Page 106 of Assassin's Obsession

Mira looks at me consideringly and then back at her youngest daughter. "Your friends don't bother us now and it would be hard for them to get here."

"You'll have a car and driver at your disposal going forward." And a security team, but I'll ease them into that over dinner. "The SUV kitted for the scooter will arrive next week."

Mira laughs with disbelief. "Careful, or I'm going to think it's my heart you're trying to win and not my daughter's."

"Sheismy heart." Nothing is too much if it means making her happy. "Taking care of you is an extension of caring for her."

"I'm beginning to see that. Mr. Bianchi was wrong about you, wasn't he?"

"No. I am the man he says I am, but with Candi, I am more."

"Candi isn't the reason you police your mafia friends."

They're not my friends, but I don't correct her. For once, I get the nuance of what she's saying.

"I am only glad I became more than the killer Don Enzo brought me intola famigliato be." I don't believe Mira would ever accept my place in her daughter's life if I was just an assassin.

Severu gave me a purpose I didn't know I needed to be worthy ofla mia amatein her mother's eyes.

Leaving Cookie in her room, Candi and I take Mira to hers across the hall.

"Your room is set up like a mother-in-law suite." She has her own open concept small kitchen, dining area, and sitting room, with a separate bedroom and bathroom.

"It's bigger than our apartment." Candi walks around the sitting room, touching things.

The big screen television mounted on the wall. The lift chair that will make it easier for Mira to get in and out of. The matching couch and armchair for her daughters and friends to use.

"There are no tight angles to make maneuvering her scooter difficult."

Mira disappears into her bedroom and Candi yanks me down to attack my lips with her own.

I don't know what brought this on, but I'm enjoying it too much to stop and ask.

"Eww…get a room, you two!"

At the sound of Cookie's voice, Candi breaks the kiss but doesn’t move away. "You're sure you want an eleven-year-old living with you?"

"I like your sister."

Candi shakes her head, gives me another quick kiss and steps back. "What do you think, Cookie? Can you see yourself living here?"

"If you can talk mom into it." Cookie's expression sobers. "She's worried since the douche—"

"Mom told you not use that word," Candi interrupts her little sister. "I don't think any more highly of my sperm donor than you do, but you need to find a more eleven-year-old friendly way to say it around mom."

Cookie sighs. "Jerk works."

"So does mug and I guarantee he wouldn't like being called either," I tell her.

"Okay, okay, no more of the d-word," Cookie says with a long-suffering eyeroll.

"I'm glad to hear it." Mira comes back into the room.

"Is the bedroom alright?" I ask.

"Yes. In fact, I'm going to take Candi's suggestion to lie down for a while. I'm not really hungry." Her shoulders droop with fatigue and most likely pain. "It has been a long day."

Candi's face falls. "I'm sorry, mom."

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