Page 36 of Mine to Tease

Gio takes a sip of his drink and moves to stand beside me. “Not well, as you can imagine. But he understood when I explained the predicament his actions put Anastasia in.”

At that, I sigh and take a sip of my own drink. “You mentioned Anastasia?”

Sensing my unease, Gio places his hand on my shoulder. “I had to. He’s a bit unstable if I do say so myself. I think the only thing that keeps his head on semi-straight is his love and devotion to his sister. But at least we can count on that love and devotion to motivate him to resolve this looming conflict quickly. I also took the liberty of warning him of what is likely to come.”

“Good,” I say. “Though, somehow thinking of the lengths he’ll go to protect his sister isn’t as comforting of a notion as I thought it would be.”

“Because you’re worried he’ll throw some of that crazed vindictiveness your way when he learns about you and Anastasia?” I meet Gio’s gaze then. There’s a certain brightness in his eyes that I wasn’t expecting.

“You know I have too much pride to admit that.” I shrug my shoulders with a sly smile. “But you didn’t tell him, did you?”

Gio bursts into a fit of laughter, which is so rare for him that I can’t help but to join in. “Fuck no! I’m not going to be the one to tell Aidan Cross you’re fucking his little sister. He was curious why she was out that late, alone, with you. I came up with a believable excuse to keep him off your scent. But you know you’ll have to tell him eventually.”

“Yeah, I know. Ana and I have already discussed it. We’ll tell him when she’s ready to tell him and not a moment sooner.” Gio nods and his lips draw up into a smile. Again, his actions catch me by surprise. “I thought you’d be angry.” Gio shakes his head and, once more, places his hand on my shoulder.

“Damon, I know you. I know you never would’ve slept with her if you didn’t love her, if you weren’t prepared to honor her and stand by her. I’m happy for you. And I know that this whole thing hasn’t been easy on you. It hasn’t been easy on any of us, but with this, at least one good thing came of it.” He takes a step back then and offers me his hand. I shake it and the sense of pride on his face warms my insides. Gio’s reaction makes all of this even more real.

“Thank you, brother.”

“You’re welcome. Now, go on and get back to her. Things may be different now, but the stakes are higher than ever. And you still have a job to do. As far as Aidan is concerned, you played off the invasion as a random burglary and Anastasia doesn’t know anything about the arrangement. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and let you know if I think we need to pull in extra protection detail for her. But the less people know about her, the less attention she draws, the better.”

“Agreed. The last thing she wants is a large detail like she had in Boston. Plus, if I show her I’m worried, it’ll just worry her more. I want to maintain as much normalcy as I can for her for as long as possible.”

Gio nods. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. You know I’m here for you if you need anything. Don’t hesitate to call. But, unlike your cum stains, I won’t be cleaning up Pomeranian shit, so don’t forget that dog of hers on your way out.”

“Holy fuck,” I curse. I laugh to myself and rub my forehead at the same time. Gio gives me one last pat on the shoulder and I meet his gaze.

“You know, Damon, there is one option for squashing this war that I didn’t mention, because I have enough respect for marriage, for you, than to taint your happiness and your union with this conflict. But…a marriage alliance between you and Anastasia, a top Amato official and a princess of the Irish mob…that might just be our checkmate. But it’s your move to play and yours alone.”

Gio heads back upstairs without waiting for a response, likely because he knows I can’t give him one—at least, not yet. As far as I’m concerned, Anastasia is my family, my wife, mine. And once we tell Aidan, he’ll either try to kill me for it or force us to make it official so that his sister isn’t dishonored. This is why I told Ana that her brother didn’t need to know about us until she’s ready to tell him, because telling her brother is more than just telling her brother. She and I both know it and so does Gio, which is probably another reason why he kept the status of Anastasia and my relationship to himself.

He isn’t wrong. A marriage alliance between Ana and me could be just the thing to end this war, to save my former brothers. Hell, perhaps even save Ana’s. But there’s also no guarantee that it will work, and it could just put a bigger target on Ana’s back because she’d have to reveal herself as Aidan’s sister. That’s a chance I’m just not willing to take. Not to mention, I promised Ana I would never take her choices away from her and I won’t. I won’t force her to marry me and I won’t allow anyone else to play puppet master in her life any longer.

