“How is your father, cara?” He asked, toeing around the chair Ashe had vacated and sitting down without an invitation.
Vik moved closer, and his phone was in his hand. She tried a slight shake of her head, to stop him, but she knew, no matter what, Mitya was being informed. For some reason, that set her teeth on edge. She didn’t need babysitters.
“He’s in hospice,” she admitted. “Thanks for asking. Most people have forgotten that he was hurt so badly there was no recovery.” But the Carusos always remembered. What did that mean? Did they have a stake in finding out if her father died? She needed to know.
“I’m sorry, Ania. I know you were very close to your parents. This has to be hard on you. My father informed us you were selling your business.”
She nodded. “It’s a lot of work for one person. Even with employees, overseeing to make certain every job is done to our standards is difficult.” She rubbed her temples without thinking. She had that headache again. Her skull felt a little too tight. Her skin hurt.
“My younger brother is very interested in cars. He’s more of a hands-on person, and driving is his passion. The moment we heard, Donato was extremely interested. That’s one of the reasons we came to San Antonio. I had a meeting with Jake Bannaconni and had hoped to get a meeting with you, but your lawyer said that wasn’t possible.”
“She was right. I rarely come into town because I don’t like being away from my father, but I hadn’t been out in a week and I just needed to breathe a little.”
“I understand, Ania. I’m really sorry. Is there anything our family can do to help?”
His eyes slid over her, and to her horror, there was speculation there. For a moment, his gaze drifted over her body and then back up to her face.
She shook her head and sipped at her cooling latte. She glanced up to see Vikenti and Zinoviy both looking grim. A burst of laughter came from a large table of customers who had just come in. Apparently they were celebrating a victory of some sort, and according to them, it was impossible to do without Evangeline’s chai cupcakes and Ashe’s amazing blended drinks.
Ania could hear so clearly. The rain outside. The conversations. Breathing even. The three men who had accompanied Alessandro into the bakery were seated at a table close by. Vikenti was between them and Ania on one side and Zinoviy was on the other. She knew by the way Alessandro was looking at her that he was interested. Twice, his dark eyes had changed to a very intense amber. At first there were golden flecks through the dark brown and then she was staring at something much more predatory.
She’d never been in this situation before and didn’t know how to handle it. She wanted information from Alessandro, as much as she could get, but she wasn’t very good at deceit.
“Do you do quite a lot of business with Jake?” Deliberately she used his first name, as if she saw the billionaire every single day and they were good friends. She’d met him twice. She worked out of his building. She didn’t run in his circles, but maybe the Carusos did.
“No, this will be my first time meeting with him. A mutual friend arranged it. Drake Donovan. He’s been a good friend to us for several years. He owns an international security company and is a close friend of Bannaconni. I had some business I wanted to discuss with him, but even our name didn’t buy us an instant meeting.”
He didn’t sound in the least bit annoyed over that, which surprised her. The Caruso family was a powerful one. Most people gave them whatever they wanted. She would expect that Alessandro and his brothers might be spoiled.
“Donovan’s did?”
He nodded. “Immediately. I didn’t have the same pull with your lawyer, though.” He laughed softly at his own joke but all the while his eyes were on her. Watching. Alert.
She really wasn’t feeling good. Her body felt hot. Her breasts ached. Every time she moved, her nipples rubbed in the lace of her bra, inflaming them. She held herself very still, but anxiety was taking hold. That and the persistent headache that only seemed to be getting worse because her skull was too tight. Her skin felt too sensitive. Between her legs, fire danced.
She couldn’t seem to breathe without breathing in Alessandro. She