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“When Dante choked me with his belt, he listed all the reasons I disappointed him.” I shifted my stance so that I could look up at him. He was at least ten inches taller than me. “What does he want from me? No matter how hard I try to please your brother, he still hates me.”
“Dante is old school.” Stefan stared at the Atlantic Ocean as the waves crashed on the beach. “He raised Angelo and me. We were eleven when our mom died. So Dante stepped up and took over for our dad.”
“That must have been hard for all of you.”
He nodded. “My brother carries the weight of our entire family on his shoulders. He’s been doing it since he was your age. It’s how he’s wired. So don’t take it personally.”
I almost laughed at his suggestion. Everything Dante said and did to me felt personal. Like he lived to make my life miserable. He enjoyed pushing me out of my comfort zone.
“Dante hates me for no reason.” I released a deep sigh. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Stefan leaned forward, using the railing to support himself. “Dante will never tell you this, but he wants a woman like our mom.”
That wasn’t what I expected.
“What was your mom like?”
“She was a fucking saint. The perfect Mafia wife.” Stefan inched closer until our elbows touched. “Dante was in the car with my parents the night our mom died. A bullet meant for my dad. Two inches to the left, and it would have killed Dante.”
I gasped at his confession.
“Dante was sitting right next to her.” He scrubbed a hand across his jaw and groaned. “He had her blood on his face, his clothes, even in his mouth. I remember him coming home from the hospital, still covered in her blood hours later. It was like he didn’t want to wash it off his skin. Like he thought it would make her death permanent. I don’t think he could process she was gone.”
“I can’t imagine what that must have been like for him.”
“Me neither.” He shoved a hand through his black hair to push it off his forehead. “Angelo and I didn’t know our mom the way Dante did. And we didn’t have to see her die in front of us. That kind of trauma sticks with you.”
I nodded. “My mom hasn’t been in my life since high school. She was causing too much trouble for my dad, so he sent her away. But I can’t even fathom seeing her die.”
“Give Dante a break.” He stepped back from the railing. “That’s all I’m sayin’. He’s not a bad guy. Just a little fucked up. But aren’t all of us a little screwed up in our own way?”
“I’m not perfect. Look at what I’ve been doing with you and your brothers for the past few weeks.”
“Liking sex doesn’t make you bad.” He slid his fingers beneath my chin. “You were sheltered for most of your life. And now you’re living. Nothing wrong with that.”
“How are you so calm all the time? Nothing seems to bother you.”
“Someone’s gotta lighten the mood around here.” He laughed. “Angelo is a fucking mad man. Dante is so worried about losing his cool that he forgets to take the stick out of his ass. And Nico… He’s not bad. Just not my favorite person.”
“Because he’s your dad’s bastard?”
He shook his head. “Nah, that’s Dante’s issue with him. Nico tries too hard to make everyone like him. It fucking annoys Angelo and me.”
“I liked Nico from the start.” My chest ached as I thought about Nico and my blossoming feelings for him. “He makes it so easy.”
Stefan snickered. “I think you liked his pretty-boy face and big dick more than his personality.” He tapped me with his elbow. “Admit it. He’s too much of a people pleaser.”
“So am I.”
Why was it so easy to lower my guard with Stefan? I often felt my walls come crumbling down around him.
He was a good listener.
I liked that about him.
Stefan clutched my hip. “You’re still a good girl. Fucking three brothers won’t send you straight to Hell.”
I looked up at him and smiled. “I don’t want to be the girl I used to be. But somewhere in the middle sounds good.”
