Alessio’s jaw clicked from how he clenched his teeth. “The Albania job—we were going to do it together, remember?”
“I backed out because of the favor for Andino, yeah.”
“Well, guess who doesn’t get to back out?”
Corrado stiffened beside him, but replied, “It’s a job—what, a couple weeks at the most? You’ll be back soon.”
“Some things are more important than The League.”
“Yeah.”
“And stop glaring,” Alessio added.
Corrado glanced his way, raising a single brow. “Pardon you?”
Smirking, Alessio nodded toward the front of the café where Ginevra chatted with the man behind the counter who now handed over her coffee, and donut. Alessio hadn’t missed how if Corrado’s glare could burn someone to the ground right where they stood, the man who had the nerve to talk to Ginevra would be a pile of fucking ashes.
“You know what I’m talking about.”
Corrado grinned. “Hmm.”
“Do you do that for me, too?”
“What?”
“Glare at people who get too close.”
Corrado didn’t reply.
Alessio didn’t need him to.
Yes, he did.
Corrado was very good at hiding his possessiveness. At least, to the people he was possessive over. He didn’t have a problem with making people aware they stepped out of line.
Not at all.
“So, where to now?”
Corrado and Alessio broke their staring contest to find Ginevra had left the counter, and the chatty man behind, to come stand in front with a smile that reached her bright eyes. Honestly, she was probably happy to be out of the penthouse again.
“To get you a dress,” Corrado said.
Ginevra sipped from the to-go cup of coffee. “I have dresses.”
“No, a new dress.”
“You have heard of reusing things, right?”
Alessio scoffed. “You have high hopes, woman.”
Corrado scowled. “I can spend my money however I want to.”
“Yes, you can,” Alessio agreed, “but most people don’t spend money like you do.”
“Why do I need a new dress, though?”
“We have a club opening to go to in a couple of days,” Corrado explained, “and because I want to. Also, something for dinner tonight with my parents, too.”
“I miss Cara,” Ginevra said absently.
“That’s why we’re having dinner. And because she demanded it.”
Alessio reached out and snuck a piece off her donut ... which ended up being a quarter. Well, she noticed.
Ginevra gave him a look.
He winked as he popped it into his mouth.
“Are we shopping, or no?” Corrado asked.
“Right after someone gets me another donut,” Ginevra replied, not looking away from Alessio. “Since they don’t know how to ask for their own.”
Funny how she didn’t share food well.
She shared them perfectly fine.
Win some, lose some.
“Well?” Ginevra asked him, looking entirely offended he dared to take a bite of her donut she now held out of his reach. “Because I’m not leaving until I get another.”
Corrado chuckled. “You heard her.”
Alessio groaned. “Fine.”
17.
Corrado
“And,” the older woman who handled the patrons of the upscale, private boutique said, “we’re closed for the next two hours to make sure you find what you need, Ginevra.”
Ginevra’s wide eyes turned on Corrado and Alessio. Although, just him because Alessio was busy leaning over the glass counter to pull an item out from behind it. Something that was a no-no, but he didn’t follow the rules. Or, how to act like he had any sense of decorum.
“Les,” Corrado snapped, “leave it alone.”
“But it’s perf—”
“Would you like me to get that out for you, Mr. Sorrento?”
Alessio came back up with a sly grin. “The blue choker, if you wouldn’t mind, yes.”
The woman—Mandy—nodded. “I will do that for you.”
She left Ginevra’s side, who was still wide-eyed and taking in the large and modernly decorated boutique with high class designer names hanging from every tag, to slip behind the counter. Bending down, she found the particular blue-gem choker that Alessio had been admiring through the glass, and then decided he needed to touch because why not?
It was Les.
Sliding it across the counter, Mandy shrugged. “Sapphires imported from India, designed in Russia—seven thousand for the choker. It’s not an accent piece, but a solitary. There is no matching designs, it’s better—”
“On its own,” Alessio said, picking the choker up from the black velvet where it was displayed. “Add this to the bill, yeah?”
“Absolutely.”
“That’s too much,” Ginevra whispered at Corrado’s back.
He chuckled, amused at how she lowered her voice so the other two wouldn’t overhear. She was trying her best not to become overwhelmed by the boutique, and the items inside, but she was still wide-eyed and stunned.
He liked that look on her.
“It’s a good price, actually,” Corrado returned, turning to face her. “And it’s going to hug your throat nicely.”
Ginevra balked. “But—”
“We should look for something blue to match.”
“You’re ... impossible.”
Corrado arched a brow. “I didn’t pick the jewelry, I’m just saying the rest should match.”
“The more expensive things are, the worse it is to wear them.”
“Why?”
“Because I worry it might break, or get ruined, or—”
“I don’t want to tell you those feelings are nonsense, because Alessio likes to tell me that all too often, I dismiss others’ experiences and emotions, and I shouldn’t do that.”
Ginevra glared at him. “But?”
“But this is ridiculous. Last year, I pulled in four million doing jobs for The League, but that’s only spending money,” Corrado murmured stepping closer to her, so she had to look up at him with those big, brown eyes. Her lips fell open in surprise, but Corrado continued on with, “It was spending money because my trust fund, for being born a Guzzi, which is spread between four investment portfolios, made me two times that in profits and interest last year. That’s before I talk about the money that is just sitting there working to earn that profit and interest. A trusted money manager handles things like taxes, my major donations to several charities, and whatever else, but those cards in my wallet I swipe every time we go out?”
Ginevra’s throat jumped when she swallowed. “What about them?”
“They have no limit.” Corrado bopped her on the tip of her nose with the tip of his finger, adding, “And that’s before we talk about the money Les has. So, can we shop, wear beautiful things, and be happy that we’re lucky enough to do this?”
“That’s a lot of money, Corrado.”
“I can’t be buried with it, Ginevra.”