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“Just?” Scotty mumbled.
I got their food out and waved it at him. “Shut up.” Crap. I turned to Maggie to make sure she knew I was joking, but she didn’t seem mad.
She was grinning ear to ear. “I love this so much.”
Scotty rolled his eyes just as there was one loud knock on my door. “You get lost in there, Mag?”
“Thank God, more testosterone.” Scotty didn’t mumble his relief.
I braced for Sal to walk in, intimidated by him without even knowing him because of the way Scotty described him. He was a powerful man, and in my experience, there weren’t too many good ones.
The guys mumbled something to each other at the door, and I’d just set the last bowl down for the cats when I looked up to see The Hulk. Except he wasn’t green, it was olive. He had thick, black hair, dark, intense eyes, and a wide, shiny gold band on his left ring finger that screamed I’m in love with my wife.
“Paris, this is Sal. Sal, Paris.” Scotty tossed his arm over my shoulder as Sal approached.
I tilted my head back, and he smiled. “Ciao bello.” He leaned in, and when I tensed, so did Scotty. Sal halted his movement and put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Good to meet you, Paris.”
Why was I such an idiot? “You, too.”
“Darling, look at all these kitties. Aren’t they beautiful?”
Sal glanced down at them as they were eating and did a crap job at hiding his dislike for cats. “Uh, yeah, sure.”
I giggled. “It’s okay. Scotty doesn’t like them either.”
He gasped dramatically. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to say anything.”
“Whatever. I’m hungry.”
“Me, too. Let’s get something to eat.” Sal agreed and held out his hand.
Maggie intertwined their fingers. “I saw this cute little diner on the way in. I bet their food is delicious. The mom-and-pop places always are.”
“Yeah, it’s awesome. We’ll meet you there.”
“Nonsense,” Sal boomed. “I’ll drive.”
Scotty didn’t protest, and without words, we followed them out to Sal’s big black SUV. It looked like something the Secret Service drove. “Us girls will sit in the back and gab.” Maggie reached for the back door when Sal opened the front for her.
“Whatever.” He pulled the back one open and helped her up, and Scotty walked around to do the same for me on the other side. Before I knew it, we were pulling onto the road, and Maggie talked nonstop.
Even though she was sweet, I was glad she didn’t let me get a word in. Bitter fear coated the back of my throat so I wouldn’t be able to speak, even if I wanted to. My short-lived happiness was about to be ripped away when they figured out how disliked I was by the town I grew up in.
CHAPTER 12
Scotty
I didn’t think about asking Paris if she was okay with going to the Pig, but as I helped her out of the Escalade, I realized I should have. “Hey, are you okay?” I asked, crowding her at the back and out of earshot of my parents.
“Yep,” she deadpanned, and then lied. “I’m totally fine.”
Something changed in the ride over here. I loved seeing her with a spark of confidence, but that was long gone. “We don’t have to do this.”
“I want to. Come on.” She plastered on a fake smile, and I kicked myself in the ass for not noticing how tightly strung she was earlier.
She was supposed to be safe with me, and I put her in a situation where she was not only uneasy but also felt trapped. She wanted to make a good impression, so she probably felt obligated to do whatever my mom wanted. Shit… I really messed up. “I’ll make sure we get out of here quickly, okay?”
