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We might have had a rocky start, but Sofia and I get along a lot better than we used to. She is one of the few people who understands what’s going on in my head when nobody else seems to.
She was the first one I told about moving to a town on the beach and starting to build a foothold for the Russo mafia in the surrounding area.
Sofia was the only one who understood why Ihadto leave my family behind. I needed to start my own life instead of living in the shadows cast by all three of my older brothers.
“Well, I might have asked Damien why you are such a tight ass all the time. You know, you unsettle him sometimes.”
“It’s better if nobody can anticipate what you’re going to do. It makes them choose their own options with more care. Decisions become wiser. They start to think about all the outcomes of their actions instead of just one.”
She smiles and shakes her head as she pulls out a picture of me with my brothers and sister. “They all love you like crazy, you know? They just don’t know how to relate to you.”
“I know. I just need to do this, for me. I’m not turning my back on the family. “
Sofia crosses the room to pull me into a hug. I stiffen in her embrace, looking down at her. She laughs and hugs me a little tighter before stepping back.
“It’s a hug, Salvatore. Stop acting like it’s the plague coming for you or something.”
She hums to herself as she goes back to the boxes. “You can’t spend your life living for your family and trying to protect them. It’s time that you start living for yourself.”
That’s what I’m trying to do.
* * *
“I still can’t believethat after hours of unpacking, we still didn’t find anything to cook with,” Sofia says as we walk into the restaurant. “I’m going to be ordering the biggest lobster I can. A whole lot of butter to go with it too.”
I laugh and follow behind her. She glances at the littleseat yourselfsign before proceeding to one of the booths in the back.
“What a nice little town,” she says as she slides onto one of the vinyl bench seats. Sofia leans over to grab one of the menus from the little stand at the side of the table. “You know, this whole seat yourself thing would never work in the city.”
“It’s different here. From what Brennan’s said, it’s a good place to get a business going. Cops are dirty. Easily bought. Lots of boats going in and out of the marina every day.”
Sofia glances around the restaurant, taking in the people before looking back at her menu. “You know, Damien thinks that you’ll do well out here but he doesn’t think you’ll be able to blend in with the townies well.”
I chuckle as I grab my own menu and start flipping through it. “I can blend in just fine, thank you very much.”
“Salvatore, you walk into a room and everybody immediately pegs you as the most likely to murder somebody. Your resting bitch face is out of this world.”
A small laugh comes from beside us. Brennan rolls his eyes as Brielle tucks her hands in the pockets of her denim jacket, her smile fading.
“Hey,” Brielle says, nodding slightly at us.
“Brennan,” Sofia says, standing up to bring Brennan into a tight hug. “How are you doing? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
“Pretty good. I heard that you got married and started having kids. How’s that doing for you?”
Sofia smiles and immediately pulls out her phone. I have no doubt that she is showing him every single picture she’s taken over the last several days.
Brielle glances over at me, her gaze connecting with mine before it flits away. She shifts her weight from one side to the other. When she turns, looking back over the door, she tenses. I follow her line of sight, watching as a couple walks in and takes a seat.
As I look over at her, she visibly relaxes and nudges Brennan with her elbow.
“We should get to our own table,” Brielle says softly.
Brennan looks at her and shrugs, pulling Sofia into another hug before stepping away. “I’ll come by to set up the last couple of things before I go.”
“Sounds good,” I say. I lean back into the seat and raise the menu, reading the descriptions of the meals.
“Alright then,” Brielle says, her voice so low I can barely hear the irritation coloring it. She sighs and walks away, Brennan trailing behind her.
