Unraveled (Guzzi Duet Book 1)(18)

The whole day felt familiar.

Except for the fact that the men who pulled their caps off and bowed their heads, were not doing so for respect of their boss’s grief, but rather, the loss of that very same man. He had not been expecting that second of distant familiarity.

“Let’s go,” Domenic said, his hand landing hard on Gian’s shoulder.

Gian stepped forward with his brother as another six men filed in behind them. Six familiar faces to help carry the casket in, before they would help to carry it out, too.

One of those men happened to be Claud Rossi.

Gian had known that Claud would be one of the pallbearers for his grandfather, chosen by Edmond and several others in the family. Still, he looked around for the man’s family, only finding Claud’s wife and son. His oldest friend, Constantino, nodded at Gian as he passed, but oddly, that wasn’t the face of a Rossi he had wanted to see.

He’d wondered if Cara might show up.

She certainly had no reason to, and no connection to his grandfather.

Gian had a million and one other things to let consume his mind lately, but more often than not, his thoughts drifted back to the redheaded Cara, and the coffee she had promised him.

He was going to need a break from his life after today.

Something to let him breathe.

Cara just might do …

Gian simply had to figure out when.





“Whiskey, neat,” Gian ordered.

His grin deepened as Cara’s head popped up at the sound of his voice. From behind the bar, her eyes widened.

“Gian.”

He leaned over the top of the bar, pointing at the specific brand of whiskey he wanted. “That one, please.”

Cara didn’t make a move to reach for the bottle. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I asked first.”

So she did.

“I have a meeting with your uncle and cousin. I’m a bit early—better that than late, I suppose. I figured I would get a drink while I wait, and here you are.”

Under the specialty lights of the restaurant’s bar, Cara’s red hair seemed darker. Her blue eyes surveyed him with barely-hidden interest, and curiosity. Gian had the strangest urge to reach out and tug on one of the curls, to feel the softness under his fingertips, but he managed to hold back. Somehow.

“My uncle had a server that took sick, and his back up is gone for the week on vacation. I happen to know how to mix drinks,” Cara explained. “Plus, my aunt thinks if someone doesn’t force me out of the apartment every once in a while, I will likely die in there.”

Gian chose not to comment on the second part of her statement, instead focusing on the first. “Yet, you don’t drink them.”

“A dichotomy, I’m aware.”

“In a way,” Gian agreed.

Cara reached for the bottle behind the bar, and a clean glass to go along with it. She poured Gian’s drink with a smile that he returned.

Soon, her smile faded.

“I’m sorry about your grandfather,” she said quietly.

Gian let out a sigh. “Thanks.”

“The funeral was a couple of days ago, right?”

“It was. I didn’t see you there.”

Cara shrugged as she slid the drink across the counter. “Don’t take offense, but I try to stay away from family business, you know.”

“So you told me in bed.”

At the mention of their hookup, Cara’s cheeks flooded with a pretty red. It wasn’t quite the same shade as her hair, but it was damn close.

Gian chuckled. “How—after that—can you be shy with me?”

She shot him a look, her lips curving with amusement. “A gift, I guess.”

“Well, speaking of that night,” Gian started to say, reaching for an item he had in his pocket. “I have something for you.”

Cara’s brow lifted. “Oh?”

“You forgot it. Or I broke it and you probably didn’t think much about it after that.”

Gian pulled the thin, double-wrapped choker with a small bow from his pocket. He had taken it to a jeweller to have the velvet fixed, and the small piece of the chain that had broken repaired as well.

“Here,” he said, holding it out and letting it dangle on two fingers. “Ready for you to wear again.”

Carefully, Cara plucked the item from his grasp. “You didn’t have to—”

“Of course, I did. I broke it; it’s only right that I fix it.”

“It’s just a cheap necklace, Gian.”

“Maybe. I liked the way it looked around your throat. I might like to see it on you another time.”

All over again, Cara’s cheeks reddened.

“Huh,” she said quietly.

“You do still owe me coffee, mon ange.”

“I figured you would have forgotten about that by now,” she admitted, glancing up at him.

“Why?”

Why on earth would he have forgotten about her? She was not easily forgotten, even with the sudden craziness his life had become. Gian fully intended on learning more about Cara Rossi, even if he knew that he had zero business doing so.

“For starters,” Cara said, “because we hooked up and that’s all it needs to be.”