“Probably because you know him. I know I am not going to like it. A private meeting in the library. Not good. Not good at all,” Sal said. “I need an antacid tablet.”
Michael choked on his laughter. “Really, cousin, the meeting hasn’t started yet and you already need a tablet? Aren’t you the older brother?”
“I thought I was. Piero has a good head for business, as well as other things. Being in Italy really matured him. Besides, he knows he always has my assistance with anything,” Sal said, stressing the word anything.
Michael preceded Sal into the library. Piero stood aside as they walked in and then locked the door after them.
“Hmm, this must be serious. You’re locking the door,” Michael said, eyeing his cousin.
“Have a seat,” Piero said, moving to sit behind the massive desk. “Now, I just need to say two things: Nicco and the Perinis. First, Michael, Nicco is out of control. I don’t know whether or not your brother has a death wish, but he’s treading in dangerous territory and with very dangerous people. All of the Perinis are not good people, Michael. Nicco’s throwing the family name around too much and in the wrong circles. Both of our parents have worked hard to run honest businesses and provide for their children. Nicco is hell bent on stirring up trouble. Why?”
With a heavy sigh, as well as a heavy heart, Michael shook his head. He didn’t know why Nicco did the things he did. No one did. He’d done a 180-degree turn in the last three years. He’d been perfectly fine. A normal young man, or so Michael thought. But lately…well, he didn’t know whether to have his brother committed or just beat the hell out of him himself.
“I have no clue as to why Nicco does the things he does. For some reason, he seems to know my every move. Why, I do not understand. He called me before I left the house, baiting me about who had just left my home. If he weren’t my brother, I would think it very strange, him knowing my comings and goings, and whom I am coming and going with.” Michael shrugged in frustration.
“He’s an ass is what he is,” Sal snickered. “Sorry, Michael, but your brother is a first rate asshole. If he weren’t my cousin, I would have taken him out long ago.”
“Sal,” Piero sighed.
“No, Piero. We have danced around Nicco’s foolishness for far too long now. He is a man, no? No longer a boy. Every action has a consequence, good or bad, and it is time Nicco learns this, no?” Sal barked. “You are a married man now, Piero. You can’t get involved with stupidity that will harm your beautiful wife. As I am sure you have not fully explained to her what it is that you have been doing to keep this family on the up and up. That is not fair to you or to Adanna.”
Piero shrugged. “I have done no more than you or Michael. Especially Michael. Michael has sacrificed more than many know of. Hence, you all being here today. I don’t know the full extent of what Nicco has done or is doing, but I can tell you that it is not good. Not good at all,” Piero finished.
Michael covered his face with his hands and sighed again, long and deep. “I will speak to Nicco,” he breathed.
“Just what is it that you think he has done, Piero?” Sal asked.
“I didn’t say anything before, but at the wedding, Adanna and I received not one but two gold envelopes,” Piero said.
Michael stiffened. He noticed that Sal did, too.
“From whom?” Michael asked.
“I do not know. Kendra was in charge of the bridal purse, and on top of that, we had close to 500 guests. Old man Perini was the only one who had people hanging around him at all times, but then he always has an entourage of people with him.” Piero shrugged.
“Either someone is playing games, or we have a problem,” Michael said quietly.
“Were the envelopes real gold?” Sal asked.
“Very,” Piero responded.
“Marcello and Nicco are very close, Piero. I will speak with Nicco at once. Who knows, maybe he will stop being an ass for once and give me some straight answers,” Michael murmured.
“I will pack and be out by this evening. No later than tomorrow morning,” Sal said.
“Wait before you pack, Sal. Let’s see where Michael gets with Nicco,” Piero said.
“Will do,” Sal said, with a nod.
“Did you ask Kendra if she knew who gave her the special envelopes, Piero?” Michael asked.
“No, I didn’t. If something is going on, I don’t want my wife or her sister involved,” Piero responded.
“Exactly,” Sal said.
“I understand,” Michael said to his cousins, however, it would help if he knew for sure if Kendra had seen who had given her the envelopes. He wouldn’t mind getting close to Kendra. After all, she was a woman, and she was available as far as he knew. If she weren’t…oh well.
