Page 10 of Vendetta
He wasn’t smiling any more; he was studying me and I understood what he meant – he knew I had been running away and he knew I was scared of him. But now, looking at him, I couldn’t remember why I had felt that way.
‘Were you running away from me?’
I shook my head too hard, making my cheeks jiggle. ‘Nope, definitely not.’
‘Oh, really?’ he pressed, smiling broadly this time. It rearranged his face beautifully, raising his brows and softening his jaw.
‘I prefer to think of it as casual hobbling.’
He pulled back from me and, slowly, I became aware of the rest of the world again. ‘I’d call it frantic sprinting.’
‘Semantics.’
‘I’m sorry if I hurt you,’ he said. ‘I’m Nic, by the way, and this is my brother, Luca.’
Even though I was standing between the brothers, I had barely registered Luca. He had stopped studying his menu and was resting his interlocking fingers on top of it. I offered him a smile. ‘Welcome to Gracewell’s.’
‘That was boring for me,’ Luca replied. His voice was sharp with impatience, and scratchy too, as though he had a sore throat. ‘But it’s nice to know you’re planning on being somewhat professional this evening, Sophie.’
I blanched.How rude was this guy?
He gestured back and forth with his index finger, first at Nic, and then at me, like our conversation washisbusiness too. ‘Are you ready to focus now, Nicolò?’
Nicolò. His full name suited him. It was beautiful.
Nic shifted in his seat so that he was closer to me, and the two of us were side by side, facing his brother. ‘Chill out, Luca.’
Luca’s eyebrows climbed. ‘My brother,l’ipocrita.’
Nic swatted his hand in Luca’s direction. ‘Stai zitto!’
‘Have you worked here long, Sophie?’ Luca cut to me again. He dragged a hand through his hair, settling the unruly black strands away from his face and behind his ears. I found myself entranced by his bright blue eyes, now that I could really see them. They were searing, and seemed to shine unnaturally from his tanned face. Was he the boy from the window, I wondered? No, he was too hard, too unyielding. It wasn’t him. I was almost sure of it.
‘Well?’ he pressed.
‘Luca,’ Nic rumbled. ‘Can you not do this—’
‘Let her answer.’
‘No, I haven’t worked here for long,’ I replied quickly, hoping it would ease whatever tension was mounting between them.Maybe they’d just had an argument before I turned up. Or maybe Luca didn’t get out much and this was his idea of socializing. ‘It’s just a stupid summer job.’
I felt guilty lying about the diner’s role in my life and my future, but suddenly I couldn’t stand the thought of them thinking I was as ordinary as I was; that my life was bound to a place that hadn’t been redecorated in nearly twenty years, a place owned by an incarcerated man, a place where nothing exciting ever happened to anyone.
Nic pulled his arms from the table and folded them. He kept his narrowed gaze on Luca, like he was almost daring him to do something.
Luca appeared unaffected by the death stare. ‘Do you like it?’
I shrugged. ‘As much as anyone can, I guess.’
‘And what about your co-workers? Do you like them?’
‘Smettila!’ Nic hissed, his accent flipping effortlessly again.
‘Does it matter if I like them?’
‘You tell me,’ said Luca.
‘Yes, they’re nice, mostly,’ I returned evenly. ‘Why? Are you doing a police survey or something?’
