He took a last drag and flicked his cigarette into the street. Then he walked in, smoke still drifting from his mouth. “Sorry about that,” he said when he sat.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Just a little talk.”
The waiter came, we heard the specials, and ordered.
Antonio picked up his wine. “Salute.”
I held up my glass and looked at his when they clinked. His hand was firm and powerful, all muscle and vein, and his knuckles were scraped raw. I brushed the backs of my fingers against them.
“Antonio? Were you just talking? Or do they drag when you walk?”
He smiled. He’d gone out tense and returned relaxed. “One of the valets pushed me into a wall. I tried to break my fall, and this is what happened. These guys, they’re paid per car, so they all jump to open doors a little too quick. How is the wine?” His smile was deadly.
“Good. What part of Italy are you from?”
“Napoli. The armpit of Italy, my mother used to say.”
“And you came here for the weather and the easy access to litigator privileges?”
He smirked. “Do I have to answer everything right away?”
“Chasing me around won’t go well if you don’t.”
He leaned over and touched my upper lip. Having him that close, I wanted to let those fingers explore my body. “You tell me where you got this scar. Then I’ll tell you why I came here.”
“I got the scar from a boy.”
“Ah. And I came here because of a girl.”
Appetizers came, filling little dumplings drenched in red sauce. He slipped a couple on my plate then a couple on his.
“You followed a woman here?” I watched him eat with clean efficiency.
“I followed men.” He moved on to the next subject as if his life wasn’t worth lingering on, brushing it off with a practiced, charming facility. “And this boy? His cutting wit, perhaps?”
“His high school ring. This girl. Was she chasing you?” I looked at him over my wine glass.
“No. She’s back home.”
“The girl is home, and you chased a man here because of her?”
“Close enough. What happened to the boy?” he asked.
“He’s dead.”
“Note to self. Don’t scar Theresa Drazen.”
I raised my wine glass to my lips to hide my expression. He’d gotten closer to a truth than he realized.
“So you own a hell of a lot of cars, a restaurant, and you’re a lawyer,” I said. “You contribute enough to the charity of your choice to get invited to the fundraisers. Oh, and you don’t like Porsches. You can beat a guy nearly unconscious with your bare hands. You’re a very interesting guy, Mister Spinelli.”
He touched my hand with the tips of his fingers, finding a curve and tracing it. “Running an accounting department for the biggest agency in Hollywood. Working on the mayoral candidate’s campaign. Helping your friend with her movie in your spare time. And the most poised, graceful woman I ever met. I’m not half as interesting as you.”
I formulated an answer, maybe something clever or maybe I’d continue to ask uncomfortable questions, but my phone dinged. It was Katrina’s new AD.
—We’re starting in ten—
“This has been fun,” I said. “I have to go.”
He stood, reaching into his pocket. “I’ll walk you.”
He tossed a few twenties down and went to the door with me, putting his hand on my back as we exited. I pressed my lips together, avoiding a silly smile. I liked his hand there.
I didn’t see Vito around. The valets were still working the block quickly, if less exuberantly.
“Tell me something,” I said. “Why weren’t you afraid that someone would call the cops that night with the Porsche? I mean, if you didn’t break that guy’s nose, I’ll eat my shoe.”
“Tell me what you think. Why would that be the case?” He put his hands in his pockets as he walked.
“That’s a common debate team switch. Putting the speculation on me.”
“Speculate.” He smiled like a movie star, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“I’d rather you told me.”
“Maybe I’ve met enough cops in my profession to know how to talk to them, should it come to that.”
“Which profession is that?”
“I’m a lawyer.”
I hadn’t thought much of our harmless back and forth, but when he reminded me he was a lawyer, I caught a tightness in his voice. He glanced away. Most people were puzzles one had to simply collect enough pieces to figure out. My questioning had merely been fact-harvesting until he subtly evaded something so simple.
“If I look up criminal cases you’ve filed, what would I find? I mean, cases where you’ve dealt with the LAPD.”
He looked down at the curb as we crossed the street, holding me back when a car came even though I’d stopped.
“I’m a lawyer for my business. I’ve only had a couple of clients, and mostly they need my help talking to the police. Anything else you feel like you need to know?” He said it with good humor, but there was a wariness to his tone.
“Yes.” We got to the outer edge of the set, where the street was closed off to keep it silent.
“What?”
I knew I shouldn’t ask, but I was tired and still hungry, and the wine had sanded away my barriers. “Is Vito still outside the restaurant running his business?”
The look on his face melted me, as if a fissure had opened and he was trying desperately to keep the lava from pouring out. Then he smiled as if just having decided to let it all go. “Contessa, you are trouble.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Both.”
My phone dinged again. I didn’t look at it. I knew what it was about. “I have to go.”
“Come vuoi tu.” He cupped my cheek in his hand and kissed me quickly before walking away, the picture of masculine grace. He didn’t look back.
eleven.
I strapped up my stockings with the TV on. I saw it behind me in the mirror. Daniel wore his pale grey suit and tie, ice in the sun. He’d done well at the debate that afternoon, keeping himself poised, still, and focused. He was the perfect Future Mister Mayor.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: My opponent hasn’t opened a serious case against any crime organization in over a year. Just because it’s peacetime, do we sit on our laurels?
I hadn’t heard from Antonio since he’d left me at the set. I’d been tempted to reach out to him, but to what end? As I watched Daniel, I knew I still had feelings for him. How could I get involved with someone else? How could I take Daniel back? How could I use another man to break my holding pattern?
DANIEL BROWER: Believe me, my office has been gathering information and evidence against a number of organizations. We won’t open a case unless we’re sure we have the evidence we need. Please, let the people know if your administration will recklessly accuse citizens, so they can start looking for an independent prosecutor.
Antonio would be at the fundraiser. Though I was excited to see him, despite the fact that I had to avoid him, he’d become tight and unreadable. He’d avoided telling me about his business, and his story about being pushed by a valet was absurd. Vito hadn’t gone home whistling Dixie. Antonio was Italian. From Naples. Was he a lawyer or criminal? Or both?
BRUCE DRUMMOND: In closing, I love my wife. She’s the only woman for me, and that’s why I married her. As your mayor, I’d never distract—
I liked nice men. Lawful men. Men with a future, a career, who could safely support children. I wasn’t the type to look for the dangerous, exciting guys.
The dress went over my head in one movement. I twisted, struggled, and got the zipper up by myself.