Unraveled (Guzzi Duet Book 1)(65)
“Long, but I got through it.”
“Chris wasn’t too pushy when he showed up to bring you to dinner, was he?”
“Chris is always pushy,” Cara joked, “but I blame that on his very impatient boss.”
Gian winked, his arm curving around her side as his hand laid flat to her lower back, above the swell of her ass. “He’s paid very well to put up with me, trust in that.”
“I’m sure. Have you ordered?”
“We have, yes.”
Cara’s brow furrowed. “We?”
As far as she had been told, this was supposed to be a dinner for only her and Gian, no one else. She certainly hadn’t expected guests to be included, too.
Gian bent down to kiss her forehead, his fingers pressing lightly to her back to urge her to walk forward. “Seems I wasn’t the only one who made reservations here, tonight. They suggested we merge the tables, and I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Like you give a shit about being rude.”
He chuckled. “For some people, I do.”
“Well, who is it?”
“Constantino and Stephan, actually.”
Cara didn’t bother to hide her discontent.
Gian only laughed harder. “We’ll be gone before you know it, and I know you were told to pack a bag to stay with me tonight at the penthouse, so stop moping.”
“I’m not moping.”
“What would you call that frown, then?”
Cara eyed him from the side as she said, “A displeased smile.”
“Nice try. Don’t mope, love. It’s not a good look on you.”
“I wanted you to myself all night. I’m not asking for a lot.”
Gian pulled her impossibly closer. “I’ll make up for it, but if you insist on that moping of yours, I’ll be forced to take whatever action necessary to put an end to it.”
“Including having dinner alone?”
“I told you, it would be rude.”
“Then, how—”
“I do own this place, and there’s a lovely private office in the back. Private in the way that no one can see inside, but they can certainly hear a lot.”
Cara’s body heated instantly. “Stop that.”
“I’ve given you fair warning. Stop the moping. Fix your face, beautiful.”
She shot him a playful glare before plastering on a smile that made Gian nod in approval. She had done it just in time, too, as they rounded a half-partition wall to come to a stop at what would be their table.
Constantino and Stephan—a man she hadn’t seen since that night months ago, at the club with Bambi—sat chatting together, seemingly unaware that Cara and Gian had arrived. They only took notice when Gian pulled out Cara’s chair, and then pushed her in closer to the table.
“Evening, cousin,” Constantino greeted.
“Constantino,” Cara replied.
Stephan only nodded at Cara before going back to his conversation with Constantino, like she wasn’t even at the table. Cara didn’t mind, really.
Gian’s fingers stoked Cara’s thigh under the table after he too had taken his seat, though his hand never wandered higher. No, he simply continued his light, teasing touches, reminding her of his earlier threat to make her smile, if needed.
The bastard.
God, she loved this man.
“The food should be here soon, if you want to wash up or anything,” Gian told her.
Cara nodded, thinking she should do just that. Chris hadn’t given her much time to do anything except throw on something appropriate after she’d arrived home from classes. “I’ll be quick.”
“Bathrooms are toward the back, bella.”
A quick kiss later, that was all but ignored by the other men at the table, and Cara headed for the bathrooms. She made fast work of washing up her hands, and did a check of her little bit of makeup in the mirror, finding her lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara had held up remarkably well throughout the day. She fluffed her curls with her fingers, resetting some of the waves, and headed back out to the table.
She nearly rammed into a familiar man as she rounded the hallway corner leading back out onto the restaurant’s main floor. For a brief second, as she apologized out of habit for not paying attention, she hoped he wouldn’t recognize her.
She knew that was a foolish wish.
Of course, Frankie would recognize her face. Her features were a perfect match to her dead twin’s. And from what information she had gathered from Gian and Lea’s online, private journals, the two had been involved for quite a while. It still made her a bit uncomfortable, given the circumstances of their relationship, but Cara was now sadder about it, more than anything else.
She wished Lea had told her.
“Cara,” Frankie said, taking a wide step back.
“Frankie.”
He shifted from foot to foot, shooting a glance over his shoulder before looking back to her. Nervousness wrote heavily all over his actions.
Cara cleared her throat, waving toward the semi-private area. “I should get back to my table.”
“Sure, but first, uh … could I apologize?”
“For what?”
Frankie shrugged one shoulder. “A while back—at the club when you showed up. I probably came across as rude, and that wasn’t my intention. You shocked me, and your face, it really took me off-guard. I’d seen you from afar before, with Lea, but never up close like that. When she said identical, she meant that quite literally, I guess.”