Page 33 of Married to the Mafia

Her chest warmed in a way that was different, yet felt complimentary, to the sensation further south. “You don’t have to do that.”

He popped open his door. “I’m going to. But this isn’t something I have an eye for, so if you make me make the choice, you’ll end up with something cliché or boring. Your call.”

She imagined sending him alone and watching him come out with a bouquet of bright red roses or whatever prearranged, colorful thing he spotted first. Or maybe he’d go for an all-white look on purpose. She liked color in her flowers, that was one of the few things she knew, and she wasn’t much for a standard rose. Probably because she thought they were so unoriginal. So she sighed and hurried out of the car. If he was going to insist on getting flowers either way, she was only being needlessly stubborn by refusing to go in and make a choice for herself.

Mikey pulled the storefront door open for her and brought his other hand up to the small of her back in a steady, gentle touch.

They got about three feet down the main aisle before a warm feminine voice called out, “Welcome to Snap—oh!”

Brandi glanced toward the speaker, the woman’s odd declaration and clear surprise confusing her. She found a beautiful redhead smiling out at them and moving toward the partition that separated the employee space from the shopping area.

Mikey’s arm curved until his hand rested over Brandi’s hip in a faintly heavier, more possessive touch. “Hi, Iris. You really don’t have to get up on my account, I know my way around.”

Iris?

“Of course I have to get up,” the redhead replied, stepping fully into view and revealing a well-rounded pregnancy belly. “I’m not going to meet my newest sister-in-law from behind a counter.”

Mikey chuckled and guided them forward even as recognition dawned over Brandi.

Holy crap! The redhead was Iris De Salvo. She was the Dragon’s wife. He could have told me! Brandi knew the De Salvos as a family owned at least close to a dozen businesses throughout the county, most of them nestled right in Newark, but she’d never bothered memorizing each and every one. Let alone whether any of them were owned by the wives or what those wives looked like. She wasn’t, to her father’s perpetual disappointment, actually some sort of spy.

Mikey calmly made introductions, confirming what Brandi had only just put together.

Iris smiled and held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry to hear what happened to you recently.”

Brandi shook her hand and told herself to be as unawkward as possible—which of course never worked. “Likewise.” She winced. “I mean, thank you.”

Iris rested her hands over her belly, her smile unwavering. “What kind of flowers do you like?”

They were actually going to talk about that? Brandi glanced around what she could see of the shop and finally said, “I’m not sure. Colorful ones?”

Iris laughed softly. “Well, I think we can help with that.” She motioned further into the store, shifting her gaze to Mikey. “Why don’t you show her the fresh display down there? I promised to minimize my walking, so I can’t go with you.”

Mikey nodded. “Don’t push yourself, sis.” He stepped back and pulled Brandi with him, guiding her in the direction Iris had indicated. They walked right past two rows of potted flowers and a wall of climbing greens, until he rounded a corner and was standing her in front of a display of color. “Look around, tell me what you like.”

Brandi drank it in, her eyes bouncing from shining pinks to dreamy blues to glowing yellows and so many more shades of color and shapes of petals. She didn’t have names for most of them. She let her feet carry her forward, the blended aromas of the flowers’ fragrance like a sweet perfume in the air. Soon she spotted something familiar. A flower she could name, and one she remembered she’d always been drawn to. “This one,” she said as she moved toward it. “The zinnias. These are the ones I’ve always liked.”

Mikey came up behind her, his hands settling on her hips. “You did say you liked color.”

She leaned into him on instinct. “I still don’t understand. Did you actually bring me here to introduce me to your sister-in-law?”

He chuckled low. “That was a perk, but no. I actually brought you here to learn what kind of flowers you like.” His lips brushed over her temple and teased the shell of her ear. “I want you to feel comfortable in the house. It’s yours now, too. I thought if there was something out in the open, visible, that you brought in, maybe it would help.”

Heat pulsed through her from the touch of his lips. Warmth echoed in her chest from his words. “I think I was pretty comfortable earlier.”

He squeezed her hips and lowered his voice until it vibrated her skin. “There are a lot of rooms left to defile, kitten.”

She was already choking on an inappropriate moan when his last word registered in her brain. A confused, indignant sound strangled out of her even as he took a half-step back and she turned to face him. She had no clue what her face was doing, but she managed to keep her voice to hushed hiss. “Kitten?”

He smirked and folded her hand in his. “Well I wasn’t going to use anything with ‘sweet.’ And it suits you.” He tugged her with him back down the walkway.

“How—” She caught sight of another customer browsing an adjacent aisle and lowered her voice. “How does it suit me?” She paused. “The other part I appreciate. I don’t know if I ever would have liked that sort of overly affectionate name, but now…” It would be a long time, probably, before she stopped hearing it in Ralph George’s voice.

Mikey laced his fingers with hers. “If you hate it, I’ll think of something else.”

“I didn’t say I hated it.”

Iris smiled at them as they approached the counter. “Find what you were looking for?”

---