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My dad was the same. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. At least I don’t have to worry about watching my back and having someone come after my family.
I’m glad that my father was just a low-level thug and not a made man.
“Get in the front,” Nico says as Francesca makes her way to the front door. It’s almost demanding and it sends a shiver down my spine. I do as he says and climb over to get in the front seat, my arm brushing against his.
“I’m glad you’re going to be at the party,” he says, and I blink, looking over at him as I buckle my seatbelt and he pulls out into the road.
“You are?”
“You always watch out for her. Gives me less work to do,” he says, and I swallow, feeling slightly disappointed.
What else would he say? That he wants me to go because he’s secretly in love with me? I feel stupid.
Nico’s quiet the rest of the way home but when I get out of the car after we pull up, he calls my name softly. I freeze and turn.
“You’re a good friend,” he says simply, and I walk inside with the memory of his intense gaze, the way he’d said my name so softly.
I really have it bad.
2
NICO
Ican think of about five things I’d rather be doing (three of them women) that isn’t standing around at Bruno Esposito’s stupid party. It isn’t even really a wiseguy party, just something that Bruno has thrown together for his birthday. I end up not picking up Aurora because Francesca insists on coming early and Aurora has to finish getting ready, so I just take my sister to the mansion. She runs off the second we arrive.
The mansion is huge, probably bigger even than Dante’s. The Espositos are an old family, and Bruno is the next in line. I guess that’s part of the reason that Francesca likes him so much. She’s attracted to power, that’s for sure.
I’m the guy that works for the men in power, and I like it that way. There’s too much responsibility in being a made man. Too many people trying to take what you have. I’m glad I’m under the radar and don’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder at every turn.
Esposito parties have a reputation about being a little wild, and while, sure, that’s exciting, I prefer to do my partying in private. It’s not like I can’t let loose, but part of being under the radar means not drawing attention to yourself. I don’t like being in the public eye because that’s not what I want for my life. I want to just live how I want and not have to worry about looking over my shoulder all the time.
These made men and their heirs, they don’t care what people think of them. They do whatever they want, when they want, and that’s what draws women like my sister to them.
She wants that kind of freedom, the one we’ve never had since we come from the lower-level thugs and drivers. What my sister fails to understand is that isn’t freedom at all – not when people are after what you have. I just want to protect what’s mine.
We couldn’t be more different, but I love Francesca with all my heart and promised my father I’d take care of her.
I sigh, looking around for said little sister, but she’s nowhere to be found. She’s probably off somewhere with Bruno. I’m grateful that Marco’s out of town, because he’s a bit of a hothead.
I’m probably being generous. He’s more like a loose cannon.
Francesca is playing with fire, and she’s bound to get burned, so I’m glad that her much more level-headed best friend is here to help me out.
Just like me and Francesca, Aurora and my little sister are very different, even though they’re both still young and immature.
Opposites attract, I guess.
As I’m scanning the room yet again looking for Francesca, my eyes land on a woman coming down the stairs. Her legs are thick and tanned, leading up to a little white club dress that hugs her generous curves. Her hips are wide and I can’t help licking my lips as I look up at her. Women could be my weakness, if I allowed them to mean anything to me.
I don’t.
They are a liability. An anchor that forces you to stay in one place. A distraction, though that can be both a welcoming quality and a flaw, depending on the occasion. But most of all, they are a weapon that can be used against you. If you take a chance on love, you are giving someone else the power to hurt you, directly or indirectly, and I can’t afford that. Especially as Dante’s security man. I’d be putting both of us at risk.
But just because I’ll never fall in love doesn’t mean that I stay away from them. I love women and they love me, so we have fun together but the stakes are always clear. I like to enjoy a nice pair of legs, ample cleavage, or a wide pair of hips for a night, but that’s as far as it goes. They know not to expect more.
I’ve always been attracted to curves, and this woman has them in spades. Her cleavage spills out of the low-cut top.
As I’m staring, she stumbles, her hair falling down across her face.
