Chapter 46

Dante T AGE 25 he sound of my younger sister, Joey, squealing with laughter as she passes the dining room makes me smile. I have no idea what she’s laughing about, but the sound has been so rare lately that I almost forgot that she knew how to laugh. Certainly since our father allowed her to come live here with Lorenzo and me, she has been much happier. A second later, Maximo’s head pops around the open doorway. “They’re here,” he declares. “Then show them in,” I say with a heavy sigh. He nods before slipping back out of the door. This is my fifth date with Nicole Santangelo. Each time we have met at a restaurant and she has been accompanied by a chaperone, who has sat a discreet enough distance away for us to talk in private, but who has kept a watchful eye on his charge the entire time. Her father does not want his innocent young daughter sullied before she becomes a bride. Not that I particularly mind that. I have no desire to sully her in any way. She’s not my type. Sure, she’s pre