“Michael. Michael.”
Michael started as he heard his name being called. He looked up to see Piero staring at him with a frown upon his face.
“Stop worrying about Nicco, Michael,” Sal said, from next to him.
“I’m not worried,” Michael responded.
“You’re something because you didn’t hear me speaking to you,” Piero snorted.
“I heard you, Piero. Now, I must take my leave,” Michael said, knowing full well he hadn’t heard a word Piero had said.
“Not yet, Michael. Stay and eat. You haven’t said hello to Adanna yet. She would be upset if she didn’t get to see you,” Piero said, with a smile.
“Piero, if you didn’t keep your wife tied to the bed, she would be able to see all of us more often, no?” Michael snickered.
Sal laughed straight out.
“You talk, Michael. You do not lack female companionship, no?” Piero retorted. “How’s the lovely Carmella?”
“Carmella is getting on my last nerve. She is thinking too much.”
“On what? Marriage?” Sal asked, sarcastically.
“She has hinted, but I’m not going there with her. No way. No how. She is merely a bed partner and arm candy. Annoying arm candy, but nevertheless, she serves my needs,” Michael said, not the least bit remorseful.
“Michael, Carmella is…”
“I know, Piero,” Michael cut him off.
“What’s going on?” Sal frowned.
“Nothing, Salvatore. Piero has offered food. Let us eat, no? Wait, Piero. Adanna can’t cook.” Michael frowned.
“Adanna doesn’t have to cook. We have a cook. Everything is ready,” Piero said, coming from behind the massive desk. Michael and Sal followed him from the room.
Chapter Three
Kendra raced up the winding staircase and straight to Adanna and Piero’s suite of rooms. Their bedroom was almost as big as Kendra’s entire apartment. Why the hell her sister needed a house this massive was beyond her.
“Adanna,” Kendra yelled.
“Kendra!” Adanna screamed, racing out of the walk-in closet with one ballet style slipper on and the other in her hand.
Kendra gathered Adanna up in her arms and squeezed her tightly. “Oh, my goodness, little sis, I have missed you,” Kendra murmured.
“I’ve missed you, too,” Adanna choked out. “I didn’t expect you until next weekend.”
“I know. I needed a change of scenery, so I decided to come a little early. Piero knew I was coming,” Kendra said.
“Change of scenery, Kendra?” Adanna started.
“Drop it, Adanna. I’m here to visit my sis and bro-in-law and have a good time. So, am I going to get to spend some time with you this time, or are you and Piero going to hole up in this suite throughout my stay?” Kendra asked.
“We are not holed up here all the time. Besides, I’m on deadline. I need to get my latest to my editor, and then I am taking a break for a while. I’ve been at it non-stop. I want to devote more time to my husband,” Adanna said.
“Please. That last book told me exactly what you and your husband were doing. Just nasty,” Kendra joked.
“It’s imagination, Kendra,” Adanna said shyly.
&nbs
p; “Yeah, right. Y’all are freaks, and you know it. I am not mad atcha. Please, if I had a man that looked like Piero, I’d be pregnant with quadruplets,” Kendra chuckled.
“He is handsome, isn’t he?” Adanna smiled. “Where is he?”
“He went into another room with Sal and his cousin Michael,” Kendra said.
“Michael’s here?”
“Yes, ma’am, he is. He’s rather dark isn’t he?” Kendra asked.
“Dark?”
“His aura. He has this…I don’t know. This don’t-fuck-with-me aura. The dark clothes, long hair, tight physique,” Kendra said.
“My, my, you’ve been checking out Michael.” Adanna eyed her sister.
“What’s not to check out? He’s a woman-magnet. Too bad I’m not interested. Besides, he looks as if he’s used to women bowing to his every need. I am not the one for that. Not the one at all,” Kendra snorted.
“Michael is a cool guy. Likes the women. A lot. Why not? He’s sexy and single. However, you are correct. Michael does not play. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Piero won’t say anything, but I notice. Michael can be a force for sure.” Adanna nodded. “I wonder what’s going on. It’s not like Piero to not let me know that they were coming.”
