Alessio (The Guzzi Legacy Book 2)

by Bethany-Kris

  She couldn’t win.

  “And,” Ginevra said, coming to a stop in front of their apartment door to pull the keys from her bag before sticking it in the lock, “while I get you want to understand how it works, it’s also none of your business. Some things are private unless I offer the information to you, Greta. Respect that.”

  Greta leaned against the wall and rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Still think it’s complicated,” Giulia muttered next to Greta.

  Well …

  “I guess that means it’s probably not for you, huh?”

  Greta considered that for a second before she nodded. “That’s fair.”

  Ginevra waited just long enough to decide that the girls had finished with their questions for the evening—thank God—before she twisted the key in the lock and opened their apartment door. The first thing she noticed was the lights. They were on when she had shut them off before leaving.

  The second thing she noticed? A leather jacket hanging over the arm of the couch just beyond the hallway.

  The third?

  His scent.

  Leather, smoke, and man.

  Distinct to Alessio, and Ginevra swore every nerve in her body lit up when she dragged in another lungful of the smell. There wasn’t enough, and she might never taste it on her tongue again.

  The girls, seemingly unaware of their sister’s frozen stance, pushed past her to enter the apartment. They didn’t notice the familiar cologne Alessio preferred lingering in the air, or his jacket tossed over the back of the couch.

  She might have spoken up …

  Might have told them to wait …

  Her words wouldn’t come.

  The girls didn’t even reach the end of the hallway before Alessio stepped around the corner, directly in their path. Giulia, with her head down to watch whatever she found interesting on her phone, rammed into the back of her sister when Greta came to a full stop in front of Alessio.

  He tipped his head to the side, amusement lighting up his gaze when the two teenagers lifted their heads to meet his stare. His lips quirked into a wicked grin, too, almost making Ginevra laugh at the sight.

  “Hello,” he told them.

  Giulia squeaked.

  Greta said and did nothing.

  “Do they not speak?” he asked, his gaze lifting to find Ginevra at the end of the hall. She found affection staring back.

  Her heart beat again.

  “They do, you shocked them, Les.”

  “Les—Alessio?” Greta asked.

  Giulia made another one of those squeaky sounds.

  “That is my name,” Alessio told her sister.

  “Oh, wow,” Greta mumbled.

  Alessio cocked his head to the side again. “Uh, what?”

  Ginevra pressed her lips together and decided the wall was a far more interesting thing to stare at because it would not make her laugh out loud.

  “Greta, Giulia,” she said, still keeping her attention on the wall, “this is Alessio. Les, these are my little sisters.”

  “They don’t talk well,” he noted.

  Ginevra let out a sigh.

  Greta huffed. “How did you even get in here?”

  “Picked the lock.”

  “What?”

  Ginevra looked their way again only to find Alessio had arched a brow when he drawled, “I picked the lock with a tool in my pocket—I’ll show you sometime.”

  Greta glanced back at Ginevra and pursed her lips before she nodded. “Okay.”

  Okay.

  Just like that.

  Giulia giggled under her breath, likely because she wasn’t sure how to handle this situation.

  “Would you two give us a few minutes alone? Close your bedroom doors, too, please.”

  Giulia looked like she would argue, but Greta pulled her away from Alessio as they slipped past him in the hallway. Once they had left around the corner, and the sounds of a bedroom door slamming shut—they each had their own room, but must have gone into just one—Alessio’s attention came back to Ginevra.

  And shit.

  She felt that.

  “You left,” he said, “and you didn’t even say goodbye. You left … and you haven’t even tried to call, or anything.”

  She swallowed hard, and he took one step closer. “Andino called—he said I could come back. My sisters needed me. I figured you and Corrado would understand … I didn’t have a way to contact either of you. I don’t have your phone numbers; neither of you gave me them and I never needed them before now. Who am I supposed to ask to help me? The same people who sent me away, who didn’t give a shit about what happened to me? Who?”

  Alessio tipped his head back.

  Ginevra held firm.

  “You left,” he repeated.

  “Where were you?”

  “Albania.”

  All at once, the air left Ginevra’s lungs.

  Right.

  The job.

  He’d told her the night at the club.

  “What about Corrado?” she asked.

  Alessio smiled, but damn, it was bitter all over. It made her heart go crazy when he took another step closer to her, leaving only a few feet between them now.

  “Corrado is the …” Alessio considered his words, adding lower, “… well, he’s the difficult one here. See me, I’m used to being abandoned, Ginny. I can take it.”

  “I didn’t abandon either of you.”

  “You left,” he returned, “and when you leave, this is what it feels like when no one explains anything to us, and we’re all just … stuck. Wondering.”

  Alessio shrugged. “Corrado … he’s not like me. When something seems like it will hurt, he shuts all the way down. Almost everyone in my life has left me, so I can handle this, but not him. I don’t like to see things hurt him, either.”

  “I didn’t leave like that, Les.”

  “But he thinks you did. It’s a pride thing for him, Ginny … because that’s who Corrado has always been. Despite how much it pisses me off sometimes, it’s also one part of him I love the most. You can’t fault him for his flaws, just like he didn’t want to fault you for yours, either.”

