Read Giovanni (Blood Brothers Book 6) for Free Online Page A

intention of letting this go until she gave in. “Look, I’ll talk to him, okay? But I can’t make any promises beyond that. In the meantime, everyone is at the table ready for dinner. Could you please hand me a dish to put these mashed potatoes on?” She was sure to quickly change the subject to let Ida know that the subject was no longer up for discussion.
    Ida patted Sydney’s hand. “That’s all I ask for.”
    They worked in silence putting the food in serving dishes. When Sydney would finish filling one bowl or plate, Ida would take it to the dining room. When she came back from delivering the last item, Ida smacked her lips. It was a sound Sydney knew too well. Ida was displeased.
    Before Sydney could ask what the problem was, Ida volunteered. “I didn’t expect to see that man at the table, especially after the way he was carrying on up there, screaming like the house was one fire.”
    “By that man, I assume you’re referring to Mr. Chandler. I’m glad he could join us for dinner.” She deliberately left out the conversation she’d had with him earlier and why he’d been screaming. It just seemed too personal to share, especially when Ida was already hostile toward the man.
    “Well, I hope he fits in with everyone.”
    “I’m sure he will.” Tired of this conversation, Sydney headed to the dining room and took her usual seat. The scent of Dylan’s cologne alerted her to the fact that he took the seat next to her. Tempted to take another seat she thought better of it, not wanting to cause a scene.
    “Sydney, you look lovely as usual,” Dylan greeted.
    “Thank you.” Not wanting to entertain conversation with him she spoke to the rest of the diners. “Hope everyone enjoys dinner tonight. Smells like Ida made her famous meatloaf and I personally can’t wait to dig in.”
    “Everything looks lovely, Sydney,” Peter one of their on-again, off-again boarders replied. He was one of their older guests who lived up North but would come down to visit several weeks at a time to be close to his adult children and his grandkids. Not wanting to be a burden on his loved ones, he chose to stay at the boarding house when he visited. Sydney also suspected he continued to come because he had a thing for Ida, but her friend didn’t seem to return his interest.
    Two of her boarders were two college kids, Mikhail and Katrina from the Ukraine, who were in the United States for a summer work program. Their English wasn’t very strong so they rarely participated in dinner conversation. Her last guest, Darlene Sullivan, preferred to take her meals in her room. She didn’t socialize with the other guests, Ida or Sydney unless she was making demands. So it was surprising that she was at the table. Thankfully she sat on the opposite side of the table from Sydney which blunted the strong scent of a perfume that Darlene used way too liberally.
    And then there was John Chandler.
    Sydney could feel his gaze on her as she took her seat. Though she couldn’t visually confirm it, she could feel it. She didn’t understand why she suddenly felt self-conscious under his watchful stare.
    As she fixed her plate, her usually dexterous grip became clumsy, causing her to nearly knock her glass over and fumble the serving dish. Dylan grabbed the tray from her and proceeded to finish the task for her. In most circumstances she would have been annoyed, but she couldn’t shake that fluttering feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach as she wondered what John must have been thinking when he looked at her.
    “You should be more careful, Sydney,” Dylan interrupted her thoughts. “Lucky for you I’m here or there would be a big mess.”
    Sydney rolled her eyes. “Gee, I don’t know how I got along without you all this time you’ve been away.”
    He leaned close enough for her to feel his breath against her ear. It took every ounce of willpower not to flinch away because Sydney was absolutely sure Ida was watching. “We need