sat in the conference room this morning that she was going to be more than just an employee.

The way Luca’s stare was locked onto her the entire time she was in there, the way Enzo didn’t stop smiling the entirety of the meeting, and the way that Dante so openly cared about her well-being was proof enough.

I hadn’t interacted with her enough to form a strong opinion, but I wasn’t oblivious to not notice how insanely gorgeous she was.

And not in the typical way. No, her dark hair, piercing blue eyes, floral tattoos that were much like my own, and fierce personality weren’t of a woman who wanted to fit in with other women.

Josephine Jenkins was made to stand out.

She was made to take up space and hold her own. That much, I was already certain.

“For looking at her the way I’ve been looking at her. I’m her boss, Seb. She’s my employee. I have no business thinking about her that way. Enzo’s already obsessed, so now I’m going to have to deal with that. And… and I don’t need her. I have—”

“Me?”

He sighs heavily, and instead of turning away, he leans into my hand and says, “I have you.”

“How do you feel about her, Luca?” I have known Luca for five years now, and I quickly learned that he doesn’t divulge his feelings easily.

As upbeat and friendly as he appears to be, he holds a lot inside.

He takes on so much responsibility, shouldering the weight of being a good son, a good friend, a good partner, a good boss, and a good leader.

He fights relentlessly to hide his emotions, thoughts, and worries, in fear that he will become a burden to others rather than a haven.

I give him a place to let go, a place to voice his emotions, thoughts, and worries. A place to be who he is rather than who he thinks he needs to be. He loses himself in me as I do in him.

“I shouldn’t feel a damn thing, that’s the problem. I’ve known her for two fucking days.” His frustration is mounting. I can feel it beneath my hold .

“But?”

“But… there’s something about her, Seb. I can see it in her eyes. There’s something in her that’s calling to me. I don’t know why or what it is. I can’t explain it. But I can feel it.”

“Then let yourself feel it, Luca.”