  Ginevra hid her shaking hands at her sides, balling them into tight fists when Alessio took yet another step toward her. Careful. Holding himself back because that’s what he thought she wanted.

  He had to know …

  She wanted him so fucking close.

  “I missed you,” she whispered, “and I miss him. All the time. Every single day. I wasn’t sure what to do, and I’m sorry.”

  Alessio dragged in a hard breath. “Yeah, me too.”

  “I’m still not sure what to do.”

  All at once, Alessio closed the distance between them, and Ginevra had never been more grateful. She found herself wrapped up in his strong, familiar embrace. She pulled in lungful after lungful of his heady scent, letting the comfort take her back to a happier place.

  Alessio’s hands slipped under her jaw, and he tipped her head back. First, he kissed her soft, and tentative. So unlike him though she loved the gentle press of his lips against hers. But then, the kiss turned into something else when his tongue snaked out to tease the seam of her lips, seeking more.

  God.

  She gave him that.

  And took what she wanted, too.

  Nothing was like kissing someone you loved. Everything was … perfect. Her world almost tilted back on its proper axis. Except she missed someone else, now. They missed someone else.

  Alessio pulled away, but his thumbs stroked her cheeks, taking away the tears that had escaped from her eyes. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”

  “I … this has been a lot.”

  “We’ll fix it.”

  “How?”

  Alessio chuckled, and pressed another quick kiss to her mouth before saying, “By not giving him a choice—making a statement.”

  Ginevra gave him a raised brow. “What, like a grand gest
ure? Cliché, yeah?”

  “Maybe, but it is Corrado. And as much as he figures he’s hard to understand, he really isn’t. Sometimes, show him where he’s wrong while you also admit to your own. Those flaws of his again, and you have to love them, too. Not just parts of him.”

  “I do, and you, too.”

  Alessio’s throat jumped when he asked, “Do you?”

  “What?”

  “Love me?”

  Ginevra reached up and stroked the underside of his jaw. “Too much. I love you too much.”

  “How else would this work, huh?”

  Exactly.

  Now, she had to let Corrado know, too.

  I’ll see you there.

  Corrado stared at Alessio’s last text after he’d cut the engine to the Porsche in the driveway of his parents’ mansion. He hadn’t wanted to come to this goddamn Halloween party at all, but he wasn’t able to come up with an acceptable excuse to get him out.

  He couldn’t even use Les.

  Not considering Alessio was here, or if not, was on his way, if his last text to Corrado was any sign. He had no idea where Alessio had been for the last couple of days. He hadn’t come back to Vegas, he wouldn’t pick up Corrado’s calls, and he only answered back one of his texts.

  The one about the Halloween party in Toronto.

  That was it.

  Corrado wasn’t sure what in the hell was going on, but he didn’t like it. At all. It felt like Alessio was hiding something from him, and he needed to find out what that was. Which was what he planned on doing tonight.

  He couldn’t do that if he continued to sit in this damn car, so he shoved his phone into his pocket, and stepped out of the vehicle onto the driveway. He took in the fake strings of a spider web hanging from the trees lining the driveway, and the pumpkins decorating the cobblestone. He didn’t know what it was, or why, but his mother never went half-assed for decorating.

  Cara didn’t understand the meaning of subtle.

  When he was younger, Corrado used to love that, he thought as he headed for the mansion. Every single holiday had been a memorable experience with his family because his mother and father made sure of that, no exceptions.

  Given the time of night, closer to nine, he suspected all the neighborhood kids had come and were long gone. The damn bylaws in the gated community made sure all the parents knew their kids had to be home by eight-thirty, sharp.

  Now, given the cars in the driveway, and the music filtering out of the mansion, it was time for the adults—and older teens—to have their fun. The invitation went out to anyone who was a friend of the Guzzi family, and anyone in la famiglia.

  Corrado tried not to miss it—or any big party his parents threw. This one hadn’t been quite the same, though, because the last thing he was in the mood for was to entertain other people when he could barely stand to look at himself in the mirror.

  Yet, here he was.

  Doing that.

  And why?

  Corrado wasn’t sure. Maybe because he was trying to be a little less selfish for one—God knew it had been pointed out more than enough to him over the last while that he could be a self-serving prick when he wanted to be, and this party was about his parents and family. So, he could show up for them, right? Put on a suit, because he was not wearing a costume, a smile, and be the good son for an hour or two.

  Or maybe it was because this was the only place Alessio seemed to be willing to meet him, and so Corrado had to do what he had to do.

  End of.

  At least, tonight, he would get one person he wanted. The other? Well, Corrado was refusing to even let himself think about Ginevra at this point.

  It was easier.

  “You look really pleased to be here, yeah?”

  Corrado’s walk came to an abrupt start, and his fucking heart was ready to explode in his goddamn chest at the same time. That voice. All calm, cool, and unbothered. Like it didn’t bother him at all he hadn’t seen Corrado in two weeks, and nothing had changed at all.

