Page 22 of Her UnBearable Protector

Before she could walk away, Ericka grabbed her arm. “Want to go get some lunch?” She darted a glance toward the door. “We could go get a drink, take the edge off, and-”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Ericka.”

Ericka’s shoulders slumped. “Sweetie, I’m sorry if I messed things up for you last night. I probably made a complete ass of myself by bringing over the bag of-”

Natale silenced Ericka with a bear hug, nearly squeezing the very breath from her friend’s lungs. “You didn’t do a thing. I’m just not cut out for the relationship thing. Okay? Look, I don’t think I can go anywhere. Salvatore wants me to keep a low profile while his brothers check on some leads. So,” a nervous chuckle peppered her answer, “I’m kind of a prisoner in the workroom today.”

Ericka opened her mouth to say something, but Natale couldn’t listen to it.

Stepping away, Natale called out to the room in general. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.” She offered the workers a bright thankful smile. “You’re all amazing! I can’t wait until the world gets to see all of your hard work.”

Before anyone could stop her, she walked into the hallway and headed for her office.

* * *

Near the end of the day, Natale was ready to drop. She’d thrown herself into her work, and while she didn’t want to jinx things, her crew was ahead of schedule and well on their way to being ready for the show a full day ahead of schedule. The next day was going to be a long one with visits to the event space and conversations with the tech crew. Lighting, sound, and front of house were all etched into her schedule and frankly, she couldn’t wait. In the past, she’d played second to father, but this time, it was her vision and she ached to see it all come together.

A quick knock at her door had her on her feet. Ericka poked her head in.

“I hope you’ve got a bottle hiding in your desk. Caprice is headed this way.”

Before Natale could comment or even wrap her head around the idea, Caprice pushed the door open and swept into the room past Ericka. Her cousin stopped before her desk, her hands planted on her hips. Every quick in-drawn breath lifted her shoulders. A few moments later, Caprice nailed Ericka with a look. “Don’t you have something to do?”

Natale saw Ericka’s eyes narrow and knew if she gave her a nod, any kind of permission, Ericka was likely to grab Caprice by the hair and throw her out.

As tempting as that was, Natale knew how hard this whole situation had been on her cousin. Caprice had been so sure she would get to present her line at Fashion Week. Natale knew that it was more avantgarde than Bellezza, but it had completely staggered her cousin. “Thanks, Ericka. You can go ahead and leave. I’ll lock up when I leave.”

With one last uncomfortable look, Ericka nodded and disappeared into the hallway, closing the door after her.

Struggling with her smile, Natale looked at her cousin. “Caprice, I have to say I’m kind of surprised that you’re here.”

As she watched, Caprice’s normally haughty glare dissolved into tears. “Natty, I need your help.”

To say that Natale was stunned was an understatement. Caprice had always seemed to be a force of nature. “What happened?”

Dropping her Chanel handbag to the floor, Caprice closed the distance between them, taking Natale’s hands in her own. “I was so stupid yesterday. I was tired and jet-lagged and I was probably hungry and I can’t believe what I said to you,” she continued on, “to your face! I don’t know what came over me. You understand, don’t you?”

The whole idea that Caprice was actually there, apologizing to her, knocked Natale for a loop.

“Sure,” she gave her cousin an encouraging smile since she didn’t know how long this version was going to last, “I can understand, but-”

“See? That’s why everyone loves you!” Caprice released Natale and covered her tangle of gemstone necklaces with a trembling hand. “I need you to help me. After all, this is all his fault!”

Natale held up her hands, trying to get her to slow down. “Wait. What are you talking about?”

“That goon of yours.” Caprice waved her hand at the door.

“Salvatore?”

Caprice rolled her eyes. “Who else?”

Natale felt her hands go cold. “What happened?”

“He must have called Uncle Gio after I came by yesterday. He’s so upset!”

“Salvatore?”

“No, Uncle Gio! He told me to stay away from Durante until the show is over and now, I need to get into the storeroom to send samples back to a vendor.”

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