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He doesn't even deserve my response right now.
“Dani, these are my brothers, Sergio and Timeo. We’ll talk later. I need to find out why they came here.”
She doesn’t say another word as I walk away.
Back in the car, Sergio shuts and locks the doors with a furious bang.
Timeo gives me an impish warning smirk. God I’d love to smack it right off his face.
I ignore his look. He’s not the only one pissed off.
"Why the fuck did you two make a scene like that?" I hiss, my temper rising.
"I seriously don't want to die right now," Timeo says. “So, I need you two assholes to keep your tempers in check, because when you get mad, you start speeding, and the next thing you know, we're gonna crash into some fucking delivery truck."
"I'm not crashing into anything," Sergio snaps. "Talk to him. He's good at crashing shit, isn't he?”
"Don't pull that bullshit on me," I say to Sergio.
Timeo shakes his head. "I'm glad the children are safely back at school," he says stoically.
"Me too,” Sergio says. “Interesting, isn't it, Timeo?"
“Serg, don’t pull me into this bullshit. I’ve got my own shit to deal with, you know.”
Sergio shrugs angrily. "Only that this wasn't the preschool Marco went to last week. We moved heaven and earth to save your ass. You fucked up, and we covered everything for you. Every fucking thing. Short of waving a magician’s wand, we arranged everything so that you weren't there that night. You weren't there at the scene of the crime. You weren't at the club when he died, you were magically still in Europe.”
I blow out a breath.
“And then here she is. Some frumpy chick wearing gray sweatpants and there goes your dumbass… dick first, brain second, just like always."
"You fucking asshole," I growl. "You say one more fucking thing about her, Serg, and I’ll kick your fucking ass.”
"See?" Sergio jerks his thumb at me, looking in the rearview mirror at Timeo.
Timeo scratches his nose. "God, you are such a moron, Ricco. That was a test, bro. You, uh, failed."
A test?
"Yeah, I knew that if you cared about her, you’d get pissed if I made fun of her."
Jesus Christ.
Sergio goes stone cold. "Spill. And I mean fucking everything."
I blow out a breath.
It’s time.
"I felt guilty because of what I did. So, I started bringing her shit. Food, groceries, gift cards. Left it anonymously on her porch.”
Sergio narrows his eyes. “Abso-fucking-lutely great. Go on," he says, taking the turns at a dangerous clip.
"Holy fuck, Serg. Did you learn fucking nothing from the accident with Mario?" Timeo scolds him from the back. Years ago, Sergio and Mario were in a massive accident and they both almost died. Ever since then, Sergio typically drives a little safer than this.
I continue. “I wanted to get to know her a little better. So fucking sue me. Unlike some people I know, I married someone because my family expected me to. I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for some hot-ass chick from the farm to just randomly wander into my sex club and start cooking for me, Sergio."
Sergio doesn’t respond. “I felt guilty. It was my fault her husband’s dead. I wanted to bring something back to her. She opened a massage studio. I went in."
"So, you thought it was a good fucking idea to do a demonstration at our club… with her? Fucking brilliant, Ricco. What the actual fuck were you thinking? Don't you know what's at stake here?"
“I do, but I told you, I’m older than you are, and I don’t take fucking orders from you.”
“And you don’t fucking defy me and put everything at risk, either! Maybe if you don’t take orders from me, I don’t fucking try to save your life.”
“Guys, guys,” Timeo says from the back seat. “First, you’re both talking out of your asses. Second, Jesus, Ricco. Third, we did everything to cover your ass, Ricco, you know we did."
I stare out the window. “It isn’t personal. I didn’t set out to fuck any of you over.”
We drive through traffic for a long, silent minute.
"So… what's so special about her?" Sergio asks. "I want to know."
I scrub a hand down my face, not responding at first. "She's nothing like the women in our family. She's nothing like the women we grew up with."
I don’t know how to explain it to them.
How do I tell them that she makes me feel alive? There's a chemistry between us I can't put my finger on. Since the first time she touched me on the massage table, the first time our energies collided… I can already see her… she’s such a good mom to Emmy. Marco needs a mama, too.
"I'm a man with a kid," I say, shaking my head. "I'm not marriageable in our family. In our circles, no woman would wanna be with me."
