Later in recess, Toni and I sat at our usual table in the corner, and I was finally out of my dress and wearing jeans and a sweater. “Dad has started looking for a husband for me.”
Toni choked on her iced tea. “What?”
“I’m sixteen. Usually girls are already promised at that age.”
“What about Savio?” She’d lowered her voice another notch. Nobody knew of my crush on him and I preferred it to stay that way. I didn’t need more rumors about me.
I pushed my vegetables around on the plate. “He hasn’t asked yet.”
“You need to up your game, Gemma. Flirt with him. Savio’s brain is wired differently. He’s used to girls throwing themselves at him.”
“I don’t want to throw myself at him. The guy has to make the first move.”
Toni sighed. “Maybe he needs a tiny nudge to make the first move. Do you want to risk being promised to someone else?”
“Of course not,” I gasped. “But it’ll probably take many months for Dad to find a viable suitor. It’s not like I have a long list of admirers.”
Toni rolled her eyes. “Too many hits against your head during training, eh?” She pointed her fork at something behind me. I turned, finding a group of jocks staring at me. Flushing, I jerked back around. “Some of them aren’t Italian. And the others are too young. They need to be a couple of years older.”
“I didn’t say you were supposed to marry any of them. I was just making a point.”
I didn’t quite get her point. Even if these guys were checking me out, that didn’t help me with Savio.
I poured myself some orange juice when I heard male voices coming from the living room. One of them was Savio. Following them, I returned to my previous homework spot only to find Savio and Diego lounging on the sofa, bag of chips in their hand, and zapping through the TV programs. My books and notebook lay discarded on the floor as if someone had shoved them off without care.
If Diego had been alone, I would have thrown myself at him and tried to choke him with a throw pillow, but with Savio being present, I had to opt for a more ladylike option.
I stalked into the room, but both boys ignored me pointedly.
“Why did you throw my stuff down?”
Diego and Savio briefly glanced up before they returned their focus to a video on the screen of some shitty rapper who was surrounded by half-dressed girls. Nonna would lose it if she saw.
“They were in the way,” Diego said as if in an afterthought.
“I was doing homework.”
“Then do it somewhere else. Go into the kitchen, that’s a place where you have more business being anyway.”
I couldn’t believe him. He was trying to impress Savio by being an asshole. Savio’s mouth turned into that arrogant smile that always made my stupid heart speed up.
“I was here first,” I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest as I barred their view of the TV. Savio wasn’t as much as glancing my way. I might as well have been air. My outfit wasn’t really good for impressing anyone: sweatpants and a hoodie, but I hadn’t expected Savio to come visit. Diego mostly met somewhere else with him and Mick nowadays.
“Gemma, stop being a bitch, and move your ass away.”
Savio briefly looked up, and our eyes met. Butterflies danced in my stomach like they always did. His expression was unreadable. Not the familiar smirk or arrogant smile. Then he returned his attention to the TV.
“If you don’t go, then you’ll have to live with my presence,” I said. Before I had time to think about it, I sank down on Savio’s lap. Diego’s sharp intake of breath made me smile, but it died when Savio’s arm came around my waist. Shock shot through me. I hadn’t expected him to react that way. Shove me away? Yes. Shock? Yes. Pulling me closer as if I belonged on top of him? No.
My gaze darted over to him and he leaned back against the headrest, pulling me with him. His eyes met mine and there was something in them that had me swallow thickly.
He didn’t seem fazed by me sitting on his lap in the slightest. Of course not, Savio was used to girls being on his lap, but usually with less clothing and more hip rotation. His eyes held mine, the sexy infuriating smile on his face. Butterflies filled my belly at our proximity. This was the first time I sat on a guy’s lap, on Savio’s lap, and it felt good. I could feel his muscles through our clothing, the strength in his body, and his warmth. God, he felt so good. I wanted to lean into him, bury my face in his neck.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Gemma? Get up!” Diego growled, grabbing my wrist in a bruising grip before he scowled at Savio. “And you take your fucking fingers off her waist or I’ll break them.”
Oh no. Tension shot through Savio’s body and his hold on my waist tightened further as he slowly sat up with me still on his lap. “Try it.”
The threat in Savio’s voice stunned me. I touched his forearm, fingertips brushing the scars there, and his expression, still fixed on my brother, became even harsher.
My eyes darted between my brother and Savio, realizing this had just turned dead serious for them. This was going to turn into a testosterone-fueled shitfest. And no offense to Diego, who was a nasty piece of shit in the fighting ring, but I had seen Savio in the cage. He was a Falcone, and fighting was in his blood, and so was a talent to destroy his opponents with words and fists.
If those two ever killed each other, it wouldn’t be because of me. I jammed
