Page 104 of She Belongs to Me

“Tongue back inside your head, brother,” Isabella attempted to whisper to me, but it was impossible with Alexandra.

When Alexandra had drained most of the glass, she finally handed it back to me. The two melting ice cubes clinked in the glass together and she smiled seductively.

“Delicious, but I would prefer wine. Blood. Red. Wine,” she half whispered in more of a seductive purr.

“And let the party begin,” Domino growled.

CHAPTER 29

Alexandra

“What is Christmas like in this house?” I asked, and it was funny the strange look the three of them shared together. Sitting at the same beautifully decorated dining room table allowed me to see the stark resemblance between the three siblings. What struck me wasn’t just that they could be considered triplets, but that they were all stunning.

Beautiful people from an amazing and very rich family.

Talk about being born with silver spoons in their mouths.

The two men remained silent, both of them continuing to cut their prime rib, acting as if I hadn’t asked a thing. With the light Spanish guitar music and the flickering candles, I was pulled into the beauty of the moment even as Isabella finally leaned over the table.

“Well, we used to have a week-long celebration. Every room was carefully and beautifully decorated. There was always Christmas music playing, presents brought almost every day by family and friends. There were so many Christmas trees and Babbo Natale always made a surprise visit with bags of toys.”

She was so animated I found myself leaning over the table. “Santa?”

Her smile was infectious. She picked up her wineglass creating prisms of color through the flickering flames. “Absolutely. Of course that was when we were younger. When we got older, we did some of that for the children of our employees. We had huge parties, always providing gifts for every family. My mother and father made certain of it. That was when bonuses were given out, treats of all kinds. And the food and wine flowed.”

“Wow,” I commented. “It sounds incredible.”

“Oh, every year topped the previous one. And you know, dear brother, that our entire group of employees and their families valued the parties and the extra love almost more than anything. They would have done anything for our father and mother. Anything.”

Isabella was being serious and the look on Nico’s face was unreadable, but his features were pinched.

“Don’t go there, Isabella. I’m doing my best to take over in Father’s footsteps.”

“Well, your best isn’t good enough,” she countered. The tension was very high.

Nico had obviously dropped all the traditions.

“Why do you make it sound like the festivities were all in the past?” I asked, taking another bite of the best French-style scalloped potatoes I’d ever had.

Isabella huffed and cursed under her breath. “Ask my stick in the mud brother.”

I knew exactly who she was talking about, of course, and slowly turned my head toward Nico. “Is this true? No more parties? No more holidays? No more Christmas trees?”

I’ll be damned if the man didn’t look sheepish.

“Business has intervened every year,” he offered, but I could tell he was embellishing. In other words, lying through his teeth.

“Bullshit,” Isabella said without hiding the word. “He just doesn’t care enough about family.” I knew she was throwing barbs at him and I could tell how much it bothered him.

Hissing, he jerked up his head, saying something in Italian and for the first time, Isabella backed down. There was also sadness in her eyes as she shrank back.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed.

“Well, maybe the life you’ve brought to this family will rekindle some old traditions,” she said.

“Absolutely,” Domino said.

What did the handsome man do? Nico grumbled.

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