Page 45 of Luciano (Belles & Mobsters 1)

“Of course, Grace,” he replied. “Now let’s go see what Maria has fixed us for dinner,” Nonno chimed in before Matteo could protest further.

I gave him a grateful look and lifted Matteo into my arms. “Okay, lead the way,” I told Nonno.

We exited Matteo’s playroom area, following behind Nonno down the large staircase, and I silently cursed at the timing the moment I saw Luciano and his friends standing around the large entrance area discussing something in hushed tones.

I wanted to turn around and head in the opposite direction, but it was too late. They had all seen us.

“Ah, boys,” Nonno beamed. “Matteo is ready for dinner. Want to join us?”

Silent curses blasted in my brain at the invitation.Just say no. Say no. Please say no.

“Hello, Mr. Vitale. We’d love to,” one of them responded.Ugh, lovely.I didn’t want to sit through dinner with this crowd.

I carried on, hoping Nonno would just continue talking and ignore us. But no such luck.

“Ah, Gracy. You have to meet these boys.” I couldn’t contain a scoff. Boys my fucking ass! My step faltered, and I turned around to face them. “This is Cassio King.” He pointed to the man that accepted the dinner invitation. Earlier I was too angry to really see these guys but... holy smokes! He was good looking. His dark hair and those tattoos on his hands and neck gave adon’t fuck with mevibe. “-and his brother Luca.” That one also had tattoos marking his neck, dark expression on his face. I was sure if I ran into him in the dark alley, I’d run the other way. He looked like a total badass. “Nico and Alessio.” The latter two were more clean cut than Cassio and Luca but still gorgeous specimens. I hated to admit it but these guys were devastatingly handsome. Of course, none of them compared to Luciano, but they were pretty close. And every single one of them was dangerous. There was this air of ruthlessness about them. They smiled but it was all a facade. They’d kill you just as easily as smile. “And you know Luciano,” Nonno added, chuckling.

“Unfortunately,” I muttered.

“You didn’t think so earlier,” my husband retorted with a smug grin, and instantly my cheeks burned with embarrassment. I fucking hated this guy. I really did.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

Although there was a smile on his full lips, I couldn’t decipher the look in his eyes. He stared at me with hunger or threat. Maybe those two were the same since either would shatter me.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Vitale,” Cassio King greeted me, bringing my attention to him. All the men watched me with an odd expression.Probably think I am crazy due to my earlier tantrum.Or they probably knew what Luciano and I did in the hallway. Ugh, I shot Cassio with my most furious glare.

“It’s Grace,” I spat out, sounding bitchy.

“Well nice to meet you, Grace,” another one of the men added. It was Cassio’s brother, Luca. “Luciano has been keeping you hidden from us.”

Was this guy for real? I rolled my eyes at him. “Whatever.”

“You’ll like them, Gracy.” Nonno smiled gently, ignoring my obvious dislike of the men. “They are good boys.”

I shook my head and muttered under my breath, “Right.” Good boys and these men should not be mentioned in the same book, even less the same sentence.

“And this big boy is our Matteo,” he introduced my son who watched the entire scene with fascination.

I shifted, adjusting my son’s weight on my hip. Matteo babbled his greeting, grinning widely and reached out to go to Luciano.

“How old is he?” Nico asked.

God, I really didn’t want to have this conversation right now.

“Matteo will be three soon. Sì?” Nonno beamed proudly.

Avoiding looking at any of them, I nodded, swallowing hard.

“There you are,” Ella’s voice had everyone’s attention diverted from us. She came right on time and from the look we shared, she knew it. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Yay, you found me,” I forced a cheer on with a fake smile. We locked eyes. “Remember we have that thing going on tonight?” I reminded her. “Nonno will keep an eye on Matteo.”

She nodded, her skin slightly pale. Shit, did something else happen while I played with Matteo?

“Umm, Nonno, can Matteo go with you to the kitchen?” I asked.

“Yes, yes.” He was so eager to spend time with Matteo. In just a few days, this man was captured by Matteo. Like he felt they were related, but that was a ridiculous thought. Nobody but Ella and I knew that. And we never betrayed each other.

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