Page 84 of Mafia Mistress

“Oh, my goodness.” Hurrying toward the other man, I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Frankie.”

He blushed slightly, his expression turning sheepish as we shook. “Ciao, Frankie.”

“He’s embarrassed because you saw his dick at the club,” Giulio put in, his tone amused. “I told him that you were too busy admiring mine to even look at his.”

I held up my palms. “It was a blur of dicks, to be honest. I don’t really remember either.” I also didn’t remember Paolo. I guess I hadn’t been looking at their faces at that moment.

Giulio translated and Paolo smiled, his large shoulders relaxing slightly. He was handsome, in a rough and tumble sort of way. I could see him strangling a man with his bare hands, which were the size of hams. Was Paolo hoping to get Giulio alone?

I sent a nervous glance into the apartment, but Giulio said, “No one else is here. The other guards are downstairs.”

“Let me guess. Fausto owns the entire building.”

Giulio grinned and leaned against the stone surrounding the balcony. “Sí, certo.”

“Would you two like to be alone?”

Giulio shook his head. “No, Paolo needs to go sit with the guards downstairs. Otherwise, it attracts attention.”

“Oh. I suppose that makes sense.”

“Give me a moment, bella.” Giulio strode purposely toward Paolo and cupped the bigger man’s jaw. Giulio pressed his mouth to Paolo’s and began devouring him with a kiss, so I turned away to give them privacy. They whispered in Italian for a moment and then Giulio returned to the edge of the balcony.

“You two are cute together,” I said.

“I worry for him. If we are caught, he will suffer more than I will.”

“So don’t get caught.”

“Of course. It is so easy. Why didn’t I think of that?” His phone pinged and he glanced at it. “What should we do now? We could make bellinis.”

“Do you have the ingredients?”

He made a sound that said I was an idiot for even suggesting he didn’t. “We freeze the white peaches, so they are always on hand. Come on. I’ll show you.”

“Can we drink them out here?”

“Is there another way to drink them in Rome but on a gorgeous terrace such as this? Then we will get ready for dinner.”

I followed him inside. “Where are we going for dinner?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“That sounds fun.” We entered a modern kitchen with marble countertops and white cabinets. A huge island rested in the middle, with stools on one side. I dropped onto a stool and took my phone out of my back pocket. I checked for a text, but Fausto had left me on read, the asshole.

“Missing someone?” Giulio teased, nodding at my phone.

“Baciami il culo.” Kiss my ass. I had been busy translating today on my new phone when not buying clothes.

Giulio laughed as he went to the freezer. “We will make a true Italian of you yet, bella.”

Soon Giulio blended peaches into puree and poured it into a pitcher with prosecco. He told me where to find two flutes and then we were back on the terrace, watching the sun drop in the sky over Rome as we sipped bellinis. “I don’t hate this,” I said, swallowing more of the cocktail. “I could do this forever.”

“Ask my father to give you this apartment when you part, and perhaps you can.”

“Ew, gross.”

“What is gross?”

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