Page 50 of Mafia Wedding

"—-but you two will just have to bear with it for now," Thomas finished perseveringly. "You'll know each other's real names soon enough, anyway. For now, let's, ah, spice things up by keeping your identities a secret. Deal?"

Not a peep from either of them, but Thomas didn't let this put him off.

"Surprises aren't really a good idea for people like us, I get that. So yes, I know I'm asking a lot, and if you're wondering why I'm so convinced you guys can make it work—-"

"I'm not."

Kayra's assertion was a welcomed surprise, but why did Thomas suddenly have a bad feeling about this?

"A blind date between two cold-blooded killers makes perfect sense—-"

Thomas bit back a sigh. Knew it!

"And it's also the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that can only occur to another cold-blooded killer."

The older man was back to questioning himself by the time Kayra finished speaking. Was he really doing God's work here? Or if he was, then perhaps he had misheard God's command, and what the Lord had tried to impress upon his heart was to simply help Kayra find a friend...and not a boyfriend.

The girl typically avoided talking to or even talking around strangers as much as she could help it, and so while it was great that this blind date had engaged enough of Kayra's interest to be somewhat sociable—-

It might have been better if Kayra had remained her usual tight-lipped self, since on this rare occasion that she had actually opened her mouth to talk, she had also ended up describing all three of them as killers, and cold-blooded ones as that.

Thomas tried not to ask for any favors from God as a rule, but...would it be alright to pray that Drake could somehow find it in himself to—-

"That almost sounds like a premise for a rom-com, doesn't it?"

—-act like Kayra's words were simply a tongue-in-cheek thing, like the younger man just did?

"It does, actually."

Thomas could hardly believe his ears. Was this truly Kayra enjoying a normal conversation with someone outside her family?

"Any favorites?" Drake asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith," Kayra answered without hesitation.

"I think I've seen that. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie?"

"Correct."

"Good movie."

"I enjoyed watching The Tourist, too."

"I think I'm seeing a pattern here..."

Whoa, now.

Was this what it felt like to witness God's power at work?

Thomas hadn't been the only one to notice Drake's increasingly reckless attitude in the past few months. The man only seemed to come alive when his life was in danger, but here he was sounding like his old charming self as he flirted with Kayra.

"I was hoping you would."

While Kayra sounded rather serious when saying the words, Thomas also knew the girl well enough to recognize her first-ever attempt at flirting back.

"Let's see then," Drake said lazily. "Rom-coms with a couple bloody twists, and the faster the pace, the better...because that's how you think chemistry between two lovers works. It's either there or not...right?"

A second passed.

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