Chapter Twenty-One
She stared at the text on her phone.
How odd.
Tony rarely messaged her.
Even stranger, he asked Gina to stop in at Rossi’s on her way to the train.
Something was up, and it wasn’t the Spaghetti ai Carciofi he said he’d made especially for her to take to work for dinner.
He’d done nothing like that before, either.
Was it a peace offering? As if it could make up for his bullshit.
But she loved artichokes, dammit, and that creamy, lemon-infused pasta sauce was her weakness.
The fucker knows it, too.
Gina was of a mind to tell him what he could do with his spaghetti, but why waste a perfectly delicious meal?
Besides, come two in the morning, she’d be starving.
Then, she’d be kicking herself in the ass for having to make do with a wilted salad from the hospital’s cafeteria—if she even had the time to take a break, that is.
Most often, physicians scheduled their inductions on Tuesdays or Thursdays, but since it was Friday, the shift shouldn’t be too crazy.
Unless the moon was full—crazy shit always seemed to happen then.
Or if the charge nurse assigned her to a mom who failed her induction and needed a C-section.
That would mean circulating in the OR and hours spent in the recovery room afterward.
She’d be lucky to grab a crummy cafeteria salad then, so she might as well take her brother up on his offer.
At the height of the dinner rush when she got there, Rossi’s was jam-packed.
Her dad and Teo slid pizzas into brick wood-fired ovens while Nick manned the counter.
A takeout and delivery establishment, the only seating was some stools along a ledge looking out the window, where patrons could scarf down a quick slice, and a few small tables.
Tony sat at one of them, and he wasn’t alone.
“Gina.” He glanced up at her, pulling out the empty chair beside him. “You remember my old pal, Curtis, don’t you?”
She didn’t.
“CJ,” the man corrected him, extending his hand with a smarmy grin. “Hello again, Buttercup.”
Is this dude for real?
“Excuse me?”
“You were prancing around in a Powerpuff Girls getup the last time I saw you.”
“Oh.” She sat down, heat flooding into her cheeks. “Yeah, well, Buttercup was the one most like me.”
“Because of her dark hair?”
“No, she was the tough one.”
Who was this guy, and what was he doing here? Amused by her discomfort, he chuckled. “With all those brothers, I guess you’d have to be.”
“CJ went to school with me and the Venery boys,” Tony explained. “I’m surprised you don’t remember him. He hung out with us all the time.”
Her gaze traveled back to the man in question.
His dark hair was pulled back into a small knot at the base of his skull.
Shifty gray eyes. Prominent hawk-like nose.
He wasn’t unattractive, but Gina wouldn’t say he was especially good-looking either.
Maybe he’d changed a lot since she was a kid, because she still couldn’t place him.
“I was their manager until a few months ago,” he said as if that should somehow impress her. “Made them who they are, and then they fire me? Ungrateful fucks.”
What did he expect her to say? Gina glanced at her brother, and he shrugged. “Sorry to hear that, but unless you made the music for them, I’d say they made themselves.”
“And what do you know about the industry, huh?”
Not a fucking thing.
“They’re talented musicians, I’ll give you that, but there’s plenty of kick-ass bands out there who never get to see the inside of a recording studio, let alone sell out arena tours. See, I’m the one who made that happen.”
Okayyy.
“I’m gonna get your dinner, bambina.” With a squeeze to her shoulder, Tony stood. “Be right back.”
“It’s who and what you know.” CJ settled back in his chair, a booted foot casually crossing his thigh. “Negotiation is a skill, and I’m a master at it. They’ll be sorry.”
“I know nothing about all that.” Hoping to end the conversation, Gina looked down at her phone.
“Of course you don’t.” He leaned in, demanding her attention. His breath tickled her ear. “So, a little birdie told me you’ve been hooking up with Matt McCready.”
“Oh, really?” Feigning interest, she forced a laugh. “Wait, don’t tell me. Let me guess. That little birdie is my brother, right?”
“Wrong.” His head tipped to the side, and he smirked. “Told you, I know people.”
“Well, CJ, you’ve been misinformed,” Gina said, and crossing her arms, she smirked right back. “Matt and I aren’t hooking up; we love each other.”
What have you got to say now, asshole?
“I’ve known him a helluva long time, Buttercup, and trust me, fucking is all he’s good for.” He leaned in closer, taking her palm in his. “Chicks. Dudes. He doesn’t care. A hole is a hole to him.”
As if his touch burned her skin, she pulled her hand away. “You’re lying.”
