Page 52 of His to Hold

“So, what do we all think about Ava’s Russian romance?”

Now this is a subject I’m happy to talk about. I want to know if I’m the only one who thinks Ava should be allowed to live her life as she sees fit. After all, it’s not like Boris Reznov is the enemy. Antonio does a lot of business with him.

“Alessandro’s waiting to see which way the others go,” Emilia says, “but I know Matteo is on Team Ava.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

“You’ve known him a long time, haven’t you?” Vinnie takes a bite of carrot cake and then moans appreciatively.

“We were friends at school. Three of us hung out together, me Matteo and Giulia Costanza.”

“What does Antonio think about your friendship with his brother?”

I shrug. “He doesn’t like that Matteo and I were so close, but he doesn’t make a big deal out of it.”

Vinnie nods. “Leo’s pretty cool about my best friend being a man.”

“That’s different,” Emilia says. “Beniamino is gay.”

“Yeah, but Leo wouldn’t care if he wasn’t. He’s too sure of himself to be threatened by another man.”

“That I can believe.” I take a sip of coffee. “But how does he feel about his mom and Boris?”

“He was shocked more than anything. He didn’t like that she’s been hiding things from the family, but he’s softening.” Vinnie flashes a wicked grin. “I threatened to take a vow of chastity if he didn’t at least think about things from his mother’s perspective.”

“I tried that with Antonio, but he pointed out I’d suffer just as much as him if I went on a sex strike.”

Emilia blows out a breath. “If that’s how this conversation’s going to go, I think we should open the bottle of wine I brought.”

“Good idea.” I get to my feet. “I’ll get the wine. Help yourselves to some more cake.”

Leaving the two women in the living room, I go to the kitchen and retrieve the bottle of Pinot Grigio from the wine cooler. Emilia said it was from a vineyard near her home in Italy. I can’t wait to try it. I’m not a wine connoisseur, but the way Emilia presented it to me suggests this bottle is something special.

It takes me a minute to find a corkscrew in a drawer beneath the window. The cork splits as I try to open the bottle, but thankfully I manage to ease it out without any pieces dropping into the wine. It would be sacrilege to ruin such a thoughtful gift. Grabbing three glasses in one hand, I take the bottle of wine in the other and head back to my guests.

When I get to the living room, Emilia and Vinnie are standing in the center of the room, hugging.

“What’s going on?”

The women step apart, and I see that Emilia’s crying. The smile on her face tells me they’re happy tears.

“Alessandro just texted Emilia.” Vinnie answers for the other woman who doesn’t seem capable of speaking right now. “Gio’s awake and talking.”

The sense of relief that washes over me is so powerful it almost makes my knees buckle. I quickly set down the bottle and glasses I’m carrying in case I drop them.

“That definitely calls for a celebration.”

My hands shake as I try to pour the wine, so Vinnie steps in. She fills three glasses, almost to the brim, emptying the bottle. She passes out the glasses to Emilia and me.

“To Gio.” She raises her glass. “And his speedy recovery.”

“To Gio.” Emilia and I both raise our glasses.

Sinking onto the sofa, I take a huge gulp of the wine. It’s refreshing, but I’m too overcome with joy to taste it right now. As Vinnie sits at the opposite end of the sofa and Emilia retakes her seat on the armchair adjacent to it, I smile tremulously. Antonio will be so happy his brother is awake. He’ll heal the rift with his mother and he and I will build our future together. Everything will be alright. Won’t it?

CHAPTER 19

Antonio

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