Page 89 of Married into the Mob
It had taken months for my mate to recover from the trauma she’d caused him. The person who was always on his side, who he thought loved him unconditionally, had ripped off the bandaid and revealed what was really in her heart.
We stopped going to work for weeks while we processed the events that led to us meeting. The hatred that had festered in her led Louisa to destroy her family.
Matt and Tony, having experienced family betrayals, helped Dellie. The three of them met twice a week and talked through their experiences. It was their private therapy sessions, and my mate always returned home rejuvenated.
But not wanting thoughts of Louisa to ruin the day, I pushed them away and admired Dad’s porch and doorway festooned with balloons, streamers, and a huge sign that read, “Happy Birthday, Brielle.”
As usual, Dad had gone all out, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“Uncle Dellie, can I play with Brielle?” Lottie met us on the porch. Little Allegra, Matt and Ranger’s daughter who was a few months older than Brielle, toddled out.
“Me too,” chorused Storm and Kendric.
Brielle kicked her legs and squealed, and I put her down. She charged into the house with the others following.
“She’s a leader,” Odell noted.
“Mmmm.” I tucked my arm in my mate’s, and we walked inside and everyone greeted us.
Uncle Arnie and Treyton introduced us to Madd. Arnie must have been pushing him to make the move here because Madd said he was looking for a job. He was an IT guy, and Flint had told him he might have a job for him. Matt’s IT guy who’d helped him in his undercover work had worked for us for a while, but his dad got sick and he moved back to his hometown.
“My head!” Flint mimed a hammer pounding onto his skull as the kids yelled and raced in and out of the room.
“Stop.” Tony slapped his mate’s shoulder. “He’s kidding,” he told everyone.
“I might be, but my wolf wants noise-canceling headphones.”
Everyone laughed.
The food was laid out on a long table buffet style, and everyone got a plate. Trying to get the kids to eat more than a mouthful before they squirmed and wanted to play with their cousins was a monumental task.
Dad shrugged. “They’ll eventually get tired and hungry.”
Uncle Arnie brought out the cake, coated in pink, yellow, and blue buttercream frosting. He’d decorated it with edible roses like the ones at our wedding.
“I asked Uncle to bake it with honey and wildberries because that was what we ate the night I cooked for us in the forest.”
Odell clasped my face with both hands and kissed me. “I love that, thank you.”
“Can we corral your daughter long enough to blow out the candles and cut the cake?” Ranger asked.
Dad always put an additional candle on a birthday cake as a look toward the year ahead and a wish that only good things would happen.
Odell caught Brielle as she stormed past. “My darling girl, look what Uncle Arnie made you.”
Brielle’s eyes grew wide as Dad lit both candles.
My mate said he needed a video for us and also to send to Uncle Stan, and Treyton snapped one. Stan had been to our home for meals, and we’d invited him tonight, but he said he preferred the quiet life. I suspected he refused because he would be intimidated by my family. Just like with our wedding, he asked for a slice of cake. And lots of pics.
We all sang Happy Birthday, the kids in their parents’ arms, straining to swipe a fingerful of frosting.
I stood beside my mate, and we leaned forward to help our daughter blow out both her candles.
“On three. One, two?—”
“Whoa, who jumped the gun?” Matt asked.
“Not me.” I glanced at my mate.
