He took two steps, then turned back.
“What?” I asked.
He tipped his hat toward me. “You’ve got cranberry sugar on your cheek.”
“I own a mirror.”
“You’re not near one.”
“You’re not either, and yet the outfit happened.”
He laughed and walked away.
I shoved ice into the next shaker a little too hard.
The thing about Nico trying to become respectable was that he’d become annoying about it. He kept clean books for Bite Me now, and three mornings a week he worked beach safety down the strip in a red lifeguard shirt that should have been illegal on public sand. Miami had given the former collector a whistle and expected him to keep swimmers away from rip currents, jellyfish, and anything too eager to circle tourists.
It was terrifyingly wholesome.
My phone buzzed under the counter.
CARMELA:
Answer FaceTime or I’m telling Baby Jesus you ignore your mother.
My family didn’t believe in subtlety.
I hit accept and propped the phone against a stack of holiday napkins.
My mother’s face filled the screen, framed by blinking lights and the kind of red lipstick she wore when she wanted the world to know she wasn’t accepting questions. Vinny crowded in behind her wearing a sweatshirt that said SANTA’S FAVORITE SECURITY SYSTEM.
“Antonella,” Ma said. “Why is your bar full of people in bathing suits and Santa hats?”
“Because Florida is a cry for help with palm trees.”
Vinny squinted past me. “Where’s Santa Jaws?”
“Do not call my boyfriend Santa Jaws.”
Nico appeared over my shoulder as if summoned by bad judgment.
Vinny pointed at the screen. “Now I see him. You taking care of my sister?”
Nico slid one arm around my waist, warm and steady over the white-trimmed apron. “Yes.”
“Good,” Vinny said. “Because if she gets hurt, I’m showing up with tools and volume.”
“Nobody is weaponizing family airfare,” I said.
Nico’s fingers flexed once at my waist. “I’d expect nothing less.”
Ma sighed dramatically enough to move tinsel somewhere in New Jersey. “I like him. He answers properly.”
Nico went still for half a second.
I reached down and squeezed his hand.
Vinny nodded. “He looks like he can lift appliances and apologize. That’s progress.”
