Page 56 of Assistant to the Mafia

Romeo gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Why would she? You haven’t been close in years. She called me—her fiancé. I’m taking care of her.”

“F-fiancé?” Cait nearly screeched the word. “You can’t be getting married while I’m getting divorced! It’s not right!”

Grace lifted her head again, staring up at her sister. She saw Dante’s frown in her peripheral vision, but she couldn’t help herself. “Again?” There was a reason her sister had two different surnames. It was ironic probably, considering Cait was a divorce attorney.

Cait drew her shoulders up. “Yes. Again. It’s a long, obnoxious story and I don’t want to get into it. That’s the real reason I came out here, okay? I thought I’d crash with you for a while.”

“No.” The word was out of her before the fear even fully processed.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“Caitlin,” Dante said. “My office is not the place for your personal problems. You’ve caused enough drama today. In light of the fact that we will soon be family, I would prefer not to involve security in your removal—but I will.”

Cait frowned up at him briefly. “I’m trying to figure out where to go, all right? My suitcases are in my car.”

Guilt threatened somewhere in the depths of Grace’s stomach and she averted her eyes, using the distraction of the distant chime of the elevator as an excuse. Except her gaze caught on something else. A beautiful, bright red, potted amaryllis suddenly resting on the far side of her desk.

Romeo… Grace reached up and curled her fingers around the ones he still had on her shoulder, feeling so much more settled. It was arguably stupid. She looked at Cait again. “Go to the airport, Cait. I’m busy and you’re not staying with us.”

“You would just throw me out like that?”

“You have two children to think about,” Grace argued. “Don’t abandon them. Go to Mom and Dad’s if you need to get away.”

Caitlin glanced to the side as two men in scrubs bearing DSI logos on the chests stepped into the room. She shuffled back and huffed. “Fine. I don’t know what I even expected.” With a dismissive flick of her wrist, she scooped up her purse and let herself out. Just like that.

seventeen

Snow Day

“Daddy,” Lucia said quietly, the padded footfalls of her sock-covered feet coming to a stop behind him. “Is she— Is Miss Grace really my mommy now?”

Romeo gave the tea in front of him a gentle stir, left it to steep a bit longer, and turned to face his daughter. Lucia was already in her pajamas, as it was pushing bedtime. This was the first time she’d calmly broached the subject of Grace’s presence in their lives since her tantrum at Dante’s, and he wanted to hold on to that if at all possible. So he crouched down to better meet her hesitant gaze and made sure to also speak quietly and calmly. “Grace will be your stepmom once we’re married,” he said. “But you’re the one who gets to decide whether or not you open up to her enough to make her really your mom, Lucy. And once you give her a chance, then it’s a team effort.”

Lucia frowned, but it didn’t look like the way she bunched up her lips before launching into a fit. The expression was more reflective, and a bit confused.

Romeo reached out and settled a hand on her shoulder. “What I’m saying is, I hope you’ll give her a chance to earn your love. And I believe, if you do, you won’t be disappointed. I wouldn’t bring someone into our lives that I didn’t think would make us happier.”

Her expression shifted flawlessly into a pout. “But you said you wanted to replace me!”

Romeo shifted his weight, dropping his knees to the tile floor in order to pull her closer and make sure she was facing him. “No, Lucy. I would never replace you.” He held both of her shoulders just firmly enough to keep her from running. “Think about Uncle Dante and Uncle Mikey. You know who they are to me?”

The tears in her eyes subsided as she blinked at him. “They’re … your brothers?”

He nodded. “I’m in the middle,” he said. “Dante’s three years older than me, meaning he came first. He had three years being the only child, just like you’ve always been. Then there was me, and about four years later we got stuck with Mikey.” He hoped she saw the laugh in his smile.

“But—”

Romeo shifted his hold to bop his daughter on the nose lightly. “That’s what I’m talking about giving you, princess. Younger siblings to boss around, play with, protect, and always have at your side. Like I have.”

Lucy’s eyes widened dramatically.

“I will always love you, Lucia,” Romeo said. “No matter what happens, that will not change.” He softened his tone again. “I’m just asking you to understand that there are multiple kinds of love in the world, and what I feel for Grace isn’t competing with what I feel for you. Not at all.”

Her lips wobbled and she reached up to press her hands against his chest. “Does it … make you happy, Daddy? Your Miss Grace love?”

“It does.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “Did I make her hate me?”

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