Page 26 of Conall's Reign

My brothers knew I had a slight phobia about food in my penthouse, and they constantly teased me about it. My cupboards were nearly empty because I usually ate downstairs. Since most of my soldiers lived in the building, I made sure we accommodated their needs, including shared spaces like the kitchen. This allowed me to eat at homeandkeep food out of my penthouse.

When I moved my siblings out of my parents’ house, I could only afford one of the worst tenement apartments in Jersey. I hadn’t realized when we moved in that the entire complex was infested with bugs. It was shocking to go from a relatively tidy and well-maintained home to a place where, as a teenager with no prospects, I struggled to feed my siblings daily while trying to combat rodents and cockroaches. I hadn’t known how to clean, but I learned. Having snacks out in the open was something my siblings had never been allowed to do. I quickly discovered that it attracted all kinds of bugs. Since then, I’ve kept food entirely out of my living space.

Now that Francesca had talked about cooking, I realized she might find my pantry restrictions unacceptable. She seemed like the kind of woman who wanted snacks, and I shuddered at the thought of all the crumbs.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

francesca

Paddy jokedwith his brother as he heaved the catered dishes onto the counter and retrieved the dishware. However, alarm bells were already ringing after the comment about Conall not liking food in the apartment. Still, I couldn’t say it was a surprise.

Everything about Conall was orderly, and I couldn’t imagine he would like things like popcorn on the sofa while watching a movie. He would have an aneurysm when I broke out the air popper. I huffed a small laugh, and he gave me a look. Yeah, he’d probably have a coronary. We were going to have some fights about socks on the floor. He was wound a little tight.

That kiss, though. I wanted to be angry about it. Angry about the whole thing, but I couldn’t muster an ounce of regret about the kiss. All along, I had known that the chemistry was there between Conall and me. Now, it had been confirmed. We were going to burn hotter than the sun. Still — I wasn’t going to make this easy. Maybe I could enjoy a few perks … right?

When I had been talking with Theo earlier while Conall was off with his lawyer, she was about to storm over to pick me up. Even after I reassured her that I was okay from the attack at the hospital, she was still beside herself. Theo came across as wild, impulsive, and a little insane, but she was the kindest and most loyal person I had ever met. She had thrown herself into the breach for me. Theo covered up a crime for me for years, moved into a shithole, and stonewalled my brother and hers. I would do anything for her.

“Your brother is going to be furious. You know that, right?” she said. “But he’s going to have a harder time deciding which to be more mad about — the attack at the hospital or Conall telling you that he is going to marry you. Angelo should have been the one to do that,” she reasoned.

Wait until she found out Conall went ahead with the whole wedding without Angelo (or her). If I had to bet, she would be even angrier than Angelo that she missed the wedding. Theo had a few passions in life: her friends and fashion. She always loved an opportunity to dress up, and missing my wedding wouldn’t go over well.

“Italian, huh?” Brody opened another chafing dish, revealing a dish of eggplant parmigiana. “Are you honoring your bride?”

“He’s got to find out what she likes,” Paddy quipped. “And Frankie is Italian. Can’t be all Irish like us.” He winked. “If you were my sister, you’d be content with pizza and Lucky Charms.”

“I do enjoy Italian,” I said. “And pizza. Lucky Charms, not as much.”

“Good. Do you know how much sugar is in those?” Conall wrinkled his nose in disgust. “His body is a temple.” Paddy rolled his eyes. “Our dear brother doesn’t believe in letting processed foods desecrate all…” he waved a hand toward Conall’s torso, “that.”

“The body’s a temple, huh?” I asked, swirling my wine and smirking at Conall. “I bet you’ve never even had a Twinkie.”

The brothers burst into laughter. Conall, predictably, didn’t. His expression barely shifted, although I thought I caught the corner of his mouth wanting to twitch. I was sure of it.

“Twinkies, beer, candy bars—anything that brings joy,” Paddy teased. “None of it is allowed. It’s all chicken breasts and broccoli for our Conall.”

“Gross. That’s the taste of sadness.” I didn’t truly mean it, but I enjoyed how affronted he looked.

“And whiskey,” Brody added, raising his glass.

Conall sighed, slicing into his eggplant parmigiana with the precision of a surgeon. “I drink whiskey because it’s not full of sugar, unlike whatever you two are putting in your bodies.”He pointed at his plate. “And look. I’m eating something other than the taste of sadness.”

“Ah, don’t listen to him, Frankie. Beer is good for you. You’ll loosen him up,” Paddy said with a wink. “Maybe get him to try… I don’t know, a slice of cake someday. Baby steps.”

Dinner with Conall’s brothers was a normal part of an otherwise surreal day. They were loud, boisterous, and entirely unlike their older brother, whose stiff demeanor seemed only to harden as the night progressed.I had grown up with brothers, so I wasn’t put off. Angelo and Remo were similar to Brody and Paddy — equal parts easygoing and rambunctious. Our dinners were always lighthearted and enjoyable once our parents were out of the picture.

I leaned back in my chair, letting their laughter fill the space. For a moment, I could almost forget why I was here—almost. The truth was that I didn’t belong in this room, at this table, or in this life. The rings on my finger felt surreal. I wanted to be home with my best friend in our rundown apartment that we were paying for ourselves with our own money.

Theo and I had worked hard for the tiny hole in the wall. We liked it there, even though the shower dripped and Mr. Lewis next door cooked cabbage every Thursday. I wondered bleakly if Theo would stay there without me.

Conall’s hand landed on my knee, startling me. Meeting his gaze, I could see the question that practically screamed from his pores, but I shook my head. I couldn’t find the words to explain, and he wouldn’t hear them anyway. The man had gotten what he’d wanted. Why would he care that I would have preferred to keep the small life I’d carved out for myself?

My chest tightened as the realization settled over me once again, heavy and suffocating. My things were still back in my apartment—my favorite leggings, books, and the little trinkets I had collected over the years—pieces of a life that now felt so distant. I didn’t want to be here, trapped in a marriage I hadn’t chosen, with a man involved in the mob. I had tried to carve out my niche away from that world. It was stupid of me.

What lingered most for me was how deeply my mother hated this life. Her bitterness towards Angelo, Remo, and me had festeredlike an open wound. My father had been cruel to her, though he hadn’t beaten her as in Conall’s case. Only once had I seen my father strike her. He’d slapped her across the face. She had been spitting venom at him. Whatever it was, it had found its mark. I knew he was an evil man, but the person with the power hadn’t been him in that relationship. Her words cut us all to ribbons—every day.

Funny that my father was such a shit human being. For fuck’s sake, he sold human beings. Treated them like cattle, but it was my mother in the end who wielded her words so effectively that she’d cut my father off at the knees. I always wondered if she’d been in on the trafficking. I wrinkled my nose — if sheapproved. She was such a bitch that she probably did.

My parents had a marriage rooted in hatred and mutual dislike. There was no other model for me during my childhood but theirs. As I grew older, I came to realize that healthy relationships existed. I understood that my mother and father were broken beyond repair, but I feared being locked into a similar situation where I would feel trapped.

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