“Fine, Dario,” Emme said. “But you spend far too much time at that silly club of yours.”
“That’s not possible when I’m always at your house eating,” Dario countered, back to looking at his phone.
There was a mild disturbance, hushed whispers moving through the pizzeria. Elie knew without looking that Valentino had made his entrance. He was an impressive figure, tall, with wide shoulders, thick, glossy dark hair and intense green eyes. He came straight to the booth, making it difficult for his bodyguards to keep up with him, although they managed. Both men, Lando Regio and Pace Detti, were experienced, trained by Dario and given the job when Val had insisted Dario take over the territory Val’s uncle’s death had left open.
Val came up behind his wife and bent over Emmanuelle to tip back her head and take her mouth, kissing her intimately right there in the pizzeria. Emmanuelle laughed softly when he lifted his head. “You’ll get us kicked out. I heard Benito has some kind of rule, no PDA or we’re thrown out. Taviano told me.” Taviano was her brother.
Valentino nudged her over with his hip and sank down onto the seat, up close, thigh to thigh. “Did Taviano and Nicoletta get kicked out? If they didn’t, we’ll have to see if we can make that happen.” Deliberately, he leaned into her and bit down on her neck.
She squealed and pushed rather half-heartedly at him. “You can’t get us kicked out until after I eat more pizza. Elie ate nearly all the olives.”
Val laughed. “I doubt that. You would have put a fork through his hand.”
Even Dario smirked at that while Emme tried to look indignant. Elie nudged her foot under the table.
“What have you three been up to while I’ve been working?” Val asked. “I see you didn’t leave anything for me. Not even wine.”
“Ordered you fresh, babe,” Emmanuelle said.
“Talked about your wife hanging out in the sex clubs,” Dario said. “Told Elie she knew far too much about them.”
“Stop saying that,” Emme protested, wadding up her napkin and throwing it at Dario.
“Well, you do.”
“I guard my husband, you cretin. Someone has to. You’re too busy looking at your phone. And you aren’t fooling anyone, Dario. You’re playing games on it. No one has that many emails.”
Dario lifted an eyebrow as he crumpled the napkin he’d caught in his hand. “I’m answering letters from women, turning them down as gently as possible, nosy woman.”
“You are not,” Emmanuelle snipped. “There is no way you’re on a dating site.” There was a small silence. “Are you?” Dario didn’t deign to answer. She looked suspiciously up at her husband. “Tell me you didn’t sign him up on a dating site, because I know he didn’t sign himself up.”
Val nuzzled her neck. “He needs a good woman to settle him down, Emme.” He sounded innocent—too innocent.
Elie tried not to laugh. There were snorts of derision and various other forms of amusement coming from the large table of bodyguards behind them.
“Don’t think anyone believes your bullshit, Val,” Dario said. “I should forward you all these crap responses. These women are nuts.”
“Then why haven’t you deleted your account?” Emmanuelle demanded.
“I can tell you,” Elie said. “It’s like watching a train wreck. You know you should look away, but you can’t.”
“Is that speaking from experience, Elie?” Val asked, sliding his arm around the back of the booth.
Tito arrived, grinning as he placed an all-meat pizza in front of Val and the salami and double olive in front of Emmanuelle and Elie. Berta followed with the antipasti, a bottle of wine and another pizza, which she placed in front of Dario with a tentative smile.
“I thought you might still be hungry, Dario. It’s on the house.”
He barely glanced up, but he did acknowledge her with a nod. She beamed at that small gesture and hurried off.
Emmanuelle sighed. “Don’t you dare encourage her.”
“Encourage who?” Dario frowned and looked up from his phone.
“Never mind.” Valentino reached for a piece of pizza. “You’re hopeless, Dario. There’s no need to worry, princess. Every woman is safe around him. Now that he’s got that dating app to stare at, that’s all he wants to do. He’d never see a flesh-and-blood woman flirting with him.”
Dario shoved his phone in his pocket. “Elie is really going through with his marriage tomorrow, Val. I couldn’t talk him out of it.”