Page 179 of Tempting All The Way

“You look like someone killed your cat. Either that or your boyfriend fucked up,” he says with a slight shrug. “Judging by your reaction just now, I’m guessing it’s option number two. Whoever he is, he’s a fucking idiot. You’re a fucking ten. Men shouldn’t be throwing away tens.”

“Ah… thanks,” I reply hesitantly.

“I’m Santo. This is Gabrielle, Marcello, and Vincenzo.” He points to each of the other men in the room.

“Hi, I’m Dani,” I introduce myself.

“We know. We make it a habit of knowing who our sister has in her inner circle,” Vincenzo says.

“Sister?” I ask, my brows furrowed. For the love of god, if Eloise went and got hitched without me, I’ll kill her myself.

“Well, she’s not yet, but she will be,” Marcello replies.

The door opens and Eloise walks back in with a smile on her face. Gio’s close behind her with a scowl on his. “Come on, we’re having a girls’ night in. Claire and Daisy are on their way over.” Eloise takes my hand and drags me out of the office.

“El, who the hell are you and what have you done with my friend?” I ask her once we’re out of earshot of the De Bellis brothers.

“Shut up. I’ve just learnt to be a little more assertive around that lot. If you let them, they’ll walk all over you. But they’re harmless… mostly,” she says.

“Well, that’s reassuring,” I mumble, looking around as she drags me back to the room we stopped outside before she rushed into that office. No one glances our way this time as we walk into what I can now see is a living room. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here? I don’t want to cause any trouble,” I tell her. And,to be honest, I’m not one hundred percent comfortable being in a known mobster’s house.

What the hell was I thinking?

“It’s fine. This is my home now, Dani. We have to get used to it,” she says. “Now, tell me why you, of all people, left work in the middle of the day.”

“I quit my job,” I tell her.

“You what?” This doesn’t come from Eloise. It comes from both Claire and Daisy, who are currently walking into the room, escorted by one of Gio’s brothers.

“Thanks, Marcello. And, before you suggest anything, the answer is no,” Eloise says.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.” Marcello pouts.

“Still a no,” she insists.

“You kill all my fun, El. Seriously, what’s the point of having a sister if I can’t fuck her hot friends,” he says with a panty-melting grin.

“Well, I wouldn’t go as far as saying you can’t…” Daisy smirks.

“Daisy, no,” Eloise scolds her.

“Okay, no-go zone. Got it.” Daisy laughs while holding up her hands in surrender.

“Right, well, I’ll be around if you change your mind, beautiful,” Marcello says to her before walking out of the room.

“Really, El, can’t I just play with him a little bit?” Daisy pouts, her eyes glued on Marcello’s retreating form.

“Nope. Don’t go there. Now, why the hell would you quit your job?” Eloise turns to me with her no-nonsense glare.

“I walked in on Alistair today. He was about to be on the receiving end of a blow job, from a woman who I’m pretty sure was a client.” I keep my voice neutral, like it’s no big deal.

“He what?” Eloise screams. “I’m going to kill him. Actually, I’ll have Gio put a hit out on him,” she says with a finger pressed to her lips in thought.

I laugh and then stop when her expression tells me she’s not joking. “Holy shit, you’re serious, aren’t you?” I ask her.

“What’s the point of dating Gio De Bellis if I can’t ask him to make someone disappear?” She shrugs.

“No. I don’t want him to disappear. I want the visual to disappear,” I say, tears stinging my eyes. I finally let them fall, surrounded by the girls who will always be here to support me through the shitty times in life. “I just… I really thought…” I hiccup through my sobs.

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