Page 57 of Worth of Waste

Dino’s brow furrowed. “Pardon?”

“You—for Christmas. You being there will be a great gift. Junior was just a newborn last year, and while I doubt he’ll remember this Christmas down the road, it’ll be perfect just to have you there to see him be excited for presents and Santa.”

Dino smiled. “I can do that.”

No matter what, he’d make it happen.

“It’s good to have you back, Dino,” Terrance said from the head of the table.

Even in someone else’s house, the boss sat where he could be at the head of the room.

It was only supposed to be a dinner, that was what Ben had said, but it turned out to be more like a welcoming home party—something he would never want for himself.

“Thank you, boss,” Dino said quickly, grabbing his glass for a hearty gulp of the burning whiskey. If nothing else, the harsh liquor would give him a reason to stay quiet.

“You’ve got a lot to catch up on,” Terrance noted.

“I held the house down,” Theo said three seats down from Dino.

Dino passed his younger brother a glance, but Theo wasn’t even looking at him.

No surprise there.

“Dino still outranks you in the family,” Ben said from his spot, directly across from Dino’s seat. “Don’t forget that, Theo. Take a step back and let your brother pick up where he left off, and you can enjoy a bit less responsibility.”

Ben had said that statement so flippantly, as though it wouldn’t mean much, and Theo should take Dino’s return to their mafia family as a gift of sorts. And yet, the look on Theo’s face said he felt like it was anything but a gift.

Dino understood that well.

Theo was just starting to gain some traction with his new position—he had control of a crew, something he hadn’t been given before. He had likely been making more money, and his new position would have garnered him more respect from the men around him, who he had hated needing to answer to before.

Now, with Dino’s return, Theo would have to take a step back.

He’d be answering to Dino once again.

The slight smile on Ben’s face as he took in Theo’s scowl, said their uncle knew exactly what he’d said, and had meant for it to cause a little friction between the brothers.

God knew there was more than enough of that without Ben adding more to the pile.

“Theo will still have lots to do,” Dino said, focusing on his plate to make sure his uncle didn’t know he had caught onto his manipulative scheme. “And it’ll be easier for me to catch up with him having both hands in the pot now, so to speak.”

Theo cleared his throat down the table, his scowl melting away, though no emotion remained. His mask was perfectly in place—the DeLuca brothers had learned that game well. “Sure, Dino.”

“We’ll see how long that lasts once Dino realizes how much money he has to hand over to you now that you’re doing more than sitting in the corner, Theo,” Ben said, chuckling.

Theo didn’t grace that with a response, and neither did Dino.

Soon, the topic at the dinner changed, moving onto the upcoming holiday and what would be happening for that. An event at the boss’s house—a party on Christmas day. A dinner at the DeLucas on Christmas Eve. The Conti family—Riley, heading his family and the Outfit as the front boss—wanted to throw a New Year’s bash for everyone.

They were innocent enough topics.

Dino stayed out of it all, mostly.

He didn’t care what any of them did for the holidays. He would show up when needed, make face with people and chat if he had to, but he wasn’t going to bother to pretend like he was enjoying himself or that he wanted to be there.

He only had one goal for Christmas—one promise to keep.

He intended to do that for Karen.