I glared up at Santino. “Don’t you think it would have looked less suspicious if you hadn’t dragged me behind the shelf? Now it looks as if we’re hiding something.” Mom would definitely be very suspicious if she found us, or if Dario told Dad, which he’d definitely do.
Santino silenced me with a hard look. We stood close together as we waited for the conversation to be over. Our shoulders brushed lightly and Santino’s heat seemed to scorch me through the silky material of my dress.
I would probably have appreciated the situation more if I hadn’t caught the whiff of a female perfume on him. I leaned away slightly, muttering, “You should probably wash Mrs. Alfera’s stink off before you return to the party. I doubt her husband will be happy if he smells it on you.”
“Thanks for your concern. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“So you’re making a habit out of being a homewrecker?”
“That home was already lacking a foundation, it would have crashed down anyway.”
I rolled my eyes. “I suppose that’s what they all say.”
“Maybe you don’t realize it but this is none of your damn business, Anna. You better make sure Cliffy keeps his hands to himself, instead of worrying about me.”
What was that supposed to mean? Clifford and I had spoken twice since our family dinner and he’d found out about our future marriage, both times during tennis practice, and so far Clifford had shown as much interest in me as a monk. He was focused on school and college and a future in politics, and I was busy with school, designing clothes and… Santino.
“Do you have anything on her?” Arturo asked, only mildly interested. Human relationships meant nothing to him, which was why I enjoyed his presence. I could voice whatever bullshit crossed my mind without worrying about offending him.
“Not a thing, unless you mean her occasional alcohol consumption. I doubt that’s enough.”
“She’s got you.”
Yep, Anna had me. Since she caught me with Mrs. Alfera a month ago, she’d never stopped reminding me of her new advantage, and only a few days ago she’d finally used it to blackmail me into getting her and her bestie Sofia into Danilo’s birthday party. I knew those two had something else planned than shaking their booties to the beat but I was in Anna’s hands, and she knew it.
As expected, the party turned out to be a major shitshow that ended with Sofia crying her eyes out over something her fiancé Danilo had done and Anna panicked because of her friend’s state. I was majorly pissed because it was only a matter of time before someone would let something slip to Dante. Dad was already suspicious too. My career was about to go down the drain, all thanks to little Miss Perfect.
After the party, I dragged Anna up to her room in the Cavallaro lodge where we were staying. “Stay in this room and don’t do anything stupid tonight. I’m sick of dealing with this.”
Anna crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe you should stay here with me to make sure I behave.”
“No thanks. I don’t need any more drama in my life than I already have. I’m sure Danilo would agree with me.”
Her eyes flashed and she sauntered closer to me, which looked strange in her Chucky the murder doll costume she’d picked for the costume party.
“Maybe it would be the kind of drama you enjoy.”
I cocked an eyebrow. If Anna thought she could seduce me dressed like a killer puppet, she had to be more drunk than I thought, though I hadn’t seen her drink any alcohol. “I don’t think you have anything to offer that I’d enjoy.”
Now she was furious, which fit her killer doll costume so much better than the seductress expression. “We both know that’s not true.”
I didn’t want to consider what Anna might have to offer. Not tonight, not ever. “Go to sleep, Anna.”
I turned but Anna grabbed my arm. I gritted my teeth. She was testing my patience.
“You don’t mind bending the rules, so why don’t you with me?”
I glared down at her. “I’m not interested in you, Anna. I won’t have your dad skin my balls for the sloppy, inexperienced fumbling of a virgin.”
“Who says I’m a virgin?”
I laughed. This girl had written virgin all over her forehead whenever she pranced around me. “Because I have been guarding you for years and you were never alone with a guy unsupervised.”
“That’s not true. I was alone with Clifford when our families met.” She let her fingertips wander up my chest until I pushed her hand down. “I think he’d tell you I’m worth the drama.”
I had half a mind to give her a dose of her own medicine and throw her on the bed. Maybe she was playing around but she’d become the little prude virgin the second she was in bed with me. There was no way in hell that Clifford had dared going near her with Dante nearby. Anna was a good liar but that story was too ridiculous.