“But I’m not.” Undeterred, CJ invaded her personal space, his face mere inches from hers. “I’ve had to endure watching him—hell, all of them, and their depraved sexual escapades for years. And let me tell you this, that selfish motherfucker isn’t capable of loving anyone. He doesn’t know how.”
“Matt is anything but selfish,” Gina shot back, her finger poking his chest with every insistent word. “He’s loving and generous and kind and…”
… perfect.
Well, to her he was, anyway.
“Sweetheart, that’s what he wants you to think.
He’s just playing you.” CJ patted her arm, looking upon her with something akin to pity.
“You’re a beautiful girl, and you’re convenient while Matt’s bored here at home, but I know him.
Once they cut their next album and go back out on tour, he’s gonna forget all about you.
I heard a big label is looking to sign them, and if that’s true, he’ll be gone sooner rather than later. ”
“Sounds like sour grapes on your part to me.” Gina schooled her expression to one of indifference.
She knew the boys were working on a new album, and that meant eventually they’d leave home again.
Matt never mentioned a record deal, but then why would he?
The business side of Venery wasn’t a topic they typically discussed.
“Nah, see, I’ve already picked up some new bands.
I don’t need them; they need me.” His tongue slowly swiped across his too-thick bottom lip.
“If you weren’t Tony’s sister, I wouldn’t even waste my breath.
But I don’t want to see you get hurt, and if you keep messing around with him, you’re going to be. ”
“I tried to tell her, but all I did was piss her off.” Her brother placed a Rossi’s bag filled with enough food to feed ten people on the table in front of her and reclaimed his seat. Then, he pulled her hand into his lap and squeezed it. “I’m not the villain here, Gina.”
She glanced over at Teo, who looked on from behind the counter, shaking his head. “And Matt is? He’s one of your best friends, Tony.”
“You don’t know him like me and CJ do.” His fingertips traced the skin between her knuckles. “Look, he’s a good guy, but he’s not the guy for you.”
“Rock stars are a different breed.” Nodding, those shifty gray eyes looked into hers. “Even before they’re famous, they’ve got girls willing to go down on their knees for them and… well, I don’t have to tell you the rest. Fuck’s sake, just google him.”
Gina closed her eyes. Hadn’t she had those very thoughts once?
“I’d love to see you down on your knees. It isn’t what I want, though.”
“What do you want, then?”
“To earn the privilege to worship you at yours.”
But she’d been wrong, and so were they.
“You know what the Red Door is, don’t you?” CJ asked.
She walked past it nearly every day. “A bougie private club.”
“It’s a sex club, Gina,” Tony informed her with a sigh. “And your boyfriend is a charter member.”
“Matt’s into some nasty shit. He’ll turn you into his pretty little whore, ruin your life and everything you’ve worked so hard for.” Then, he dropped his phone in front of her. “I didn’t want to show you this, but…”
Photos of her and Matt taken at the festival a few weeks ago.
Gina swiped through them. “How’d you get these?”
“That doesn’t matter.” CJ took his phone back and passed it to her brother.
“I want you to think about what would happen if these photos were plastered all over the internet. I don’t think the hospital would be at all happy to see one of their nurses depicted like this on the pages of some supermarket tabloid, do you? ”
“Cazzo! You’d lose your job, Gina, and with that kind of publicity, who would hire you?” Tony was getting angry. She could tell. His cheeks turned the color of ripe tomatoes. “Think of what it would do to Mom if these photos were to get out.”
“I’m kissing my boyfriend,” she hissed through her teeth. “So what?”
“With your culo on display for the entire world to see.”
The words came out of Tony’s mouth with such vehemence, everyone in the place had to have heard him. Heads turned. Even her dad interrupted his task to look over at them.
Mortified, Gina hid behind her hand. “I’ve got panties on.”
“Couldn’t tell.”
“Simmer down, man. Your sister didn’t know. Now, she does.” CJ turned from Tony to her. “Listen to me, little girl, this is nothing—just ask Ava and Chloe.”
Gina rolled her eyes. Was this guy ever going to shut up?
“You aren’t prepared for what’s coming, Buttercup, so you better run. Get out while you still can.”
With a toss of her ponytail, she snickered. “Is the moon full?”
“I think it was a few days ago, why?”
Crazy shit always seems to happen then, and you, sir, are out of your fucking mind.
“Uh, no reason.”
“I better go or I’ll be late for work.” She stood and, collecting her bags, Gina kissed her eldest brother on the cheek. “Thanks for dinner.”