揕et me have a word with Santino,?she said, and her voice was pure steel, not brooking an argument.
揗om.?
揂nna,?Valentina said sharply. 揧ou and Santino have been playing your father and me for a long time, and I think it抯 my right to talk to Santino now. I want to hear his take on things.?
I gave Anna an encouraging smile. I was a big boy. I could handle her mom.
Anna slinked out but not before giving her mother a pleading look. I doubted it made much of an impression.
I had to admit, I would have preferred a confrontation with Dante at this point. Valentina looked like a lioness determined to protect her cubs and she had every intention of ripping me apart.
揇id you lie??
I raised my eyebrows, trying to figure out which instance she was referring to.
揥hen I talked to you shortly before we flew to Paris, you said you had absolutely no interest in my daughter and only saw her as a job. Were you lying? Did you already have an affair with my daughter at that point? Maybe even before she was of age??
揟here was nothing between me and Anna before she turned eighteen,?I said immediately, which was mostly true. 揂nd it was my determination to keep a professional relationship with her, so I didn抰 lie that day.?
揃ut you knew she was interested in you, and you weren抰 completely disinterested.?
My first instinct was to lie, and I probably would have done it if the thought that Valentina might become my mother-in-law one day hadn抰 crossed my mind.
If Dante didn抰 kill me for sleeping with his daughter and ruin the bond with the Clarks. I didn抰 want to start a possible family bond with a lie. 揧es, I did. But I was sure I was strong enough to stay professional.?
揧ou weren抰，？Valentina said in a clipped voice.
揂nna is a very strong-willed woman. She knows what she wants and how to get it.?
揝o you抮e saying you couldn抰 possibly have resisted her advances and you抮e not at fault??
揙h it抯 my fault. I fell in love with Anna, and I pursued her once I realized it. I enjoyed the time we got to spend together in Paris and I hated the idea of her marrying Clifford.?
揧ou love my daughter??
揑 love her more than anything. If I抎 woken in time, I would have stopped the wedding myself. Hell, I would have pushed Clifford aside and married her myself.?
Valentina regarded me in silence for a moment before she gave a satisfied nod. Then a small smile spread on her face. 揑f my husband doesn抰 kill you, I抦 sure I can eventually make peace with you.?
揟hanks??
The door opened again but this time it was Dad. The tension in his body told me he wasn抰 alone. He gave Valentina a quick nod in greeting before he moved to my side and sank down in the chair that he抎 occupied for countless hours in the last few weeks. Dante stepped in after him. I stifled a groan.
Valentina headed toward her husband and whispered something in his ear before she slipped out. Dante抯 expression was absolutely unreadable.
揧ou have a lot of explaining to do,?Dante said as he stepped into the room. 揋ive me a moment with your son.?
Dad didn抰 budge. I抎 never seen him refuse a direct order from his Capo. I touched his arm. 揋rab a coffee. You look like hell.?
Dad rose from his chair but still didn抰 leave.
Dante didn抰 say anything, but his jaw tightened.
揇ad, I抣l be fine.?
Dad stepped back and slowly walked toward the door. Dante nodded at him, then said, 揑抦 a man of honor, Enzo. I have no intention of harming your son.?
Some of the tension left Dad, and after another glance at me, he finally left.
揟he last few weeks were enlightening. And the last few days in particular so.?
I had to stifle a grin. I really wished I抎 witnessed Anna saying no in church. That was my biggest regret right now.
Dante narrowed his eyes as if he could see my excitement.
揌ow long has this been going on??Dante asked in a voice I抎 heard during interrogations before. I was treading on thin ice, but I had no intention to deny my feelings for his daughter.
揑 never touched her before she was of age.?
揝o you waited for her birthday to touch her??
揘o, I never intended to extend our relationship past professional but Paris changed things.?
If I had to die for this love, then I抎 do even that. I wanted Anna. I抎 downplayed my feelings for this woman for too long. I抎 taken several bullets for her and I didn抰 regret a single one, nor would I ever regret a single moment with her. I抎 dreamed of them while I抎 been in a coma, if you could call it dreaming or hallucinations, and those precious moments had helped me pull through. I抎 wanted to add more memories with her to my life.
揑抎 like to know what happened. No more lies, and I should tell you that I already talked to Anna.?