AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But why not? It should. We should all be this lucky. We deserve it.”
Mark quirks an eyebrow sardonically. “Do we?”
“Absolutely!” Romano is over exuberant, “Specially you, my friend. Just because you operate on the other side of the law doesn’t mean you’re not a good person.”
Mark grins, “I think that’s exactly what it means,capo.”
“Bullshit. A bunch of man-made rules have nothing to do with what you have in your heart.” He squeezes Mark’s shoulder. “You’re the best man I know.” His voice is so sincere I just have to swallow a lump in my throat. Mark doesn’t seem to know where to look. He might even be blushing a little.
“Shit man, I have a reputation to uphold.”
“Hey you caught me at a sentimental moment.” He flicks a heated glance my way. “I’m feeling all soft and gooey. Help. Stop me.” He grimaces at Mark who laughs and slaps him companionably on the shoulder.
“I’ll do you one better and forget you said any of this. Clean slate tomorrow.”
“Yeah, okay. Deal.”
They grin goofily at each other.
Mark slaps him one on the ass, “Well, what are you waiting for. Go on… get your bride outta here and show her why the girls used to call you gorilla.”
“What?” I gawp at him.
“Mark!” Romano says at the same time, giving him a reproachful glance.
Mark just laughs, waves and goes back to the party.
I turn to Romano, eyebrow raised in inquiry. “Gorilla?”
He waves his hand uncomfortably, “Don’t listen to him. He’s full of shit.”
“Oh yeah? Then why are you blushing?”
“Because y’all are embarrassing. We going or what?”
I sigh dramatically, “Fine. Don’t tell me.”
“Good, I won’t.” he flashes a grin at me and pulls me towards the exit.
I still remember to duck my head as we step into the sunlight, avoiding any cameras that might capture my likeness and clue my family in to where I am. We head for Romano’s Range Rover and drive off. I thought we were heading back to the warehouse but no, Romano takes a different direction.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere only we’ll know.”
I squirm in my seat excitedly. “Ooh, sounds mysterious.”
He grins at me. “I got it from an old friend of mine. It’s a fishing cabin his father used to use. But he was recently bereaved and wanted to get rid of it. I bought it in cash.”
“RIP to your friend’s dad.”
“Yeah, it was just too much of a reminder for him, y’know?”
“Thankfully I don’t. Not just because neither of my parents is dead, but also, I just don’t have that kind of relationship with them. My mother had serious post-partum depression when she had me so my care was shuffled off to my Aunt Ludovica. My mother never really tried to establish that bond with me after that. She once told me that every time she looked at me, she was reminded of that dark time.”
“Wow…that’s cold.”
I nod. “Well, if it’s any consolation, she was quite drunk when she said it.”
