Page 94 of Pretty Lies

Yeah.

She knew.

It was just a lot to process.

It might be easier if J was there—because none of this was what Della thought would happen.

“As for the other bit …” Cory glanced back at the house as he trailed off before his attention came right back to her. That grin of his softened into something she wasn’t expecting. “My ma asked, so I can’t not ask you. She knows you might not be in the mood, or whatever, but—”

“Hey, stop rambling.”

Cory quieted all at once and swallowed nervously.

“Just say it,” she told him.

“So, clearly people have been talking about us because people can’t just let adults be adults and all.”

“Cory.”

He laughed. “My ma knows you’re out here—she’s cooking supper and wants you to join us, but she knows you might not be up for it. She’s willing to give you a pass tonight considering the circumstances. She is, however, over the moon because when she asked if I liked you, I said yes.”

Della smiled. “How … simple.”

“Right?”

He grinned, too.

“It’s sweet,” she whispered.

“We don’t have to go in. You don’t have to do this tonight. Okay?”

“Are we really doing this whole thing together now?”

“I guess,” Cory said. “It sure seems like we are, yeah.”

Della let out a weighted exhale—her sadness rattled in the sound. The heaviness didn’t leave her shoulders, though, and she couldn’t quite shake her nerves. “After tonight, everything has to go back to some kind of normal, right? Work. Luis. Business. Without my brother.”

“Nothing stops and waits, no.”

“Then if I don’t get a choice in that, I’d really like to choose something about tonight. I would love to meet your family, Cory.”

That grin came back. “Yeah?”

“They won’t make things sad, right?”

“Not our style.”

Della nodded. “Then, yeah, let’s do it.”

“My dad’s on his way home. Apparently, my brother, his wife, and their baby are coming as well. My sister has a shoe fetish—she’ll want to know everything about the boots on your feet—so be warned.”

He pulled the car door open while she laughed. Already, they were off to a good start. Nothing he told her proved to be a lie, either.

His mother met her with a hug and smile. She let Lily Rossi play twenty questions, slyly prying in a way only a mom could, while she helped to finish supper. His father never said a word about business though she knew he had to know everything going on around them considering his place in the Outfit. She got to hold the baby; babies and puppies could make anyone smile. His little sister managed to make sure someone was going to buy her the same boots Della owned as a gift for her upcoming birthday.

For a little while, she wasn’t sad. The Rossi house came to life.

Reality always waited to catch up.