Page 19 of Assistant to the Mafia

Lucy grabbed at her seatbelt, eyes widening with worry. “Is she okay? You have to help her, Daddy! Miss Grace is really nice, and she does a lot for Uncle Dante!”

Romeo reached out and settled his hand on her head, lightly ruffling her hair. “She’s okay, Lucy. Don’t worry. I’m just trying to keep her that way, because I agree.”

Lucy reached up and pulled on his arm, so he allowed her to tug it down and hold it between her smaller hands. She stared at him intently. “Daddy. I want Miss Grace to be okay. But I have a question.”

He smiled. “Better ask it quick, princess. You’re almost at school.”

She frowned a little and gripped tighter to his wrist. “Are you getting married, too?”

Romeo choked.

“Is Miss Grace going to be my mommy now?”

He turned his head and coughed into his fist to keep from cursing. Lucia had had a difficult time adjusting to two new women joining the family and suddenly occupying her favorite uncles’ attention at family gatherings. She was young, so he wasn’t surprised it’d been hard for her. But he really hadn’t been prepared for her to make that leap.

He was less prepared for the way his brain latched on to the suggestion and ran with it like it was the baton at a fucking relay race.

A vision of Grace in white, sparkling lace with a decorated veil trailing out behind her and a teary-eyed smile hit him straight in the chest. Goddamn…

“Daddy!” Lucia shook his arm, dragging out the word dramatically.

Romeo cleared his throat and looked back at her as the SUV pulled up at the curb. “No, Lucy,” he said. “I don’t have any plans on getting married right now.” He told himself it wasn’t a lie. It shouldn’t have been a lie, for damn sure.

Lucia scrutinized him for a long second, as if reading his mind. Then she released his arm and nodded. “Okay, I suppose. You can’t do that without telling me first, anyway.” She started fumbling with her seatbelt and mumbled, “I wouldn’t mind a mommy, though.”

Something sharp lanced through him, and Romeo pulled her from her seat as soon as she was free, hauling her into a tight hug. “I know, princess.” He kissed the top of her head. “You know I love you more than the whole world, right?”

Lucy curled her arms around his neck. “Of course I know, Daddy.” She held still for all of five seconds, then started squirming. “You’re gonna make me late!”

He sighed and popped open the door, stepping from the SUV before setting her on her feet. When he was sure she had her backpack and her lunch box, and that her coat was properly fastened, he tipped up her chin and said, “Have a good day at school and be nice to the teachers, okay? It’ll probably be Enrico who picks you up today, unless Grandma’s free.”

Lucy smiled wide. “I’ll see you after school! Bye Daddy, bye Uncle Mo!” She twisted and sprinted for the main building as if half the ground weren’t covered in ice.

Romeo leaned back against the car and watched, as he always did, until she was out of sight. A mommy, huh? Fuck. He supposed it made sense she’d start wanting a motherly influence eventually, especially with more women entering their lives. He only wished he’d been prepared for that gut-punch.

Or the visual he still hadn’t shaken from his head as he climbed back into the SUV. “Home, Mo.”

Mo glanced over his shoulder. “Home, sir?”

Romeo sighed and let his head fall back, eyes closing. “Gotta get my ass chewed.” If he was lucky, he’d catch a five-minute nap on the way. He wondered if Grace was awake yet, and briefly considered having Mo make a detour. But that was just a stalling tactic. He had better coffee supplies in his kitchen than half the cafés in the city, and at barely eight in the morning, the lines at even the worst one would be intolerable.

Memories from the night before drifted through his mind as silence filled the vehicle. The anger and fear he’d felt at the idea of Grace being in danger, the relief at her survival, and the passion that had consumed him when she’d surrendered to his touch. Fucking asked for it.

She was divine. Her softness, the sweet taste of her, the tightness of her pussy, the way her tits jiggled when he pounded into her—absolute perfection. He wanted to tie her up in silk ribbon and fuck her until she begged him to stop. Red was a classic, and she’d definitely look amazing in it, but he wanted her in black. It would be goddamn sinful.

Mo cleared his throat. “You, uh, gonna be okay, Rome?”

Romeo blew out a breath and pried open his eyes. Probably he should have made an effort to keep his thoughts elsewhere for the past few minutes. “Debatable,” he replied, his voice a little too rough. He reached for the clip on the seatbelt as Mo cut the engine. “I’ll live, at least. Go kick up your feet until I text you.”

“Sure thing.” Under most any circumstance, Mo wouldn’t even have wasted the breath in offering to step between Romeo and the atypical, grumpy-looking early morning visitor. As much because it was his job as because they were arguably just as close as brothers. But Mo was a smart man, with a respectable sense of self-preservation, and men with those kinds of instincts did not step into Dante’s path on purpose.

That forced Romeo to question some things about himself as he walked up to his eldest brother—his only older biological sibling. “Kinda thought you’d have Iris with you this morning.”

Dante tucked his phone away and met Romeo’s gaze. “Coffee’s one of those smells she still has trouble with.”

Romeo couldn’t stop himself from dropping his gaze to the store-bought beverage in Dante’s other hand before promptly letting them inside, out of the cold. He’d need something at least as strong as coffee for this conversation. “Are you two fighting?”

“Fuck you.” Dante shut the door behind them and even allowed Romeo to lead the way through his own home. “Our brewer’s been locked down all fucking winter, doesn’t mean I’m not drinking any when I know I have time to brush my teeth again after.”

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