“Ready?” David asked.
“All set.”
“Will the entire family be there?” The question held a certain edginess that had her wincing. David often found her family a bit overwhelming. “Will I finally get to meet Lazz and Ariana, or are they still in Italy?”
The question caught her by surprise. But then, he’d acknowledged a distant, passing acquaintance with the Romanos, so maybe it wasn’t all that odd. “They’re still on a working holiday for another couple months.”
“A shame,” he murmured, though she suspected a certain insincerity in the comment.
After locking the door of her elegant row house with its pretty gingerbread trim, they crossed to his Jaguar. As always, he opened the door for her, his courtesy an innate part of his personality. They drove to Dantes’ corporate office building, chatting about inconsequential matters along the way. They’d almost reached their destination when David steered the conversation into more turbulent waters.
“I have to fly out to New York next week for a meeting,” he announced after a momentary silence. He flashed her a quick grin. “A very boring meeting.”
He’d mentioned the trip the previous week. “I understand.” She spared him a sympathetic glance. “How long will you be gone this time?”
“Four days. Friday through Monday.”
“Well, that’s not too bad. And at least it isn’t overseas.”
“No, it’s not.” He pulled up to a red light and spared her a brief, meaningful glance that didn’t sink in until he added, “I’d like you to come with me. My business won’t take long. This particular meeting is more of a formality than anything else.”
“Oh, I don’t know, David,” she began.
The light turned green and he continued through the intersection. “I’m not finished.” A single glance at the determined set of his jaw and she fell silent. “I was thinking we’d get a suite at the Ritz.”
The offer came so out of the blue that it took her a moment to switch gears. “The Ritz?” Wow. Then the rest of his comment filtered through. “Wait a minute. Do you mean…share a suite?”
“I mean a romantic weekend.” His mouth compressed. “As in, no family breathing down our necks.”
Gianna stiffened and she swiveled in her seat. “You feel as though my family is breathing down our necks?” she asked, excruciatingly polite.
He didn’t take notice of the warning in her voice. “In a word, yes. You’re twenty-five, Gianna. We’ve known each other for six months, been dating for three, but you’re still holding me at arm’s length.”
“And you think my family’s to blame for that?”
He still didn’t seem to realize that he’d wandered onto extremely thin ice. How could he have dated her for even a week and not picked up on the fact that family meant everything to her? With the Dantes, family came first and foremost, just as she thought it must with the d’Angelos, despite David’s more cosmopolitan lifestyle. La famiglia, right?
That also extended beyond blood ties. There was nothing the Dantes loved better than finding someone new to add to the fold. If David weren’t so suspicious of their intent, right down to insisting that they keep their relationship on the down low until the past month when he’d finally agreed to be introduced to everyone, he’d have discovered that for himself. But for some reason, David’s attitude caused her family to hold him at a cool, polite distance, except for her Nonna.
She saw the Dantes’ corporate headquarters come in to sight. “I don’t blame your family for the way you’ve held me at arm’s length. Not exactly. I understand that some of it is probably the old-fashioned way you were raised.”
Oh, this just kept getting better and better. “Is that right?” she murmured. “Let me take a wild guess here. You consider me old-fashioned because I haven’t jumped in the sack with you like every other woman you’ve dated.”
“Again, being blunt here. Yes. The rest of the world has moved forward, Gia, but the Dantes are still living in a different century, with all the rules, social mores and restrictions that entails. As you know, I was educated at Oxford and enjoy a very sophisticated lifestyle. My entire family actually lives in the twenty-first century.”