Page 77 of Convenient Mafia Vows

He slides a plate of toast across the counter towards me, and I realize how hungry I am when I take the first bite. “Oh my God,” I manage with my mouth full of buttery bread. “Is there anything better than toast when you’re hungry?”

Kyle tilts his head to one side, pondering the question. “You know, I don’t think there is.”

We both laugh, and I climb onto one of the leather-cushioned chrome stools around the central island. Growing up, even whenour mom was never really present, Mason and I spent most of our time in the kitchen. It was the hub of the family unit. It was small and cramped—a million miles away from Caleb’s pristine kitchen—and there was rarely enough food to fill our tummies. But it was warm. It was where we both felt safe.

I hadn’t thought about feeling warm and safe in Caleb’s streamlined kitchen before, but with Kyle keeping the toast and coffee coming, I finally start to feel comfortable.

“We went out on Caleb’s bike last night,” I kickstart the conversation.

His eyebrows shoot upwards. “He let you on his bike?”

“Even said that I could keep the leathers and helmet.” I lick butter from my fingers and help myself to another slice of toast.

“Wow, what have you done to my brother?” Pink spots appear on his cheeks, and I feel heat rising in my own face when I think of me and Caleb in the elevator.

Has he seen the video footage? Would Caleb show his brother? No. I immediately shake the thought from my brain; Caleb would never share me with anyone.

“Sorry,” he says. “That was a stupid question.”

A heavy silence settles on us. We both know that me being here is just an arrangement to serve a purpose, and that one day, I’ll disappear from their lives as if I never existed. Unless Caleb tells them how he feels about me.

“Do you have a motorcycle too?”

It’s a tough habit to break, this need to fill silences before they become awkward. It’s like there’s a time limit on them, fill themtoo soon, and you just sound needy, but leave it too long, and then anything you say sounds forced. Overthinking is another tough habit to crack.

“No.” The toaster pops, and Kyle retrieves the hot slices. “I was involved in an accident five years ago. It kinda shook my confidence. I’ve never been back on a bike since.” He pushes some more buttered toast my way.

I bite another mouthful of toast; I was hungrier than I realized because I skipped breakfast. I study him closely. No one could mistake the fact that he and Caleb are brothers, but there’s something softer about Kyle, almost as if life has sanded down his edges to make them smoother, less abrasive. Or perhaps Caleb has simply developed a harder exterior. Comes with the territory.

Then I realize what he just said.

“Five years ago?”Shit. “What happened?”

“Long story.” He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing above his shirt collar as if he’s munching on glass. “It was New Year’s. Caleb and I had gone to a club. We got separated, and I met a girl.”

Something cold and slimy slithers down my spine, and I suddenly feel nauseous.

“Something clicked between us.” Kyle’s eyes grow distant. “She was … amazing. Wild. Full of life and energy and laughter. I’d honestly never met anyone like her before.”

His gaze hops my way. Oblivious to the churning in my gut.

He’s describing Sienna. She is all of those things, or at least she was before the accident destroyed her self-esteem.

“It was past midnight. I didn’t want to let her go.” His voice is barely audible above the thud-thud-thud of my heartbeat. “I don’t know. I wasn’t drunk, so it wasn’t that; there was just something about her that I’d never found before. So, when she suggested that we drive out of the city and watch the sunrise, I said yes.”

That’s why they were on the highway. They were going to watch the sunrise together. Sienna never mentioned this before. She never spoke about the guy she was with like she wanted to erase it from her memory completely. I never pushed it because I knew how painful it was for her.

“What happened?” I whisper.

“It’s all a bit fuzzy. There was a truck heading in the opposite direction. The cab was all lit up like a Christmas tree, and we laughed about it. I flashed the headlights. It was New Year. Everyone on the road was buzzing. Then a car came out of nowhere.”

“A car?”

“Heading straight for us. On the wrong side of the road, like it was a game of chicken. It was level with the truck.” His breathing is growing shallow, but I keep my eyes fixed firmly on the half-eaten slice of toast in front of me. “I hit the brakes, but I must’ve hit some black ice because the car swerved across the lanes.” He pauses, wiping tears from his eyes with his thumbs.

I try to wash the toast down with a mouthful of coffee, but it’s hard to swallow. Sienna must’ve been so frightened. They both must’ve been, but I’m struggling to muster any sympathy right now for the man who left my best friend to die in a car wreckage.

“Next thing I knew, Cash and Bash were there, and I was lying in the middle of the road.” He puffs up his cheeks and releases a steady breath, remembering. “They said I called them. No one could get hold of Caleb.”

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