Page 68 of Sin City Obsession

Or maybe she’d already gotten too used to the oppressive heat of the desert.

“He had a good name,” Rocco said quietly, his tone respectful. His grip tightened. “And from how much you still miss him, I assume he was a good brother. No one can be loved like this without deserving it.”

Her tears burned hotter, but Alessa nodded. “He probably wouldn’t have liked you right away,” she said, her voice cracking terribly. “What with the way you look at me.”

Rocco vibrated with nearly soundless laughter. “If I were a brother, I would probably be the same.”

She could only imagine. She sniffled again and forced herself to straighten.

Rocco offered her a tissue and she chose to assume he’d learned the habit of carrying them from Emanuele.

Slightly composed, Alessa faced the grave marker and said, “I know I don’t come out here often enough … and I can’t promise to fix that. But I have a better reason now.” She blinked away more tears. “Al, this is Rocco Cavallo II. I’m thinking about letting him choose me.”

Rocco chuckled.

She opted to ignore him and continued. “Rocco, this is my idiot big brother, Al. He would probably like to warn you that I have a habit of chasing people away.”

Rocco glanced at her, then looked forward again. “Let me reassure you, then. I don’t mind a good chase.” He flashed her a flirtatious grin before his expression sobered. “I’m sorry we couldn’t meet under better circumstances. Please, entrust her to me.”

Her heart faltered and more tears rolled free.

That ass.She had not at all been prepared for him to say anything like that.

Alessa wrapped her arms around his as they made their way out of the cemetery a few minutes later. She was still trying to pull herself together, but it was as much Rocco’s fault as the fault of her lingering sadness.

He laid a hand over both of hers as they walked. “Thank you for bringing me here, my queen,” he said quietly. “Thank you for trusting me with this.”

She didn’t find her voice until after they had rejoined Emanuele and found a small diner to grab late breakfast in. Her face was a mess, so she made sure to detour to the restroom in an attempt to freshen up somewhat while she had access to a mirror. Because they were going straight from there to her parents, and that was going to be its own chaos.

Emanuele insisted on driving, of course. Even though it was her city. And since Rocco refused to let her sit in the passengerseat, and leave him alone in the back, Emanuele used his phone’s GPS to get them to her parents’ house. Which meant it took nearly ten minutes longer.

Served them both right.

She directed him to park in the driveway as opposed to along the curb, and then her nerves kicked in again. They returned full-force, just as they’d been at the airport not two hours prior. Only this time, she wasn’t worried about a sea of armed men and an angry Dragon. She was worried about dropping in on her parents—with a nice, strong Italian mafia man in tow.

Alessa smoothed her hands down her dress, wondering much too late why she’d opted for this out of all the new clothes she’d finally allowed Rocco to buy her. She hadn’t yet indulged the full all-day shopping spree straight out of a Hollywood romance movie that he seemed to want to take her on, but she’d accepted an afternoon. In her mind, it was more than enough. And she’d picked a very feminine, verynottough-girl-chic dress for the day, thinking the fitted, flirty-but-not-revealing style would help emphasize that she had no intention of working. She had wanted to make that specific statement before her feet even hit the tarmac.

She was pretty sure she’d succeeded.

But she probably should have changed at her apartment.

“You look gorgeous,” Rocco murmured in her ear. “Why are you so nervous?I’mthe one meeting the parents.”

His attempt at a silly joke did make her smile, even though it shouldn’t have. “Do you know how long it’s been since I brought a boy home?” She regretted the question as soon as it left her lips.

Rocco’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me.”

Alessa gave him her best incredulous stare. “I wasfourteen, Rocco. I wasn’t really allowed to be dating, but boys were cute and I was trying to break away from the ‘marry a De Salvo’ mantra I kept hearing. So I basically just picked one and asked him out.” She rolled her eyes at his darkening look. “Don’t even go there. Mom threw a fit, Dad threatened to shoot him, and he treated me like I had the plague the very next day. We barely even held hands.” In hindsight, shewasgrateful for that.

Emanuele chuckled. “Something to look forward to, then.”

Rocco blew out a breath, his expression settled, and he offered her his arm. “Well, let’s not leave them guessing.”

Alessa accepted his arm and walked with him up the drive, then up the gently sloped handicap ramp. Keeping her voice low, she said, “And no, we will not be making out on the porch.”

“I wasn’t thinking about going there,” Rocco said, speaking slowly. “But now that you’ve given me the idea….”

She would have smacked him upside the head, but her mother chose that moment to throw open the front door.

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