Total pages in book: 197
Estimated words: 199143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 996(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 996(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Cory had chosen to work under Adriano Conti as a Capo.
Damian was just as proud.
He let his boys grow up to be whatever they wanted—whatever they needed. He didn’t push either of his boys toward the family business, or demanded that they join the Outfit when they were old enough. Each of his sons chose that all on their own.
And they were good at it.
But the two were still like night and day standing next to one another.
“I know Cory would have had more fun maybe,” Damian said to Joe.
“Exactly.”
“But you’re in a position where you could use a bit of education on the rules of other families,” Damian said, shrugging. “And as someone once told me, Joe, comfort zones are reserved for weak men who are afraid to try something new. I want you to succeed—you chose this life, son. Don’t shy away because you prefer to hide away.”
Joe frowned. “I hate it when you do that.”
“I know,” Damian replied smugly.
“How much longer?”
“Actually, we’re almost there.”
Another ten minutes later, and the car was pulling up a long, winding driveway. It wasn’t Damian’s first time visiting the Marcello mansion, but it was Joe’s. Manicured grass and tall trees lined the driveway. Before long, the car pulled to a stop.
Damian and Joe were just getting out of the car when the front door of the mansion swung open. Loud, happy laughter echoed out as several girls piled out of the home in a large group. A couple of them, Damian recognized to be Lucian Marcello’s daughters. The others must have been their friends.
Damian fixed his jacket, waiting for his son to join his side. Joe didn’t come. It was only then that Damian noticed one of the girls was trailing behind the rest of the women.
And Joe was watching her. She was watching him, too.
Well, then ...
Damian cleared his throat.
His son acted like he didn’t hear a thing.
“Joe,” Damian said loudly.
Joe snapped out of it, glancing over his shoulder. “Yeah, Dad?”
The five girls piled into an SUV, and tires squealed on asphalt as they pulled out of the driveway.
“Find something you like?” Damian asked innocently.
“Uh ...”
Damian raised a brow, amused. Unlike his youngest son who toted a different female around depending on what month it was, Joe wasn’t the type. He’d had only a few girlfriends, and he was never very serious with any of them.
“The last one—you were watching her,” Damian said.
Joe spun on his heel, laughing. “So what if I was?”
“Since when do you stare like that?”
“I don’t.”
Exactly.
Joe wanted to know the girl.
Damian could see it. He didn’t need his son to verify his suspicions.
“Leave it alone, Dad,” Joe said, trying not to smile.
“I didn’t say a thing.”
“You’re thinking it.”
“No, I’m thinking that I should give you a heads up,” Damian corrected his son.
“What’s that?”
Damian’s hand landed on Joe’s shoulder, and he turned them both around to face the Marcello mansion. On the doorstep, three men stood side by side, waiting for their guests to come up and greet them.
“That girl, Joe, is Liliana Marcello.”
Joe grimaced.
It couldn’t be fun to find out that someone who had caught your eye was the daughter of a fellow family’s underboss.
“Oh?” Joe asked, sounding far too innocent.
Joe was anything but innocent.
Damian laughed.
“The man on the left end is her father—the other two are her uncles,” Damian added. “She’s a year younger than you. Lucian is intimidating as hell. Don’t let him know you think so, however.”
“Thanks?”
“That’s a start.” Damian patted his son’s back hard. “Best way not to fuck this up, Joe, is not to act like a cafone. That is something you’re incapable of doing. I know because I raised you this way. Do you want to know that girl?”
“Maybe,” Joe said.
He did.
And Damian would make it happen for his son.
Damian nodded at the house. “Start with her father.”
Adriano | Alessa
Crazy and Young
“Ugh,” Alessa grumbled, tossing her bag to the chair. She quickly fell into the same spot with a huff, and a glare. “I am so over this now.”
Adriano chuckled, toed off his boots, and bent down in front of his wife. He put his hands to her knees, and offered her a smile that wasn’t returned. “It’s almost over.”
“I am nine days overdue, Adriano. This is never going to end.”
“You’re being dramatic.”
Alessa pouted. “So? I’m a whale.”
“Lissa.”
“I am!”
Adriano’s fingertips tightened on his wife’s thighs. “You are not. You’re beautiful.”
And it constantly drove him crazy.
Adriano was beginning to think he was a little crazy what with the way his wife’s pregnancy turned him on like it did. Was that normal? To be hot for your wife just because she was carrying your child?
He didn’t know, but he was.
“She’s going to come when she comes,” Adriano said.
Alessa’s mouth popped open and her eyes widened.
He instantly realized his mistake.
She had been adamant about not knowing the baby’s gender if she could help it. Adriano, being his usual self, had sneaked a look in the file after an ultrasound when the tech’s back was turned. He wanted to know what his first child would be.