TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1) by Kallypso Masters (the false prince TXT) 📕

of the area told him the coast was clear. He started toward the front desk.

Man, you’re such a chickenshit.

No, Tony just didn’t intend to make an ass of himself in front of his ice princess.

Great. Now he was even claiming her as his principessa.

“Tony! What a surprise!”

So much for a clean escape. Tony stopped in his tracks and turned to face Carmella who looked as gorgeous and untouchable as ever. She glanced away, then back at him. Interesting. Perhaps she was affected by him too.

“I mean, I didn’t know you were still…um… Didn’t I see Matteo leaving hours ago?”

“Yeah. He had to get back to his horses.” Belatedly, he noticed that Carmella carried a medium-sized box. Shifting his duffel to his back, he reached out for it. “Here, let me carry that for you.”

“No, thanks. It’s not heavy.” As she moved to maneuver the box—and her body—away from him, the box slipped from her hands and name badges and brochures with images of climbers spilled onto the marble floor.

Carmella immediately knelt down and started picking them up. Feeling responsible, Tony laid down his bag and knelt beside her and went to work. “Sorry about this.” He couldn’t help noticing that her blouse was open at the neck giving him a clear view of her cleavage.

Stop staring!

“Totally my doing. Thanks for helping me pick them up.” After they finished and stood up, she added, “I hope you had an enjoyable stay at Bella Montagna.” She might as well have been speaking to any other guest at her resort.

“Absolutely. You and your family run a beautiful place.”

When she smiled this time, her eyes twinkled. Was that the first time he’d seen a genuine Carmella smile directed at him? Or was it merely offered in her professional capacity as co-owner of the resort? He shouldn’t read anything more into it.

And truth be told, he didn’t remember much about his room or what the rest of the resort looked like other than the ballroom last night—and the scent of Carmella’s thigh.

Be civil. Mama’s many admonitions to him and his brothers echoed through his head.

Tony handed her the last of the neck wallets. “Thanks for making Angelina’s dreams come true with the perfect wedding reception.”

And just like that, her smile faded away.

“That’s what we do here, although we might have pulled out a few extra stops for Marc and Angelina’s reception. It’s what families do.”

Damn. He’d left Marc’s name out when he’d mentioned the reception. Carmella sure was touchy about any slight to her brother, so Tony had better learn to include him with only good comments from now on.

Carmella picked up the box again and glanced at his duffel bag while avoiding eye contact with him. “Well, um, don’t let me keep you. Safe trip home.”

She definitely wanted him gone. “Thanks. I’m actually headed to the station first.” As if she cared.

She met his gaze again. “On your day off?”

She must keep up with Marc’s schedule, which she already knew was the same as Tony’s, at least when her brother wasn’t on his honeymoon. He shrugged. “I like to go in and cook for the crew sometimes.”

“Must run in the family. Angelina’s pasta last night was fabulous.”

“I don’t make homemade pasta, but I make a red sauce to die for.” He shrugged. “It’s filling at least.”

Her smile faltered, and she glanced down at the jumbled badges as if unsure what else to talk about. Then her professional smile and gaze returned. “I hope you’ll come back and visit us again—but book soon if you or your friends want to get in some skiing this season. It gets busy Thanksgiving weekend. Definitely let me know ahead of time, though, and I’ll throw in some free lift tickets, since we’re family now.”

Family. Was Carmella now his sister-in-law, too, or only Angelina’s? Not that it mattered. It wasn’t like he had any plans to have sex with her.

Not on your life, Brother.

And yet he already dreaded upcoming family gatherings and having to be this close to her without touching her again.

“Thanks, but I’m more partial to cross-country skiing.” He could hear Mama chastising him for being less than gracious, but didn’t elaborate.

Carmella’s eyes lit up. “I love trekking through the woods on my skis, too.”

The image crossed his mind of her hiking ahead of him, giving him a great view of her ass in skintight pants. Not where his mind needed to be right now. And yet he couldn’t resist saying, “Maybe we can find the time to hit the backcountry this winter.”

He didn’t miss the shuttering of her eyes that told him that would never happen. “Sure. Sounds like fun.” Sounded like torture from her voice.

“Well, I guess I’d better get checked out.”

“Oh, before you go, I ran into your mama at breakfast this morning. I guess she hasn’t had enough celebrating.” Carmella gave a lopsided grin. “She wants to host a small gathering here to surprise Angelina for her birthday in August.”

What was so special about a twenty-seventh birthday, especially after she’d just had a party the size of the reception last night? Of course, Tony would do anything for his baby sister, but why’d Mama have to suggest holding it up here? Tony could have easily pulled something together in the church hall in Aspen Corners.

Once again, she wouldn’t meet his gaze, but clearly had something more to say. “She thought I might bounce ideas off you,” she made eye contact but didn’t smile this time, “since you know her so much better than I do.”

Or was something else afoot here? Was Mama matchmaking in the afterglow of marrying off her youngest kid? Did she plan on working her way up the line of siblings—with Tony being next on the chopping block? Settling down with one woman wasn’t in the cards for him or any of his brothers for a good, long while.

And especially not with Carmella D’Alessio.

He hated to disappoint Mama, but no way in hell would he let her manipulate him, either.