Page 97 of Cassio (Belles & Mobsters 3)

“Bianca?” I called out, confusion clear in my voice.

“Hey there,” she left her brothers and the man I assumed was her husband and strode over to me. “Surprise!”

Holy shit, this was an unexpected surprise.

“I didn’t realize-” I started, glancing around. “You two are related,” I finished my sentence.

We hugged each other. It seemed it was centuries ago that we spent those few short months partying together in Maryland.

“You look great,” I told her.

Her hand fluttered to her stomach and I knew instantly she was pregnant.

“Thanks. You look great too.” She glanced over her shoulders, smiling then grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her group. “Meet my husband. Nico Morrelli.”

Ah, the Morrelli. I smiled and extended my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” he replied, his voice deep. “Bianca tells me you interned at Cassidy Enterprise. Sorry I missed you.” I tilted my head wondering at his odd comment. What did Cassidy Enterprise have to do with him? Then seeing my confusion, he added, “My family owns it.”

“Oh.” Indeed a small world. I nodded. “It was a long time ago,” I told him, observing him. Bianca got herself a hottie, and from the looks of it, he wasn’t tattooed up like my future husband. But somehow I preferred Cassio. “Besides, we did our best to ditch work and party, more often than not.”

Bianca chuckled. “Don’t tell them everything we did,” she winked. God, she looked happy. Over the top happy. “You met Cassio, of course. And Luca.” She turned her head to me. “Holy shit, we are going to be sisters-in-law. Who in the hell thought, huh?”

“Crazy,” I muttered. Not that I minded being her sister-in-law. How was it that I didn’t know she was part of the underworld?

“And these are our girls, Hannah and Arianna,” Bianca continued oblivious to my internal evaluations. Two identical blonde girls turned to face us and one of them rolled her eyes. She actually rolled her eyes! “Hannah, be nice!” Bianca scolded her.

“You lied, Mommy,” Hannah complained. “You said we will go see Matteo.”

The twin sister added. “You know he wants to marry her. If he doesn’t see her for a long time, he might forget her.”

Surprised by their sassiness, I couldn’t help but grin.

“God help me,” Bianca groaned under her breath and everyone laughed, including my mother and Jack.

“You are going to have your hands full with your girls,” my mother added softly.

“Ugh, I know,” Bianca said, then turned her eyes to the girls. “I didn’t lie, but if the two of you don’t behave, we won’t visit Matteo when we leave here.”

They eyed her suspiciously. “Who’s Matteo?” I asked curiously.

“I’m going to marry him,” announced Hannah.

Oh, determined little girl. Already had her sights on her future husband. I kind of envied her confidence.

“Mom and I haven’t agreed,” Nico told her, smiling.

“Neither have Uncle Cassio and I,” Luca chimed in, “It is bad enough our sister is married. We won’t stand for our nieces getting married.”

Cassio walked up to me, his stride powerful and his eyes scanning my body. His gaze on me felt like a breeze, but my body instantly heated up a few degrees. It was incomprehensible that my body never reacted like this. Ever! Yet, this man managed so effortlessly to turn me on with a simple, innocent look.

Well, not that innocent. It felt like he was stripping me naked with his eyes.

“That’s right, girls. You two will be nuns,” Cassio announced, then leaned over pressing his lips to my cheek. “Hello, Vita Mia,” he rasped softly against my cheek, so only I could hear him. His voice did things to me, melting my insides and mending the broken pieces within me. I really loved his endearment and the intimacy of it.

Now that I had a glimpse at the memory from long ago, maybe it made sense that I felt safe around him. I just wished I remembered it all.

“Cassio,” I greeted him, my tone slightly breathless. My heart fluttered in my chest, his scent, mixture of ocean and woodsy cologne, invading my senses. That scent would forever be his.

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