Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
It pains me to ask the next question, but I have to. "So is there someone Sergio would rather you… marry?"
Ricco sighs and shakes his head. "Eventually, yeah. He's only giving me time because Martina died, and I had to take care of Marco. But when he makes his decision, it will be final, and it will almost surely be to someone that will benefit the family."
My heart falls. "And I… don't, do I?"
Ricco reaches for my hand and squeezes it. "In a way, you do. In my family we have rules that pre-date any of this. And the rules state that a married man is one of the most powerful in the group. Marriage alone will put me in a better position.”
"And if you get married…"
"It strengthens my family again."
"But it's, like, a better decision if you marry someone who's mafia-affiliated?" I hate the thought of him with another woman. I hate the thought that I’m not enough for his family.
"Yeah. An ally is best, a rival family is always a possibility depending on how things are going at the time, but almost certainly a neutral family will be considered."
"Right." My throat feels tight, but he shakes his head, grabs me, and yanks me onto his lap so that I'm facing him.
"Good thing we're not flying coach," I quip.
"Is that another comment about your weight?" he asks sternly, reminding me about his promise to spank my ass for mentioning that.
"No, just the seat space," I lie. Of course it was a comment about my weight. But I know better than to say that out loud. "If we were flying coach, I'd be wedged in the seat on top of you for the rest of our lives."
He smiles. "Nice try.” He sobers. “I want you to understand something, Dani. I married once for my family. I gave up a position of leadership for my family." He frames my face with his hands. "I am not giving you up for my family."
I lean in and kiss him. "I appreciate that," I say as politely as I can, hoping against hope that this doesn’t mean he’s going to run afoul of his brothers in some catastrophic way. I can feel him grin against my mouth when I kiss him again.
Behind me, there's a sharp cry. I look up quickly to see if Emmy is alright, but she's fast asleep, leaning on Penny’s arm. Marco, however, is beginning to cry. I climb off Ricco, and he stands up, walking across to Marco.
"You okay, buddy?" he asks gently. And there I go again, melting into a puddle of Dani-goo when my stern gangster guy morphs into daddy mode. So cute. So hot. My feminine instincts scream, this one.
"My ears hurt," Marco says. Ricco reaches for a bottle of juice and opens it up. "Here, drink."
Macro frowns. "I don't like apple juice."
"That's all we have," Ricco says with a grimace, because both of us are aware that even super-powered mobsters can't make a toddler drink or eat anything he says he hates.
"You have to swallow, buddy," Ricco tries. "If you don't, it's gonna hurt your ears." He offers him a lollipop, but Marco shakes his head, tears streaking his cheeks.
I open Emmy’s bag. "I was saving this special treat, but I think that you deserve this for being such a brave boy for your daddy."
I pull out a package of licorice, the red kind that's in twists. "Twist it into a bracelet, slide it onto your wrist, and then, when your ears hurt, you chew it and swallow it. Like this."
A few minutes later, Marco is happily sitting, chomping on his candy and swallowing, no more complaints about his ears hurting.
Once Marco’s calm and sleeping, I sit back down with Ricco.
“Thanks for that.”
I yawn widely. “Of course.”
In silence, he puts an arm around my shoulders. Nestled against him, I fall asleep, not rousing until Ricco gently taps my shoulder.
"We're here babe."
I go to Emmy, and Ricco gets Marco. Penny takes both kids once we exit the plane and straps them in the car seats. They're exhausted, so they fall right back to sleep.
I hope I'm doing the right thing. This is my little girl. He’s a dangerous man.
Sarah's words ring in my ears. She doesn't seem to think I’m making a mistake. Jason doesn't either. And they are my most trusted confidants.
The logical side of me says he's not safe.
But Nick was, and look how that turned out.
"I still can't believe you're here with me." Ricco holds my hand.
I think about what he said, about marrying for his family. It's such a different code of ethics and values, it makes me more than a little uneasy. But I don't want that life for him, either. Based on what he's told me, he was faithful to his wife. Maybe he wasn’t in love with her, maybe they were just friends like he said. But it definitely seems as if he was good to her.