Page 12 of The Godfather’s Christmas Twins

"Max made a promise to your mother. A promise he’s as committed to keeping as I am,” Nic reminds me. "To keep you safe, no matter what.”

“You’re the one who’s always been around, not him.” Max had always been in the periphery, in and out of my life as I grew up.

“He’s been around, too, just in a different way. It was his job to keep tabs on Dad.”

I scoff. “It didn’t stop him from marrying me off to Aldo.” A part of me doesn’t forgive Max for that, but oddly, I don’t blame Nic, who would have more power to stop the marriage than Max would have.

Nic’s brow furrows. He studies me like he thinks I’ve lost my mind. “Why would Max have been able to do that? I couldn’t stop it. Why do you think he could?”

I sniff and look out the window. “No reason.”

“I know your marriage was bad, but Aldo is gone, and you have two beautiful children. Surely, they were worth it.”

My jaw clenches so tight it’s amazing my teeth don’t break.

“What is this about, Gia?”

I shrug like it’s nothing. “It just is weird that he made such a promise. What was the point when I had you? It must be annoying to him that he’s always the babysitter when life goes sideways.”

“He doesn’t see it like that.”

“How do you know?”

Nic bites his lower lip as he continues to watch me. I should let the conversation go. I’m revealing too much. “Because his concern matched mine when I called him.”

“It just seems like after all this time, he could be released from a vow he made at seventeen.”

“He cared for your mother just like I did.”

I swallow hard, wondering what else my mother saw in the young man who would grow up to become so entangled in my life. I never knew her. She went missing when I was a baby. At eighteen, both Nic and Max were having to fulfill the vow they made.

“Was that all it was?” I ask before I think better of it.

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe he and my mom were close… you know.”

It takes Nic a moment to get my drift. “Jesus, Gia. We were teenagers. She was in her thirties?—”

“They’re closer in age than you and Bella. A woman married to a sadist like Dad… Surely, she’d seek the comfort of someone kind to her.” It’s what I did. Good God, had my mother slept with Max too?

"Stop." Nic's voice cuts like ice. "Don't you dare suggest anything improper about your mother."

My cheeks burn with guilt. In my irritation, I’m being petty and disrespectful toward my mother. "I didn't mean?—”

"Yes, you did." The edge in his voice makes me flinch. "Your mother was a good woman. The best, Gia. She saved me and Max. She helped us get through school, encouraged us to seek higher education. She’s why I’m a lawyer and Max has his MBA.” He sits back and looks reflective. “It would have been nice if she’d lived to see that.” He glances at me. “She’d be proud of you too.”

I sink deeper into my chair, shame crawling up my throat. "I'm sorry, Nic. I shouldn't have?—”

"No, you shouldn't have." He takes a sharp breath. "Making Max promise to protect you wasn't about anything except ensuring your safety. What if something happened to me? She needed to know you’d still be protected. She knew he had honor, even as a teenager. That he'd keep his word, no matter what."

"It just feels like we're asking too much. Max has his own life in Vegas. His business. His… relationships."

"Since when do you care about Max's relationships?" Nic's tone carries a hint of suspicion.

"I don't." The lie tastes bitter. "But dumping a single mom and two five-year-olds into someone's carefully ordered life isn't exactly a small favor."

Nic tilts his head, studying me yet again. Sometimes, I wonder if he’s trying to learn mind reading. "You and Max used to be close. What changed?"

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