Page 7 of Tilly
Ravenous. Just not for food.
Of course I don’t say that aloud. Instead, I nod my head at the same time my stomach decides to confirm my answer for me.
“Good. Come eat.” He places a hand on my lower back and guides me over to the chair next to his brother.
I glance at Emillio, who just continues to smile at me. “So, big night, huh?”
My eyes widen. Oh my god, do they think…?
I look around the table. All eyes are on me. I can feel my cheeks heating up again.
“Don’t you have something better to be doing?” Antonio asks his brother.
“Me? Nope, nothing better than this,” Emillio responds.
“Find something then,” Antonio grunts.
“Fine. Ruin all my fun.” Emillio pushes up from his chair and shoots another smirk in my direction. “See you around, Little V.” Then he walks out, and as if on cue, the rest of Antonio’s men make excuses to leave. All except Rafe.
The tension in the air is thick and I have no idea what it’s about. I look between Rafe and Antonio, who starts piling a plate with food before he sets it down in front of me. “Eat.”
I narrow my eyes at him. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him where to shove his food. I’m not a dog and I don’t need to be spoken to like one. Something has me thinking better of it—whether it’s my good upbringing or my need to people please, I couldn’t tell you. I shake my head and reel in my composure.
“Thank you,” I mutter as I pick up the cutlery and start with the pancakes.
Chapter Four
My fingers clench around my silverware. The sounds coming out of Tilly’s mouth should be fucking illegal. I glare at Rafe. Wondering how hard it’d be to saw his ears off with a butter knife. He shakes his head and laughs as his eyes flick from the knife in my hand to the scowl on my face.
“So, what you two kids get up to last night?” he asks, directing the question at Tilly.
“Nothing.” Her cheeks pinken and she averts her gaze. “Antonio helped me out of a bind and let me use the guest room.”
“The guest room, huh?” he parrots. “And what bind?”
“None of your fucking business,” I grunt at him.
“I was arrested.” Tilly shrugs. “The thing is, before someone decided to rush in and save the day, those cops had no idea who I was. It seems now they do, which is why my family is currently blowing up my phone.”
“How’d they find out?” I ask.
Tilly shakes her head. “No idea, but Dante says I was charged. So something in the system must’ve sent out a red flag.”
“For what?” Rafe lifts a questioning brow.
“You weren’t charged,” I tell her.
“Maybe.” Tilly chews on her bottom lip. “Either way, my parents know why I was brought in, and to say they’re fuming is an understatement.”
I look at her. “You think they’d really believe that load of BS?”
Tilly snorts. “Not likely. But it’s still not a good look… to have the mayor’s daughter arrested, for anything, let alone… well, you know…” She lifts a single shoulder, clearly too embarrassed to say the word aloud.
“What the fuck did you get arrested for?” Rafe asks again.
“None of your fucking business,” I repeat. A little more forcefully this time.
Tilly doesn’t give him an answer either. I don’t think this is something she wants made public knowledge, and I’m not about to tell anyone her secrets.
