Page 76 of Taking His Heart

I blink but return the gesture. “CJ,” I say. “Not sure what you’re thanking me for, though.”

“For stepping between my niece and a bullet. Not too many people would do that,” the guy says.

Then another uncle steps up. “I’m Vin, the cool uncle, also the one she likes the most. If you break her heart, I’ll cut yours out of your chest and send it to your father,” he says.

I smile at the threat. “I’m not going to break her heart,” I tell him. “It’s nice to meet you, but Daniella did tell me that her favorite uncle was… Shit, who was it, babe? Uncle Gabe?”

Daniella smiles and goes along with my lie. “That was supposed to stay between us.”

“Shit, sorry. Guess the cat is out of the bag now, huh?” I add.

“Well, what can I say? My niece has impeccable taste. I’m Gabe.” A third man extends a hand towards me.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Okay, this is bullshit. Daniella, clearly, you were not in your right mind when you said that. There is no way Gabe is cooler than me,” her Uncle Vin says.

“Not cooler, no. But just… less grouchy.” This comes from Rosie.

“Fine. Willow, I’m still your number one, right?” Vin turns to a younger De Bellis sitting at the table.

“Always, Uncle Vin,” the girl replies with a big smile.

“I’m Marcel. Welcome to the family,” the last of her uncles introduces himself.

“Thank you.”

“Okay, let me introduce you to the rest.” Daniella takes me closer to the table. “Aunt Daisy, Aunt Zoe, Aunt Aria. Then that’s Ares—you met him—and his sister Cara.” She points to a girl sitting next to Ares. “Then there is Luciano, Christian, and Willow. They belong to uncle Gabe and Aunt Daisy.” Moving along the table, Daniella keeps pointing. “Roman and Kirra, those two belong to Uncle Santo and Aunt Aria.”

There is a lot of fucking family here. I don’t tell her I already knew the faces and names of every single one of them. Instead, I nod politely.

“Okay, sit down and tell us all about this impromptu wedding of yours,” Daisy says.

“There’s not much to tell. We decided we wanted to be married so we made it happen,” Daniella explains.

“Just like that.”

“Wait… What was that story, Daniella? The one Mum tells us about how Uncle Gabe and Aunt Daisy were married an entire year before anyone knew?” Aurelio asks.

“Oh, yeah, I remember that. Mum was pissed about not knowing her best friend was married to her brother-in-law,” Daniella says.

“I knew,” Vin chimes in. “Cool uncle and all.”

“That was different,” Daisy insists. “He was… away.”

Away being jail. Daniella’s Uncle Gabe did a year in prison back in the day. His hands are pretty clean now. He handles the family’s more legitimate businesses. But I’m sure it wasn’t an easy time, being locked up and not being able to see your wife.

The thought of being kept away from Daniella now has me holding her hand under the table tighter. She turns to look at me. She leans over until her mouth is next to my ear. “You okay?”

“Mhmm,” I mutter.

“So, Uncle G is really okay with this? How’d you get that to happen?” Luciano asks.

“He likes CJ.” Daniella shrugs.

“He tolerates me,” I correct her. “He just knows I will do anything to protect her.”

“How long are we on lockdown for?” The question comes from Cara.