Under Pressure(54)

“It’s a brilliant idea.”

Bella turned to Jason in shock. Unguarded doubt shone from her eyes, and it left an ache in his chest. “Darling, think about it. A small place where you can change the menu at will. Imagine how much fun you could have. Plus you can hire a brilliant staff so the workload would not be that bad.”

“Not too small,” Adrian argued with an encouraging smile. “You would need enough space for all of us. You know, tables for your regulars.”

Gio looked him and his brother up and down before saying, “As long as you pay. We would go broke in no time flat if we gave you free food regularly.”

Rock scoffed at Gio’s dry tone.

Bella trailed her fingertips along the counter, ignoring their banter. She had wanted this for so long. Was it really possible? “Give me some time to think about it, Gio.”

Gio wanted to argue but he conceded with a quick nod. Getting Bella to think about it without her flat out turning him down was a small victory in itself.

“Good, good.” Gio’s smile was back. “I am staying at your apartment, or should I say your old apartment. Antonio let me in. Now what is this about a party the delectable Jenna was telling me about?”

Both the Savage brothers tensed, and Gio winked at Bella. Of course he had noticed the interest the twins had paid to her assistant. As jovial and carefree as Gio acted, Bella knew he never missed anything. She laughed as tried to figure out how to con Gio into helping cook for her army.





Chapter Nineteen




“No, no, no! Too much basil in the sauce!”

“Shut up, you arrogant swine! Do not tell me how to make my sauce! Don’t touch it! I’ll kill you, I swear. You philistine! You overrated line cook! Go finish the ravioli dell'aragosta over there. Stay away from me or I’ll take a meat cleaver to your head, you crazy bastard!”

Slade and Finn sat in absolute shock, watching as Gio reached over and smacked a kiss on Bella’s snarling mouth. Tony, Danny, and Liz simply smiled as they were used to Bella and Gio’s volatile nature while in the kitchen.

Jason fought the need to shift in his seat, restraining the urge to go pound on the man cooking in his kitchen as he did every time Gio touched her. The urge had weakened as Jason watched them bicker like siblings or bitter enemies throughout the day and he saw firsthand the lack of physical intimacy involved. Sure, Bella and Gio were both passionate people who obviously loved each other, but that love was similar to the love between Bella and her brothers.

As the day continued, Jason found himself ridiculously pleased each time Bella’s voice rang out a dire warning of the promise of violence. He hated having any man’s hands touch Bella but his own. It was an uncomfortable feeling for a man who had never before suffered the pains of jealously, but he tried to hold back the need for violence every time he saw another male come into contact with her. She was naturally affectionate to those around her, and he knew without a doubt she would have a great deal to say if he voiced his opinions on the matter out loud. Hell, she was likely to take a meat cleaver to his own head and accuse him of having another stupid male moment as she called it when she thought he was being unreasonable.

He smiled at the thought.

Although Bella had lived through a horrible situation, she was no one’s pushover. With her fiery temper and zest for life, she shone like the sun in the dark shadows of his world. She was his match in every way. Jason’s attention was brought back rather abruptly in the form of a sympathetic grimace as Bella threatened to cut off one of Gio’s rather favored appendages.

“Ouch.” Tony grimaced. “That’s not good. It usually takes longer to push her to that point.”

Danny laughed evilly. “Yeah, but you gotta admit it’s thoroughly entertaining. Don’t worry too much. Gio usually knows when it’s time to run.”

“Da-yum, Mac, she’s a bloodthirsty little thing. You ever worry she’s gonna kill you if you piss her off when she’s PMSing?” Finn gaped as he continued to watch the battle in the kitchen.

“No, but if you piss me off, I might just let her have a go at you with that meat cleaver.”

“Like you wouldn’t take him apart yourself if he pissed you off,” Slade scoffed.

“Too true.” Finn leaned back with a heavy sigh. “Jesus, Mac, the two of you are perfect for each other.”

Jason’s pristine kitchen had been converted into what looked like a war zone. Hours ago Bella had banned everyone but Gio and Jenna from the room, slapping body parts with a large wooden spoon if anyone dared to cross her. She and Gio had been waging their own private battle all day, making enough food to feed an army, which could have been served at the most elegant of restaurants. The fragrances drifting from the kitchen were making his mouth water in anticipatory greed. Sitting in the living room watching the chaos unfold, Jason leaned back and lit one of his rare cigarettes as he watched his sweet little love threaten murder for the fifth time in an hour.