Page 49 of The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession)

“Sorry,” Gio huffed. “I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that.”

Silence.

“Babbo.”

Salvatore took a big sip of the drink in his hand. He cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you say anything before? You let me go on and on about her and all this time she was a…a…”

Gio reached over and gently took the glass his father was waving around, spilling his best grappa on the marble tiled floor. “She’s still your best friend’s daughter and your goddaughter. I should have told you before. I thought to spare you and Tobias some of the ugliness, but I can’t let you go on thinking that Maria Gianna and I are still a possibility. We’re not, and I don’t want you to have anything against Sophia. She’s very special to me.”

Salvatore blinked. “How special?”

“Veryspecial.”

His father dropped down on a bar stool and reached over to pour himself a refill. “So where did you meet this girl? Has she ever been married? Does she like children?”

Relaxing, Gio laughed. “She’s a woman, not a girl. And I haven’t asked her if she likes them. And she hasn’t been married, although she was engaged once, to a professor. I met her at the foundation dinner,” he said, stretching the truth. “Sophia’s one of this year’s research grant winners.”

Salvatore straightened on his stool. “The ecologist?”

“No. The neurobiologist.”

The surprise on his father’s face was comical, if slightly insulting to Sophia.

“So…who were her people? Is she Catholic?”

“Since neither of us goes to church anymore, I don’t see how that last matters. Her mother was Mexican and her father was Castilian. She was an artist, and he was a professor of Sociology.”

“Another professor?”

He shrugged. “The ex-fiancé was the father’s protégé. But he’s out of the picture. So is her father. Actually both of her parents have passed away.”

His father crumbled like the softie he was. “Oh, how sad. She’s probably a bit lonely. Find out if she wants children.”

“Shh,” he whispered as Sophia poked her head back into the living room. “Enough of that for now, or you’ll scare her.”

He waved Sophia over and poured her a glass of red wine. She took it with a polite smile and sat on the barstool next to his father. Salvatore asked her about her research and Sophia relaxed, clearly glad to be talking about a safe subject.

Things were going well, but he needed to have a little time alone with her before his relatives descended. After a few more minutes, he ushered his father out, promising to see him later at his house in the outskirts of the city.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you we moved everything over here for tonight,” Salvatore said innocently. “It’s more central for everybody and you’ve never entertained here, but now that you have Sophia that’s going to change, isn’t it?”

Gio smiled in defeat. “Yes, it is.”

“Excellent. Plus your cousin Carolina sprained her ankle and we didn’t want to make her drive out to the house. This way she can take a cab.” He waved and headed to the elevator.

“You could have started with that,” Gio called after him.

Once the doors closed, Sophia raised her glass. “He doesn’t like me,” she said before drinking.

“He will. You’re his only hope for grandchildren.”

Gio almost bit his tongue off when Sophia choked on a sip of wine. She coughed a few times, waving him away when he tried to pat her back.

“So, who all is coming tonight?” she asked brightly, changing the subject.

That’s not good.

He let it go and proceeded to tell her all about his relatives, especially who to avoid. It wouldn’t do to let her get cornered by Uncle Nunzio, who became pretty handsy after a few drinks. And God knew those curves were an unholy temptation for a normal man. In fact, a large number of male relatives were coming over. He needed to keep a close eye on everyone tonight.

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