“Can I give Tuna some of the whipped cream?” Char asked.
“Sure,” Alara said, nodding toward the back of the store, then waiting for me to follow her. “Did I overreact?”
“No. I’m glad you called. But the kid is working a picture-taking hustle.”
“That’s a thing?”
“He’s making more than a lot of adults. So, if you see him around taking pictures with two phones, he’s not being shady. He’s… saving up for his future down payment.”
“Well, hey, you have to respect entrepreneurial spirit.”
“He’s gonna put two-thirds of it away. Still leaving him with a shit ton of money.”
“It’s an expensive city,” she said with a shrug. “And I bet he will spoil his sister with books.”
“Yeah, he’s a good brother.”
“If it’s good news, why don’t you look happy?”
“I’m not… unhappy. Just a little worried what it says about me as a guardian that he was pulling this off under my nose.”
“He’s seventeen. If he wants to get away with something, he’s gonna get away with it.”
“He is clearly trying to prove he has the drive to be an earner.”
“You don’t want him to join the organization?”
“I think every parental figure wants something different for the younger generation. Something easier.”
“Yeah, but if there was ever a good time to join the mob, it would be with Lorenzo in charge and such a close family making it stable.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Of course I’m not. I’m the Costa Family historian, remember?”
“That’s a fancy title for a glorified stalker,” I teased.
“An… avid observer.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to feel less like a creep.”
To that, her lips twitched.
But quickly flattened.
Like she just remembered she was supposed to be annoyed with me.
“Alara…”
“Don’t soft-voice me,” she said, her face twisting up.
“I just wanted to explain—”
“Charlotte!” she said, whipping away from me.
Char’s head popped up from behind the counter. “You are just so good with Tuna. I think it’s time you start nagging your uncle about getting you your very own dog.”
“That’s low,” I mumbled under my breath.
