Page 37 of Mistletoe in the Mafia

It’s not a competition but it’s genuinely amusing to see her working so hard to be better than me. I don’t mind, though. I’m down for anything that brings out that fire in her eyes.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Madelyn says to me once Joshua ends the meeting twenty minutes later.

“As expected, it was a waste of my time.”

She shakes her head with a sigh. “You have no joy.”

Everyone immediately heads over to the small table in the room where donuts of every flavor have been placed. I curl my lips in distaste as I watch them fawning over the different kinds. Madelyn practically weeps when she spots a cinnamon one.

I shake my head once before starting to walk out of the room. My steps fall to a stop, however, when that fucker Kenneth approaches Madelyn. She bites into her donut as she looks up at him, listening to whatever the fuck he has to say.

I stare at them both for only a couple seconds later before leaving. I will eventually have to deal with Kenneth. Let’s just hope I don’t have to use drastic methods to do so.

After work, I drive to a café in the middle of the city. It’s a popular spot and was intentionally picked for that reason. I navigate through the crowd until I’m inside the restaurant.

I find the person I’m looking for in less than five seconds. Her platinum blonde hair is a dead giveaway. She gets to her feet when I reach her and I allow her to pull me into a hug.

“I can’t believe we haven’t seen each other in two months,” Camila says against my neck.

She releases me and I smile before taking the seat opposite her. “We’re both busy people, cousin.”

“Yes, but still. I miss my baby cousin.”

I roll my eyes at that. She’s been calling me that since we were younger despite us only been two years apart. She and I grew up together. Marco Vitelli might be a slimy piece of shit, but he was kind enough to raise both Camila and I. We both lost our parents when we were young. Camila was his niece, so he might not have had much of a choice with her, but I wasn’t directly related to him.

She’s my cousin on her mother’s side, and her mother was married to Marco’s brother. It’s all pretty fucking complicated but the point is, Marco’s not my uncle. Every member of my family is dead apart from Camila.

“So, what have you been up to?” Camila asks excitedly.

I shrug. “Just the usual stuff.”

She makes a face. “We’ve talked about this, Dom. I’m family. You can tell me anything.”

I stare at her for a couple of moments, my eyes meeting her brown ones. Then I sigh. She’s right. If I can’t trust her, then I can’t trust anyone.

“I found her,” I finally say.

Camila doesn’t even need to ask me to clarify who I’m talking about. It’s a testament to how hard I was searching for Madelyn that she immediately knows that it’s her. Her eyes grow wide and she places a hand over her mouth.

“Oh my god. I can’t tell if it’s a good or a bad thing that you found her,” my cousin states.

“The jury’s still out on that one,” I mutter.

“You’re playing with fire, Dom. Just be careful, okay.”

“You know I always am.”

She’s still frowning, her brows furrowed. “Is she the reason you joined the FBI? What’s the relationship between you two?”

“We’re.. friends.”

“Seriously?” she asks, disbelief gracing her features.

“No. Not seriously,” I admit. “Every day I struggle between wanting to throw her onto a bed and claim every inch of her, and also stay the fuck away and never go near her again. Friendship is more of a temporary compromise.”

Camila’s lips part. “Oh, okay. I see the situation’s already a clusterfuck.”

“Tell me about it.” I smirk. “But enough about me. What’s going on with you?”

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