Page 113 of Vows of a Mobster
“It makes you wonder about the point of a marriage,” Marissa muttered.
“It sure does,” I agreed. “But then, my grandparents were happy together. And they were married for a long time.”
“Is that your dad in the pictures?” Antonio asked me, tilting his head to one of the framed photos with my birth dad and me on his boat.
“That’s my real dad,” I explained. “My mother left my real dad when I was five and we moved with my other dad to California. My real dad died a few years later.”
“It’s confusing when you call them both dad, Brie,” Marissa added.
I shrugged my one shoulder. “I guess, but both were really good men.”
“Your dad was from this area?” Mateo asked.
“Yes, he was born in Boston. So was I.” I stifled a yawn. “Aren’t you all tired?”
Marissa kept glancing at her phone. “No, I’m not. It’s barely eight.”
Daphne and I rolled our eyes. We both knew that look; she’d be hooking up with someone tonight. I wanted to go to bed with Mateo. Maybe watch another episode ofThe Blacklist. I put my hand on his thigh, loving the feel of his muscles under my palm.
He leaned closer, his hot breath in my ear, and whispered low so only I could hear him. “Careful, Bellissima. I might drag you upstairs and bend you over the bed.”
We locked eyes, and his gaze reflected the desire that I felt. He groaned and added in a whisper, “Let’s go upstairs.”
Just as I was going to tell everyone I was going to bed, Daphne beat me to it.
“I’m going to take a shower. And then I’m off to bed. It’s been a long day.”
I couldn’t agree more. “I’m right behind you,” I murmured, giving Mateo’s thigh another squeeze before I stood up.
“I’m going to do a quick errand and will be back later,” Marissa announced as she stood up.
“I’ll go over a few details with Antonio and I’ll be right up.” Mateo leaned over and pressed a kiss on my cheek.
Daphne, Marissa, and I exited the kitchen when Marissa nudged us towards the front porch.
“That’s not the way to my bedroom,” I murmured.
“We need to talk,” Marissa whispered softly.
The moment we stepped outside, the cool summer breeze hit me. I just wanted to take a moment and enjoy the silence of the night and the cool breeze on my skin.
“Who are you hooking up with, Mar?” Daphne asked her curiously.
“Declan,” she murmured low. My eyes snapped to her, while Daphne gasped in shock.
“You wouldn’t!” she exclaimed in a low voice.
“When Mateo took me out for dinner, there was a guy named Declan.” I wasn’t sure why we were whispering.
“Seriously?” Marissa had an appalling look on her face. “And Mateo didn’t kill him?”
“Those two hate each other,” Daphne added.
“It was tense,” I spoke softly. “Why do they hate each other?”
“Declan is part of Irish mafia,” Marissa explained in a whisper. “He is pretty much the head of it, although his father is still around and is the official head of their family.”
“Are you serious?” I couldn’t believe it. Besides the little that Marissa and Daphne told me, I never noticed any organized crime around Boston or even heard about it in the news. Although now that she said he was part of the Irish mafia, I could see it in Declan. He portrayed the same kind of ruthless vibe as Mateo. “Why would you meet him then?”
