Page 34 of His to Honor

“Probably.” Lorenzo picks up his coffee cup. “But Lucia works at Gabriele’s mansion where there are other staff present.”

“And Rome is far enough away that her mother doesn’t have to worry about people from the village watching Lucia’s every move,” Damiano adds.

“Ridiculous!” Livvy mutters petulantly.

Her presence has hung over us like a cloud. While my cousins and Giulia have enjoyed getting to know each other over an incredible meal paired with some exceptional wine, my sister has been quietly brooding. I expected an outburst at some point. It’s how she is when she’s upset over something. She waits for her chance to start a fight.

“What’s ridiculous, Olivia?” Damiano takes the bait. “A mother worrying for her daughter’s reputation?”

“Yes. It’s the twenty-first century in case you hadn’t noticed.”

Damiano lifts an eyebrow. “Does reputation no longer matter?”

“People need to stop worrying about what everyone else is doing.”

“Ah. Perhaps they should simply ignore it when their children take pornographic images and share them with some lowlife.”

Livvy’s jaw clenches. Damiano’s comment was unkind, but I don’t interfere. He may be family, but here in Italy he’s the boss. Besides, my sister started this, so she needs to deal with it herself. I’ll only step in if things get too heated.

“That’s not what I did,” Livvy mutters like a petulant teenager. There are times when she seems sophisticated for her age and others when she reveals a lack of maturity. Eyes glistening as if she’s about to cry, she pulls her napkin off her lap and smacks it down on the table. She nudges Lorenzo with her elbow. “Let me out!”

Lorenzo looks at me for guidance. If any other woman spoke to him that way in public, he would punish her for it.

“Let her go.” I know my sister. She needs to cool off on her own. If she stays here, she’ll start crying and creating a scene. Damiano will be forced to take action and nobody wants that.

Lorenzo slides off the bench and stands aside to let Livvy slip out. She glares at me for a solid ten seconds, probably mad that our cousin moved on my say-so and not hers. Then she storms off toward the restrooms.

Giulia sighs and shuffles closer to me. “I’ll go speak to her.”

“You sure you want to do that, sweetheart?” It’s not as if she and Livvy are close.

Giulia shrugs. “She’ll probably try to take my head off, but I can handle her.” She gives me an imploring look when I don’t move. “It’ll be fine, Matteo. If she doesn’t want to talk, I’ll leave her alone.”

“Okay.” I move aside to let Giulia out of the booth. She smiles as she brushes past me, deliberately pushing her gorgeous tits against me. My cock stirs, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now. I’ll pay her back for teasing me later. I watch Giulia as she walks away. Every inch of her is perfection. I love the way her flouncy skirt swishes about her knees, the curve of her calf accentuated by the three-inch heel of her shoe. When she disappears from view, I retake my seat.

“I’m sorry about Livvy’s behavior.”

Lorenzo waves a dismissive hand. “Even if an apology was necessary, it wouldn’t be yours to make.”

That surprises me. Livvy acted disrespectfully in a public place. My older brothers would punish her for that, but my cousins seem unbothered by her outburst. “You’re not angry with her?”

Damiano shakes his head. “She’s a good kid, really. She’s just on edge with this Reznov thing.”

I can understand that. I’m not sure how I feel about Piotr Reznov pursuing my sister. While she’s an affectionate young woman, he’s a cold fish. But Livvy lacks direction, a purpose in life. Perhaps Reznov can help her find the right path.

“Has he seen her again?”

“No. He sent flowers.”

I snort in disbelief. “That doesn’t seem like his style.”

“There was a message,” Damiano adds. “She got pissed when she read it.”

“Do you know what it said?”

Damiano shakes his head. “She ripped the card into a thousand pieces, then locked herself in her bedroom for almost an hour.”

“Do we need to have a word with Reznov?” Lorenzo asks. “We can persuade him to back off.”

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