“Probably because they are talking business, and your husband has finally figured out that you’re nosy as hell,” Kendra said.
“I am not nosy.”
“Yeah, right. You’re nosy as all get out. Ask Ma.”
“Forget you. Come on, let’s go see what they are up to,” Adanna said, slipping on her other shoe.
“Nice skirt,” Kendra said, eyeing Adanna’s jean mini-skirt and tie dye cotton shirt. “Still dressing like us regular people. I thought you’d have learned to play the role of lady of the manor by now.”
“Yeah, right. When we entertain, I dress accordingly. Piero knows I am comfortable in my home, as well I should be. This is my house,” Adanna sniffed.
“Well, go on with your bad self,” Kendra laughed, and rolled her eyes at Adanna. “After you.”
By the time Kendra and Adanna had walked downstairs, Piero, Michael, and Sal were already in the kitchen, sitting at the kitchen table. Kendra loved that their kitchen was huge with everything in it that a person who loved to cook could want. Only problem was that her sister couldn’t cook. They had a maid and a cook. “Lucky woman,” Kendra murmured.
“What was that?” Adanna asked.
“Nothing,” Kendra said.
Kendra watched as the three men stood when she and Adanna entered the kitchen.
“Adanna,” Sal and Michael said, each taking a turn to kiss her on both cheeks.
“Sal. Michael. How are you guys doing?”
“We are well,” Michael said, answering for both him and Sal.
“Cara Mia, you and Kendra, come. Sit,” Piero said. “Michael and Sal wish to eat now.”
Kendra eyed the spread before them as she sat next to Sal. There was Mozzarella, olives, sliced tomatoes, fresh Italian bread, boiled eggs, prosciutto, salami, and some other dishes that looked far too rich for her to be eating this time of the morning.
“Why is it that every time I’m here, it is like you all are feeding a small army? Geez, this is a lot of food. It’s a wonder my sister isn’t a thousand pounds,” Kendra said.
“Please, I have to force feed Adanna. She is constantly working and no eating.” Piero frowned.
“Well, I am not eating a lot this time. The last time I was here, I gained about twenty pounds, and most of it was in my butt. I was in the gym forever trying to get that extra weight off. Nope. I am not going that route again,” Kendra exclaimed.
“Stop exaggerating, Kendra. Your butt is the same size as it’s always been. You’re in excellent shape,” Adanna said around a mouthful of egg.
“Says the woman who doesn’t have to spend hours in a store, trying to find a perfect fit over her ass that is not too long, too big, or both,” Kendra groaned.
Michael sat back and listened to the two sisters banter back and forth about breasts and butts. In his opinion, Kendra’s ass looked good. Nice and firm. He liked a woman with meat on her bones. No rail-thin women for him. A man his size needed a woman he wasn’t afraid he might split. Kendra looked like she could take him with no problem. Michael could just picture her lying spread eagle on his bed, open and waiting for him to fill her. He felt the tightening of his zipper against his manhood and began to squirm a little in his seat, trying to get comfortable.
“Is something wrong, Michael?” he heard Sal ask.
“Wh—what was that?” Michael asked, looking from one to the other.
“You were frowning and squirming. I asked if something was wrong.”
“No, nothing’s wrong, Sal.” Michael scowled at his cousin. How dare he interrupt my delicious thoughts?
“For someone who professes to be starving, you have not eaten much, Michael,” Piero said with a slight lift of his lips.
From the lifting of the corners of Piero’s mouth, Michael could only assume he had an idea of where his thoughts were. His cousin had always been very astute.
Michael scowled at Piero, picked up a boiled egg, and bit into it. He almost choked on that mouthful of egg when Sal started speaking in rapid Italian.
“Michael, if your thoughts are on Kendra, you need to change them at once,” Sal barked in their language.
“You are a mind reader, now, Salley?” Michael shot back in Italian. “Or have you staked claim to her yourself?”
“She is not baggage, Michael. There’s no ‘claim staking;’ however, she does carry a lot of baggage. I am just telling you, I will not sit back and watch you play with her and toss her like you do your other women,” Sal said in a deadly voice.
