War of Hearts

I felt Joseph’s heat against my back. His hands settled around my waist, and he kissed my neck while Marco claimed my lips. The held me as though they couldn’t get enough of me, and I definitely couldn’t get enough of them.

Joseph’s hands roved higher, moving toward my breasts.

I tore my mouth from Marco’s. “We don’t have time,” I panted.

“My dad can wait,” Joseph declared.

“No,” I protested. “If we’re going, let’s go now. I don’t want to test his patience.”

“Dad’s not like that,” Joseph insisted. “He only wants to get to know you because he cares about me. He wants to meet my girlfriend.”

“But if we don’t go, he might make you come home and work for him,” I countered quietly.

He stiffened. “Yes, that’s a possibility.”

“Then let’s go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back.”

“Don’t worry, Joseph,” Marco rumbled. “I’ll remember where we left off.”

With that promise, they both stepped away from me. But each of them took one of my hands, unwilling to release me even for the walk to the garage.

They decided Marco would drive while Joseph sat with me in the backseat. Marco would have to park the car after dropping us off at the restaurant, and it made more sense for Joseph to go in with me. After all, I was supposed to be his girlfriend.

Girlfriend. The term didn’t seem weighty enough to encompass my relationship with Joseph and Marco. And I didn’t like that I was going to have to hide my feelings for Marco in front of Joseph’s family.

&nb

sp; Better get used to it, I told myself. If the three of us were going to be together, we’d have to put on a public front. Everyone knew I’d been with Joseph in Cambridge, so it was only logical that we posed as a couple.

It made my heart ache to think about Marco being left out. He would put on a tough front and pretend it didn’t bother him, but I knew him better than that now. He needed affection, acceptance. Love. It would kill him to stand off to one side while Joseph got to hold me close in public.

I resolved to figure out that particularly difficult issue later. We just had to make it through this dinner, and then we could all discuss how to handle our relationship in public, once we got back to the privacy of Marco’s estate. For now, I was Joseph’s girlfriend, and that was all his family needed to see.

I rested my head on his shoulder during the ride into the city. Marco had finally told me the location of the estate—the North Shore of Long Island—a couple of weeks ago. I’d had no idea that we were so close to the city, but I’d known Joseph and Marco could get there and back within a day.

By the time we arrived in the city, thick snowflakes were falling, dusting the sidewalks. I was grateful Joseph had provided me with more conservative, weather-appropriate clothes to wear. He might like when I wandered around the house in next to nothing, but he’d never let anyone other than Marco look at me when I wore so little. He was as possessive as ever, just not where Marco was concerned.

I hugged my pale pink pea coat tighter, shivering when Joseph opened the door and helped me out. I didn’t have more than a few seconds to feel the cold; he hustled me into the restaurant in a matter of seconds, and Marco pulled away from the curb to find a parking spot.

Anxiety made my stomach knot, but I plastered on a pleasant smile. Meeting my boyfriend’s parents would have been enough to make me nervous, but I knew Joseph’s family business. His father was a career criminal, and anyone dining with us would be complicit to some degree or another. Joseph had promised me that his father was excited to meet me, but I was far from comfortable with the idea of meeting a mobster.

Well, a real mobster. Joseph and Marco didn’t count.

Joseph led me through the restaurant after dropping off our coats with a young man at the host’s stand. It was obvious that everyone who worked at the restaurant knew Joseph. They all had a polite smile and a “hello” for him.

When we reached a closed door at the back of the restaurant, Joseph opened it without hesitation and led me inside.

“Joseph!” a man’s voice boomed, ringing with genuine joy.

I kept my body tucked halfway behind Joseph’s, but I could see the older man get up from his seat at the head of the table. His face was blocky, his salt and pepper brows thick and heavy. He didn’t look anything like Joseph, whose sensual features were practically sinful on a man. But their pale, aquamarine eyes were the same, and I knew this must be Joseph’s father.

“Let me see her, let me see her.” He waved Joseph to step aside as he approached us. His eyes caught on my face, and his features split in a wide, genuine smile. “You must be Ashlyn. Bellissima. No wonder my son’s been hiding you away.”

Even though I hadn’t been able to greet him in return yet, he leaned in and clasped my shoulders, brushing a familiar kiss against my cheek before quickly pulling away. The energetic exchange occurred so fast, I could barely keep up.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Russo,” I managed to find my ingrained manners. “Thank you so much for inviting me to dinner. Joseph’s told me great things about your restaurant.”

The door opened behind me, and I jolted slightly, on edge. Then, I felt Marco’s fingers brush the small of my back as he came to stand beside me.