She was the lucky one between Corrado and Alessio right now. And if she could help it, she would stay there. For now, her heart couldn’t stand being apart from them, not now.
• • •
They broke the restaurant portion of The Clubhouse into several small rooms, which made it comfortable and caused the people eating to sit closer together than they might at the round table.
They weren’t alone in the place—murmurings came from down the hall, and dishes clattered before laughter rang out, echoing to their spot. But with the four walls, and only a doorway to peek into their room, they had privacy.
And she appreciated that.
“I want that,” Ginevra said, pointing her fork at the cheesecake Corrado had been teasing her with for ten minutes. She had her own, a different kind because she didn’t want to order two, but he had to order the other kind for himself. “Let me have a bite.”
“But you didn’t want it when I ordered it a half hour ago.”
“I do now. And you’re not even eating it. It will go to waste, and no one wastes good cheesecake, Corrado. If it’s not a crime, it should be.”
“Like dog-earing books?” Alessio asked.
“Use a bookmark, Les.”
“They’re still not your books.”
She gave him a look.
He winked and grinned back in a way that had her stomach clenching. Ginevra now understood the effect these two men had on each other, too. Oh, they were infuriating and amazing and perfect, yes. How they interacted, loved, and lived that made them so fascinating to her. Especially now that their attention and affection was also being put on her.
“I’m only saying to use a bookmark, that’s all. It’s not hard, but you seem to think it is.”
“Or I keep doing it my way because you’re terribly cute when you’re worked up.”
Ginevra scoffed. “That’s—”
“Not a lie,” Corrado interjected.
Ginevra let out a hard breath, knowing there were fights she would not win. Chances are, these would be some of those.
Alessio chuckled, nodding at the man across from him. “Corrado doesn’t even like cheesecake—he’s more of a pastry type.”
Corrado glared across the table. “I’m having a teachable moment here, Les.”
“Right, sure.”
Ginevra grinned. “You just ordered it, so I would have it and not be guilty, didn’t you?”
“Maybe ... or not.”
Alessio, leaning back in his chair so it balanced on only two legs while his foot propped itself on the edge, had his arm slung around the back of Ginevra’s chair. It allowed him to play with the edge of the low neckline on her dress and drift his fingers through her hair at the same time. He seemed all too content with watching Corrado tease Ginevra, instead of finishing the dinner on his plate.
Well, it was mostly gone, anyway.
Corrado picked up the fork, swiped it through the top of the soft cheesecake, and offered it to her with a sly smile that showed off every ounce of his arrogance. “Bite?”
Alessio clicked his tongue, chiding and amused at the same time. Still, he stayed quiet and watched them.
Ginevra eyed the sweet on the fork. “Will you admit that you only ordered it for me?”
“I don’t need to confirm things you already know, kitten. Take your bite.”
She did.
And loved every second, too.
Corrado’s thumb came up to wipe at Ginevra’s lower lip while Alessio’s fingertips danced along the column of her throat. Distracting and enticing. All of it—both. She didn’t know which way to turn, so she settled herself on enjoying both.
Besides, wasn’t that what they should do?
Sticking the tip of his thumb between his lips, Corrado sucked the bit of cheesecake off, and shrugged. “Tastes better coming off you, undoubtedly.”
“Well, thanks.” Ginevra took the fork from him and stabbed it into the cheesecake for another bite. “Now, what’s the teachable lesson, again?”
Corrado laughed, tossing his head back as he did so. On the other side of her, Alessio hummed a low, sexy sound.
“Never ever feel guilty about doing something you enjoy,” Corrado said, leaning in close enough for her to see those gold flakes in his irises. “Be it food, fucking, or living. You’re only going to be on this earth once, Ginevra.”
“Better enjoy it,” Alessio agreed.
They had a point.
15.
Corrado
“Here.”
Corrado took the jacket Alessio held out, already turning to help Ginevra slip it on. September in Toronto was mild, but the sky had darkened, and he didn’t want her getting cold between The Clubhouse, and the car.
Ginevra smiled sweetly back at him when he placed the blazer over her shoulders—Alessio didn’t give a shit he had to give it up for her. God knew the man would much rather be in a leather jacket, anyway.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Always, mia cara.”
Corrado pressed a kiss to the middle of her forehead, enjoying her fingertips drifting over his unshaven jawline with a tender touch. A few feet away, a couple waited with the girl who manned The Clubhouse’s entrance, never allowing entrance to someone who didn’t have the credentials to enter. Corrado didn’t care who came in and out of these doors most of the time. Usually, he never noticed.
This time he did because the woman dressed in deep red continued to glance back at the three while they waited for their turn to take their leave. People stared at him and Alessio, anyway ... maybe it was the vibes they gave off, or someone liked the way they looked. Either way, he didn’t mind it.
Right now was not quite the same.
He didn’t like someone staring at Ginevra at all. Especially not when she didn’t notice they were doing it because she was far more concerned with him and Alessio.
Call it instinct ...
Whatever.
He didn’t like it.
Corrado arched a brow at the woman over Ginevra’s shoulder where she couldn’t see him do it. The woman saw it clear as day, however.
Which was the damn point?
At his stare, challenging her to continue watching them, she was quick to look away, but not before rolling her eyes.
Fuck it.
As long as she stopped staring.
“Do you want me to hold on to this, sweetheart?”
Alessio waved Ginevra’s small clutch, and she shrugged, taking it from him when he offered it to her.
“Is Camden around?” the man at the podium asked the woman manning the entrance.
“He is,” she said. “In his office.”
“Does he have a minute to chat?”
“Let me call through.”
Corrado passed Alessio a look who shook his head. The rules of this place was one of the few things Corrado disliked about it. Like needing to check in and out, which could take a while if there was someone ahead of them.
Like now.
The woman—Kasie, was it? He couldn’t remember, and he didn’t care to—spoke into the Bluetooth speaker in her ear, nodding once before smiling at the man on the other side of her podium, still waiting.
“He’s got a few minutes, but your ... guest will have to stay here,” she said.