Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“You can dance with one of his brothers.”
Rosanna squeezed my hand as she smiled. “If I were younger, I would. That one over there is a mountain of a man.”
I followed her gaze to Carmine, Massimo’s middle brother. He was indeed huge. When I’d met him earlier, the muscles of his upper body had strained the fabric of his dark gray suit. His shoulders were easily twice as broad as mine.
“And where’s the youngest one?” Rosanna continued.
Scanning the room, I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him.” He’d only said a few words to me before, but they’d been kind ones. If I hadn’t been so nervous, he was the one I would’ve tried to get to know. He seemed less intimidating than his two brothers.
“The music’s starting,” my mother whispered as the string quartet started a new melody. “Let me see your face.”
Dutifully, I turned to her. She scrutinized my face, tucking a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. Then she pinched my cheeks, and I leaned back. “Ouch.”
“You’re just so pale,” she complained. Normally, my Italian heritage gave me a nice olive tone, but apparently my mother thought I needed some color in my cheeks.
“She looks fine,” Rosanna said. “And here comes her young man.”
My mother stood up, tugging me to my feet. My first reaction was annoyance, but that faded as she grasped my arm. Tonight, for the first time in years, I wouldn’t be sleeping under the same roof as her. Despite the way she babied me, I was going to miss her.
The emotions kept coming as Massimo moved toward me. I placed my left hand in his, and he briefly examined my ring before closing his fingers around mine. “The diamond suits you.”
“T-Thank you.” The words were a compliment, but the tone wasn’t. He’d said it perfunctorily, as if it were his duty to say it.
But then again, we all had our duties tonight.
All eyes were on us as he led me to the middle of the dance floor. I looked up at him as I placed one hand on his bicep and one on his shoulder. The music swelled and he stepped toward me, his chest pressing briefly against mine before I stepped back, following his lead.
I’d learned the basics of dancing at a young age, and I’d even had lessons once I got engaged. But the teacher was female, as my tutors had always been, and it was different dancing with a man. Especially a strong, confident one like Massimo. But after a few panicky moments, it wasn’t hard to follow his confident moves. To let him guide me around the dance floor.
What was harder was looking into the eyes of a stranger.
Would he still feel like a stranger in a week’s time? Or a month’s? That was one of the reasons I’d be moving into his mansion tonight—to get to know him better. But something told me that wasn’t going to be easy.
The song ended and another began. I half expected Massimo to disappear again, his duty done, but he continued to guide me through the steps of a slightly faster piece of music. At least until a deep voice interrupted.
“May I cut in?”
Massimo and I both looked up at Carmine, who had a few inches on my fiancé and a lot of inches on me.
“Be my guest,” Massimo said, taking a smooth step back. He took my hand and placed it in Carmine’s huge palm.
Massimo’s brother tugged me toward him and smiled down at me. “I figured it was time to get to know the newest member of the family.”
The uneasy smile I gave him had more to do with the thought of dancing with such a huge man and less to do with his tone, which had been friendly enough. But I needn’t have worried. Though he didn’t dance quite as well as Massimo, his obvious strength made following him pretty simple. Any time I made a misstep, he’d simply grasp me around my waist and physically place me back into the right position. It almost felt like when I was a little girl and danced with male relatives by standing on their feet and letting their limbs move mine.
As we moved together, Carmine kept up a steady dialogue about Chicago, telling me about museums and other attractions. It was kind, but it was hard to do much more than nod. I wasn’t used to being close to strange men at all, let alone one this massive. The song ended and I took a step back, giving a little bow. Carmine grinned, his stubble-lined jaw square and broad. “Thank you for the dance, Allegra.”
“Please, call me Leila,” I said, but his attention was elsewhere.
“One more brother to go,” he said as Stefano materialized by our sides. “She’s a quiet little thing, but she knows how to dance,” he told his younger brother.