  He turned his head, finding Alessio standing under a canopy of fake spider web hanging from the largest maple tree on the property. He wasn’t sure what it was about those specific trees, but they were Les’s favorite.

  “Waiting for me?” Corrado asked.

  “Or I stepped out for a smoke—it doesn’t have to be about you.”

  Yeah.

  Right back to normal.

  Corrado smirked, giving a pointed look at Alessio’s hand. “Except there’s no cigarette, and we both know you only smoke here with Bene or Beni.”

  “You can’t ever just let me have a moment, can you?”

  “Where’s the fun in that, Les?”

  Alessio shrugged, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. The leather jacket he’d thrown on was new—different from the last one Corrado saw him wearing. This one had a dozen buckles, and small, silver spikes on the shoulders.

  Very … Alessio.

  And he looked good.

  Too good, really.

  “Why are you smiling like that?” Corrado asked.

  Alessio’s sly grin drifted away. “Like what?”

  “Where have you been the last couple of days? I knew when you got back, and you just … fucking took off. You couldn’t call me, or—”

  “I had things to handle.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, shit to take care of that you wouldn’t.”

  Corrado stiffened, his throat growing tight. “And what does that mean?”

  “This,” Alessio said, pointing between the two as he met Corrado’s gaze, “it’s not all about you. It’s about me, too. And someone else because you brought her into it. You keep thinking you’re also the only person here that gets to decide about it—like the choice to say fuck it, hide away, and pretend like nothing is wrong. The rest of us here aren’t always going to just fall in line with you, Corrado. That’s not how love works.”

  That ache was back in his heart.

  “You don’t get—”

  “Yeah, I get you don’t like shit that hurts. Don’t worry.”

  “I needed a minute to figure out what I was doing, Les.”

  “Well, you got two weeks, and I’m fucking tired of waiting.”

  “What?”

  Alessio grinned and gestured at the mansion. “Do you know why I didn’t call you or come back home the last couple of days since I got back?”

  “Because you wanted to punish me?”

  “Really, that’s what you think it was?”

  “That’s what it seemed like.”

  Alessio’s smile drifted away. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re all I have, Les.”

  “No, I’m not. I am one of two people for you, Corrado. And I’m fucking sorry that life gets in the way, and you’re not sure how to deal, but you gotta learn. Like the rest of us did, okay? You can’t run when shit gets rough. You can’t.”

  Corrado nodded. “Yeah.”

  “I didn’t call or come home because I didn’t want to lie to you. I don’t lie to you, no matter what. And so, if I didn’t see you or speak to you, then I wouldn’t have to do that, not even by omission.”

  He stared at Alessio as still as stone.

  Alessio stared back, waiting.

  “What did you do?” Corrado asked.

  “I brought her back for us. Ginevra is here tonight.”

  He hadn’t been ready for that.

  He also wasn’t at all surprised.

  “She left.”

  “Yes, because not everything in her life will always be about us, Corrado. We had a spread of time with her away from her life—without her responsibilities, and the things she left at home. She didn’t have to worry about that during our time, but that time ended. And she needed to get back to reality, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t want to stay.”

  “If she wanted to stay—”

  “It is possible she both wanted to leave and stay but with only those two choices … someone
will always get hurt.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

  Alessio gave him a look. “Because you never asked.”

  Corrado heard Ginevra first. Her soft, tinkling laughter—unmistakable to his ear—seemed to stand out from the feminine laughter of others as it filled the hallway he walked down with Alessio at his side. It did something to his heart, still racing hard and a little too heavy in his chest, but he didn’t wish it away.

  A part of him had been wishing too much away.

  Right then, he wanted to feel.

  Corrado wasn’t pleased with the way Alessio did this, but he stepped back and shut up. He didn’t go to Ginevra after she left, and he hadn’t given her the chance to explain anything.

  So, regardless of the heaviness on his shoulders, the tightness in his chest, or the ache in his heart … he would see her, and listen to her explain.

  Because Les was right.

  As he usually was.

  Corrado figured if he admitted that fact a little more often, they wouldn’t have as many of these issues as they did. His pride was a real bitch.

  Time to let it go.

  A good portion of the main entrance, the first dining room, and one of the sitting rooms inside the mansion became a haunted house for the kids that was now … well, empty of children, anyway. A few adults lingered in the spaces, drinks in hand. Some still dressed in costumes, and others, not. Corrado had no interest in them, though.

  Corrado rounded the corner at the end of the hallway, Alessio still at his side, and came to a full stop at the sight of Ginevra in the middle of what his parents used as a ballroom when they held parties. In the middle, a fountain with an embracing nude couple carved from stone with water pouring from their outstretched hands that seemed to reach for each other.

  And right in front of it?

  Ginevra.

  Like him, and Alessio, and most of the other people in the room, she wasn’t dressed up in any costume. Instead, she wore a black dress that hugged her curves with a slit down the middle that showed off all kinds of leg, and black, strappy heels that made his throat tighten again.

  She smiled at something his mother said next to her, nodding back at the younger girl standing close to her. Cara leaned in closer to Ginevra, her gaze conspiratorial as she said something in a whisper, pointing to someone across the room.