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“I don’t want you to go back. I see the person you were trying to show me before, and she’s incredible. Your strength is what really made it sink in. You’re still my mariposa. You’ve just evolved.”
“I’m not. I’m not her anymore.”
“Okay.” He was placating me, but in the aftermath of so much emotion, I didn’t care. I just wanted to sleep for a year. “I’m going to prove myself to you, Mari.”
Stepping around him, I headed for the door. I needed a stiff drink and a fucking nap. “Good luck.”
I didn’t want to believe him. Not when he’d let me down before. But part of me would always want Dominic. So maybe I couldn’t give him my all, but I was willing to watch him try to earn it.
Chapter Twelve
Nate
If someone asked me what I thought a morning in a kingpin’s house would look like, watching Dominic and Greyson bickering at the table while I cooked pancakes for the woman we all wanted wouldn’t have been my answer. It was all so normal, especially if I ignored the insane mansion and the armed guards strolling past the windows every few minutes. It felt like I’d always been there, like I always would be.
The feeling was even stronger when Mari walked into the kitchen, hair flattened on one side from sleeping on it. Clad in nothing but an old men’s T-shirt and a pair of shorts that barely peeked out from under the hem, she looked edible.
“Good morning,” she said, leaning down to kiss Greyson. Again, I couldn’t stop thinking that it was all so easy, so casual. Though I could practically feel the ache from where Dominic sat across the table, eyes burning with jealousy.
“Morning.” Her greeting to him was far more subdued, but he didn’t seem to mind when he returned it.
She padded softly over to me, kissing my cheek before wrapping her arms around my waist. I liked how comfortable she was touching me, like we snuggled every morning over the stove. “What are we making?”
“I am making breakfast,” I clarified, sliding a cup of coffee over to her. I directed her to sit, but I stopped her before she could get far. Greyson said she’d had a rough night and had taken a sleeping pill before dinner was even served. “Is there anything I need to know?”
“About yesterday?”
“About him.” Her little frown was adorable, showing she definitely wasn’t awake yet, so I gave a very quick glance at Dominic. She hummed into her coffee, smiling when she found it exactly the way she wanted. “We’re…working on things?”
That was an understatement, and Mari’s lack of belief he could fix the absolute shitshow he’d caused was beyond noticeable. I handed her the plate and kissed her forehead. “It’ll work out.”
Her smile was shaky at best as she took her seat beside Grey, and I hoped I was right. I didn’t know Dominic very well, but he seemed like the type who wouldn’t give up until he got what he wanted. My only hope was that what he wanted was actually Mari.
I shoved the rest of the pancakes onto a platter and set them in the middle of the table next to the fruit salad and bacon that Greyson had not so subtly suggested.
“No personal service for us?” Dominic joked.
“I think you can handle getting your own fucking pancakes. Besides, she’s special.”
Dominic grumbled something under his breath until Greyson kicked him in the kneecap.
“Thank you for making breakfast.” He sounded like he was swallowing porcupine quills, but I would take it. I figured I wouldn’t like me right now either if I were him.
We made it through breakfast without interruption, talking about the weather, people’s plans for the day, and even dinner. We ribbed one another comfortably, and when I laid my arm over the back of Mari’s chair, she leaned into me like it was nothing. It felt like a dream I didn’t deserve.
That all changed the moment Mari was done. As soon as her fork hit the plate, Greyson and Dominic sat at attention. It was like they could feel the shift in her before it was even complete. I wondered if she realized how in tune they were with one another and with her.
“I’m paying a visit to René Porter today.”
I didn’t know the name, but I did know the look on Mari’s face. Someone was going to die. And because I knew her, I was also positive that they deserved it.
Greyson frowned, peering over his schedule on his phone. “With the wedding and everything, I don’t know if I can go with you.”
Mari waved him off. “I wasn’t planning on bringing you anyway. I need you running interference with O’Bannon.”
Dominic and I winced.
“Honestly, I’d rather take the torture,” Dominic said.
