Page 26 of Playing the Sicilian's Game of Revenge

But sometimes a woman had to believe in a pipe dream to get through the day. As long as she didn’t pin everything on him reciprocating, she would not end up like her mother. She tried to assure herself of this.

The car pulled to a stop in front of her private entrance to the sprawling Parisi estate. She should immediately say her goodbyes and get out, but... There had been something she’d wanted to broach with him before they’d gotten on the subject of his lost family.

She glanced at the partition between them and driver. No doubt soundproof, but she couldn’t be too careful with this.

“Come inside. I’ll have someone bring us a nightcap.”

“A nightcap.” She couldn’t see him in the dark, but she could feel the sarcasm of a raised eyebrow all the same.

“It’s not that kind of invitation, Teo,” she said on a sigh. “We have something to discuss.”

She got out of the car when the driver opened her door. She offered him a smile, then strode for her entrance without looking back to see if Teo had followed.

Of course he followed.

She swept inside, smiled at Antonina. “Could you fix up a tray for us? Bring it into my parlor?”

Antonina nodded and disappeared to do as she was asked. Saverina kept walking through the hall, refusing to look back at Teo. She wasn’t breaking her own rule. She was bending it. For business. Besides, any number of staff people were about... They weren’t alone alone as long as they stayed in her parlor.

She led him into said room, a wide-open affair full of plants and windows and no privacy whatsoever. It was as close to a greenhouse as she could get inside the house. The plants were something that steadied her when she was feeling precarious. She loved this room, and while she didn’t really want memories of Teo in here, it was the right room for her purposes.

She trusted Lorenzo’s staff with everything, even secrets. They might mention Teo’s attendance here, but they would not listen in on the conversation. They would not act as spies.

She settled herself on the little settee. She finally steeled herself enough to look at Teo and smile. “You may sit there,” she said regally, pointing to the same settee she was on—but the opposite side.

His expression was one of bemusement, and he said nothing as he sat himself where she pointed. Of course he was so tall, the spread of his legs meant there was very little space between them.

This could not matter. She kept the pleasant smile on her face as Antonina entered with a tray of the little sweets Saverina preferred, along with a small collection of expensive alcohol bottles and glasses.

“Would you like me to pour?” Antonina asked.

Saverina waved her away. “Thank you. I’ll handle it.”

The woman nodded and then left them alone. Saverina fixed Teo a drink to the exact specifications she wished she didn’t know, but there were more important things to discuss than her feelings. Or his.

So she got right down to it. She handed him a drink, didn’t bother with one for herself.

“Did you ever hear about the attack on Dante’s oldest son about five years ago?”

“Yes, I read about it. They never found who did it, but Dante tried to blame your brother.”

Saverina nodded, angry all over again even though the accusation had never truly stuck to Lorenzo, no matter how Dante had tried. It had hurt Lorenzo’s reputation at the time, though. He’d been painted as a violent monster. And he’d let people paint him that way.

She’d never understood how Lorenzo could just...accept that. Step into that. He’d been right in the end. Eventually the rumors had ceased. Nothing had come from it.

But even the memory of what the papers and gossip sites and such had said about her brother made her angry.

“Yes. Not the first time he tried to pin something on Lorenzo, but possibly the most successful at the time for swaying public opinion. Lorenzo lost a few clients, but he didn’t fight back. He knew it wasn’t true, so he didn’t see the point in fighting Dante at his own game.”

“Pity.”

Saverina laughed. She couldn’t help it. It was a pity.

“Dante’s pattern for blaming your brother for the bad things that happened to him or his business is why I targeted getting a position at Parisi. Clearly he has a vendetta against your brother. Do you know why?”

Saverina sighed. “No. Lorenzo has always maintained he has never understood a reason other than the fact that Parisi was a business rival that wouldn’t be crushed like the rest. Dante is a textbook narcissist who can’t stand the fact he once lost a client to my brother. Of course, these days Lorenzo says it’s simply because he has everything Dante wants.”

“What’s that?”

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