“She is an adult, no, Sal? I am sure she does not need you to babysit her,” Michael shot back.
“It is rude to speak our language in front of the ladies when they clearly do not understand. Sal, I am sure Michael knows what he is doing. We will discuss this later, no, gentlemen?” Piero smiled, but his eyes were piercing.
Michael looked around to see Kendra and Adanna looking at them wide eyed. He decided not to pursue the conversation with his cousins anymore…for now.
“You have no worries, Sal,” was all Michael said, and he met Sal’s intense stare head on. He didn’t blink until he saw the slight nod of Sal’s head. “Good,” he said, switching over to English. “We mustn’t waste this good meal that has been prepared for us, no?”
“Piero, what’s going on? Why are you guys speaking in Italian and why does Sal and Michael look as if they are about to come to blows?” Adanna asked with a frown.
“Nothing is wrong, Cara Mia, just a difference of opinion. We Italians are very passionate about things. You know this, no, Cara Mia?” Piero responded.
“You couldn’t tell that by you-all’s body language,” Kendra added.
“Piero is right, Kendra, it was just a difference of opinions. All is well,” Michael said.
“Tell me everything. You and Sal were in some kind of heated discussion when Piero intervened. I wonder why? What did you say to Sal to piss him off, Michael? I know Sal, and he’s very even tempered, which means you said or did something to upset him,” Kendra said.
Sal, even tempered? Michael thought. Maybe she was talking about another Sal, because his cousin sitting at the table was far from even tempered. If Kendra only knew. Michael almost laughed at the outrageousness of what Kendra had said.
“I assure you, Salvatore is a big boy, and he can handle himself,” Michael snorted. “In any event, we have come to a mutual understanding. Haven’t we Sal?”
“Of course.” Sal smiled at Kendra. “We have disagreements, we make up, and that is it. We are a family. All is well.”
“Hmm, if you say so. I’m just saying, I’ve never seen you that agitated before. Well, at the wedding, but that doesn’t count. I put that down to nerves,” Kendra said. “Anyway, I’ve had enough to eat. I need to c
all Sharon and let her know that I’ve arrived safely. Oh, yeah, Adanna, Sharon may come down, if she can get the time off from work.”
“Great, I would love to hang with you two over the weekend. Should be fun,” Adanna said excitedly. “Maybe Carina will be able to join us, too.”
“Yes, it will be fun. I need to get my luggage out of the car, and then, Adanna, you can show me to where I will be sleeping. You know I get lost in this big house. It’s just crazy, you two living in a house this size all by y’all lonesome,” Kendra said, shaking her head as she stood up to walk out of the kitchen.
“If you give me your keys, I will get your bag out of your car for you,” Michael volunteered.
“Great. Thanks,” Kendra said, taking her keys out of her front pocket and handing them to him. “I am going to let Adanna show me to my room while you bring in my things. Come on, kid sister. I need a shower and a nap.”
“I keep telling you, I am no longer a kid. You just refuse to believe it,” Adanna joked.
“Oh, I believe it. Please, did you forget how your husband was introduced to us?” Kendra laughed.
Adanna blushed. “Be quiet, Kendra. You are never going to let me forget that.”
“Never. Ever,” Kendra responded.
* * *
Michael walked in silence to Kendra’s car. He had to admit to himself that he was very interested in Kendra. There was just something about her that drew him to her. Her feistiness turned him on. Her audaciousness only added to her appeal.
He hit the button to deactivate the SUV’s alarm before opening the trunk and taking out the two small pieces of designer luggage. “Only two bags…smart woman,” he said. Most of the women he knew packed more luggage than necessary for a weekend trip.
“You’ve taken up talking to yourself, Michael?” Sal asked.
“No. I was just commenting on the small amount of luggage Kendra has. Most women we know carry far more than this for a one- or two-day trip. My sister included. Hell, one these bags would be Carina’s makeup bag, alone,” Michael snickered.
“This is true. I’m taking off. I will talk to you soon. Call me after you have spoken with Nicco,” Sal said, before turning and walking toward his car.
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