Ana and I will get married. I can feel it in my bones. But it will be on our own terms. It will be for love, not for a public spectacle. I take a deep breath then, resolved with how our meeting went. It seems Gio has handled Aidan, and for now, things between me and Anastasia can progress normally and romantically without any interference. That is, as long as her brother ends this war before someone learns the truth of who she is. All that love and devotion he has for his sister is his greatest weakness. And even though we always operated with a code under Alister’s rule, a code to never hurt an innocent woman, something tells me that won’t stop those working against Aidan now.

* * *

Brinkley in tow, I glance at my watch. I’ve got about thirty to forty-five more minutes before I can expect Ana to wake. So, making good on my promise to the white fluff, I take him on a walk up Royal to the parlor mainly because I want to inspect the repairs Gio and his men did for myself and because Ana will need her purse. To no surprise, I find the parlor in pristine condition. Our clothes are nowhere to be found. No doubt disintegrated into ash along with the bodies of Aidan’s men at our go-to crematorium. There’s no trace that they or even Ana and I were ever here. Even the fireplace is free from soot. Though, just to double-check, I head to my office and make sure the security camera footage has also been wiped and it has. It’s there that I find Ana’s purse with her phone, house keys, and wallet still inside. Normally, Gio wouldn’t have left a single thing behind that could tie back to us, but since it’s my shop and Ana’s purse, it’s an easy enough exception.

Quickly, I wake Ana’s phone to see if she has any missed calls or messages from Aidan, and there’s a text that says he heard there was a break-in at the parlor and he wants to make sure she’s okay. I see he’s going with the story Gio told him, which means so can Ana if she chooses. Of course, it’s also likely she may confront him for lying to her. But I’ll leave that up to her, and we’ll deal with the fallout together.

With twenty minutes to spare, I lock up and place an order for breakfast at the café on the corner near Ana’s and the Compound. My stomach growls as Brinkley and I make our way back down Royal and even more so as I head inside to pick up the order. The sweet smell of syrup from the Cajun-roasted Chicken and Waffles immediately fills my nostrils. It’s quickly followed by the spicy aroma of the blackened Shrimp and Grits. Being so close to the Compound, Café Amelie is one of my favorites in New Orleans and, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I eat here way too often.

“Mr. Dupont,” one of the waitresses says. “I’ve got your order ready right here.” She quickly rings up the ticket. “One order of Chicken and Waffles, one Shrimp and Grits, one Croque Madame Amelie, and one Sausage Bomb. My, you must be hungry today.”

“Well, for once, I’m not eating alone.” I hand her my card with a smile, a smile she returns. Since I don’t think Ana has ever tried this place and I hope to keep her inside all weekend, I ordered all my favorites, enough for at least two days. The Chicken and Waffles and Shrimp and Grits are self-explanatory, but the Croque Madame Amelie is a plate of ham and collard greens with a sunny-side up egg—a Southern classic. And the Sausage Bomb is anything but a round ball of pork. It’s actually a plate of scrambled eggs and biscuits topped with sausage gravy. It looks gross but it’s delicious.

The waitress hands me back my card and, noticing Brinkley, says, “Oh, what a cute puppy.”

“He’s the Devil in disguise. Don’t let him fool you.” She laughs and hands me a large paper bag filled to the brim. With that, the Devil and I are on our way back home. Home—that sounds nice, almost as nice as it feels to finally step back through the door and feel the weight of the day, the weight of this war, slip away.

We’re safe here. No one knows about Ana yet. No one knows about her house. With the security system, no one can enter without my knowing, and we’re within steps of a literal fortress in the Compound. I pinch my eyes closed and take a deep breath. I don’t know what next week or the week after that or even the month after that will bring. But, for right now, we’re safe, we’re happy, we’re on the same page and I’m going to enjoy every second of it.

Quickly, I move to the kitchen and place the food on the counter. Then, I get Brinkley out of his harness just in time for Ana to grace us with her presence. She wipes the sleep from her eyes on the back of her pink pajama set. “Good morning, my love,” I say. Brinkley and I move to greet her at the same time with me picking her up and pulling her in for a tight hug as Brinkley jumps up to lick her toes. She laughs.

“Good morning, my loves,” she replies. I set her down and plant a kiss on her lips, perhaps a bit more intensely than she was expecting this early in the morning. Little does she know, I’ve been up for hours, which means I’ve been missing her for hours. “Oh, my. That was some kiss and this…” She notices the spread on the kitchen island.

“What? Too much?” I ask.

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