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“And I was pissed off.” He shrugged as though it were not a big deal. “Unfortunately, you bore the brunt of that. It wasn’t fair.”
“It wasn’t,” I admitted. “What happened between you and your father?” There was something about all of this that was nagging at the back of my mind. Marco seemed to love his sons. Ivy definitely did. When she looked at them, her face lit up, and the boys doted on their mother in turn.
Eli leaned his head back slightly and stretched his neck. “I’m sure that you understand how mafia politics work.”
I nodded. I knew he was asking a rhetorical question, but I answered anyway. “My father wasn’t as deep in the cartel as yours is in the mob, but I get the general premise. My brother Angel was his heir.” Saying Angel’s name caused a lump in my throat. I don’t think I’d spoken it aloud since I had woken up in the hospital without my memories.
Even now, I couldn’t dream about Angel. His death affected me more than I could even consider.
“I’m not the heir to the organization,” Eli said. There was both relief and bitterness in his voice, and I was curious to hear what brought it all about. I didn’t have to wait too long. “But Luca has not always been the most responsible person.”
Once more, I stayed silent. I didn’t know Luca very well. His sister, Fiona, reminded me of the girls I’d grown up with—beautiful but cutthroat—and while his girlfriend was nice, we also had not spent any time together since that first meal.
“And because Luca can’t always be trusted, I’m left to be the responsible one.” Eli ran a hand through his hair, and I could tell that he was getting frustrated just thinking about it. “That’s what my father and I often fight about. I want to be able to be my own person, outside of the organization, and he’s determined to make me a clone of himself.”
I swallowed heavily. I’d never been responsible. Unlike Eli, my family never expected anything of me. That used to make me so angry, even though it was likely justified, but now, I wondered if I got off easily.
“You don’t want to be part of the mafia?”
Eli snorted. “No,” he said, his eyes intense. “I don’t.”
I wanted to press further, but Eli was already pressing himself further up. “We should get back to the house,” he said. “I don’t want my parents wondering what happened to the two of us. I texted them about the warehouse, but I don’t know if they’ve seen it. When they go on vacation…” Eli grimaced, and I tried not to giggle as I stood up.
I didn’t say anything as I looked around for my clothes. Eli had opened up, and we’d slept together, but that did not necessarily mean anything. This could just be a white flag moment, and I told myself that I would be okay with that. Even if I did feel a twinge of pain at the thought.
I grimaced as I slid my top over my messy front. It was going to be really difficult to explain why Eli and I were covered in paint. I prayed that no one would come across us as I tried to scratch some of the color off my skin.
“Do you have everything?” Eli asked.
I turned and nodded, my throat tight as I looked around. It felt silly to be so emotionally invested in what just happened. It wasn’t like me. But the more I learned about Eli, the more I realized there was part of him I could relate to.
His presence made me feel less alone.
“Hey?” Eli’s strong fingers reached out once more and smoothed the space between my eyes. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing,” I said, not wanting to share any more of myself with him.
His dark eyes were filled with something I couldn’t explain. He tipped my face to meet his and leaned down sweetly to press his lips against my own. “I appreciated the art lesson.”
The words made me laugh. Eli hadn’t declared himself. Not even close. But there was a levity between us, and I wasn’t in the mood to question it too much. “Want another lesson tomorrow?” My brows waggled, and this time Eli chuckled.
“I think I’m going to need a lot of lessons.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
The paint on my skin was itching the shit out of me, but even that bit of discomfort couldn’t ruin my good mood.
It wasn’t just the sex that made me smile widely either. Holding Carla in my arms, talking to her, it felt good. Really good. I couldn’t remember the last time I could just—be.
“Hey.” Carla squeezed my fingers, stopping me before we got to the front door. When we got out of the car, I’d taken her hand, not thinking too much about it. The compulsion to touch her was overwhelming. “I don’t want your family to know about…” She trailed off, using her free hand to gesture between us.
The idea to tease her popped into my head, but I ignored it when I saw the worry in Carla’s eyes.
“I wasn’t planning to announce to my parents that the two of us just had sex,” I deadpanned.
Carla rolled her eyes at me and dropped my hand. “You know what I mean.”
“I can assure you that I don’t.” That was a lie, and it wasn’t the first one that I had told that evening, not that I felt that guilty. Carla had her own secrets, and I’d allowed her to keep them.
