He cast a sidelong glance at Nico and saw the corners of her lip twitch, curl, and then rise. Finally, she began to chuckle. That got the girls to snicker. Soon they were all laughing until their breath and their stomachs couldn’t withstand any more.
When the laughter finally subsided, his nieces ran over and hugged Nico.
“It would have been a shame to lose you after we just became friends,” said Sofia.
“Most definitely,” agreed Beatrice.
Then they rushed over to Rocco, throwing their arms around him.
“You saved Nico’s life, Uncle Rocco,” Sofia cried.
“You’re a hero,” echoed Beatrice.
“Yes, thank you,” Nico muttered.
When he met her gaze, she looked away.
“Wait a minute,” Sofia said, looking up at him. “You said her name. I heard you.”
Beatrice disengaged herself and stared up at him as well. “I heard you too.”
“How did you know her name?” Sofia asked.
“Yeah,” Beatrice said, “we didn’t tell you.”
“Yeah, well,” he said, “we know each other.”
“How?” they both asked in unison.
He hesitated. You couldn’t say one thing around these girls and expect it to be kept quiet or forgotten. They had minds like steel traps. And they were never bashful about releasing those traps and spewing things that at best were awkward or uncomfortable and at worst downright damning.
He heard her voice and felt himself cringe at what might come next.
“Your uncle and I are on the same team.”
They smiled.
Okay, he thought,so far, so good.
“What do you do?” Sofia asked.
“I’m a driver, like him.”
The two girls looked at each other.
Shit.
“You’re the cockroach?”
“What?” Nico cried, glaring at him.
“I never said cockroach.” He looked from her to his nieces. “I never said cockroach. I said encroacher. Actually, I didn’t even say that. I said she was encroaching. Not to mention that was a private conversation with your uncle Dario.”
The girls stood with their hands on their hips. They were glaring at him too. “What’s the difference?” Sofia demanded.
“Yeah,” he heard Nico echo. “I’d like to know that too. What is the difference?”
When he looked over at her, he could see she’d recovered. She was shooting daggers at him.
