Page 78 of Satin Empire

“Yeah, true, but let’s hang out here a little bit longer.” She snags my cigar, takes a puff, and makes a disgusted face. “This is awful. Do you seriously like it?”

“I seriously like it.” I snatch it back and kiss her. “Twenty minutes then home. You need sleep, and I need you all to myself for at least a half hour.”

She sighs and pretends to look aggrieved. “You really can’t keep your hands to yourself, can you?”

“I really can’t. Are you complaining?”

“Only a little bit.”

I kiss her and hug her close before we head back into the house and the light and my family’s laughter.

Chapter 41

Alana

I wrap my coat tight around my body as I walk slowly toward the parking lot. My head’s still on the paper I just handed in, the very last paper of my first semester. It’s winter break now, and I have no clue how I did in any of my classes, but I feel both exhausted and satisfied, and I’m already looking forward to getting back on campus. I wave at a couple of friends I met in Bio 101 before spotting Carlo’s truck waiting at the curb.

I climb in and he gives me a quick kiss. “Well? You good?”

“All good,” I say, beaming proudly. “I did it. I made it through. I have no clue what my GPA’s going to look like, but I definitely didn’t fail out.”

“Please, baby, we both know you got straight As.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only one that thinks so, but I appreciate the confidence.” I rub his shoulder and lean my head back against the seat, smiling to myself. Carlo has been nothing but supportive this whole time, and even though there were a few jealousy hiccups, I have to admit that he did remarkably well. Nobody got punched or murdered, which is a big win in my books.

He steers the truck away from campus, but instead of heading toward the house, he’s driving south. I give him a questioning look and he just shrugs a little, trying to mask a smile and not doing a great job.

“I wanted to show you something,” he says.

“Is that something in a big-ass warehouse?”

“Maybe.” He waggles his eyebrows at me. “Want to find out?”

I stretch my legs and groan like a cat. “I suspect I have no other choice. This is a kidnapping.”

“It’s a good kidnapping.” He pats my thigh. “A happy kidnapping.”

“It’s terrifying but if anyone knows all the different kinds of kidnappings, it’s probably you.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m intimately familiar with the kidnapping types.”

We keep our banter going on the drive down Broad, past the stadiums, and into Club Vice’s parking lot. There are more cars than I expected, which is confusing, since the place shouldn’t be open yet. And I’m pretty sure I recognize a few of the vehicles.

“What’s going on?” I ask, twisting to glare at him. “What did you do?”

“First, it was Maddie’s idea, and second, you’re welcome.” He leans in and kisses me. “We’re proud of you and they wanted to celebrate.”

“Carlo, I told you, it’s just the first semester. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Whatever. You want to skip out and go home? I’ll tell everyone you got a stomach bug, just say the word.”

I rub my temples. I don’t really want them imagining me spewing from both ends, which is the only reason I hop out of the truck and stomp over to the front door.

Carlo catches up and steers me through. As soon as we step into the club’s main room, a roar of applause and congratulations rains down on me, and even though I really didn’t want this attention, I have to admit that it feels pretty good.

A little body comes tearing through the crowd and slams into my legs. I laugh and pull Niccolo up into a tight hug. “Hey, little guy, I guess Mom roped you into this.”

“Oh my gosh, this place is so cool, did you see the steps and all the windows, oh my gosh! Carlo, your club is amazing, I love it in here!!” Niccolo’s enthusiasm is overwhelming and he wriggles from my arms and races back into the crowd, probably joining the other Rossi kids.

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