Page 107 of Devious Kingpin
“Irish gangsters.” Priest’s voice shattered the air. “I don’t like Irish gangsters. Or the Irish in general.”
Silence stretched. The pool game forgotten, Juliette let the pool stick fall to the table and she straightened up. I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her close. I didn’t think she’d do anything and Priest would never hurt her, but it was hard to overcome the instinct.
“I’m Irish,” Juliette reminded him softly.
Priest’s lips tugged up. “Not anymore. Now you’re one of us. You’re a DiLustro.”
She tilted her head, studying him. “Okay, but my parents were Irish.” I knew what would come next and so did Priest. Yet, he didn’t try to stop her. “So is your mom. At least partly.” My brother’s jaw clenched and his eyes turned a few shades darker. “My dad—Liam—told me something that stayed with me. Take it or leave it, although I hope you’ll at least think about it.”
Priest’s gaze locked on my wife. It was probably the first time he saw her without her barriers up and constant snarky comments.
“What’s that, Jules?”
It was right then and there, I knew. She was part of us—our family. Nothing and nobody would ever change that.
“He said it didn’t matter what nationality, race, background you were. There are rotten eggs everywhere, but they don’t make the whole batch rotten. Of course, the first time he passed on that little piece of wisdom, we happened to be on an actual farm where I was hunting for actual eggs. The farmer wasn’t happy.”
Laughter followed. Ghosts still lingered—more so around my brother than me—but the promise of the future shone brighter.
* * *
Most of the nights that followed, we found ourselves in the bedroom exploring each other’s bodies. I fucking loved that Juliette was so curious—handcuffs or no. I didn’t mind. She was curious about everything. Sex. My body. Even my work.
Toward the end of the week, we stayed in. My father and Juliette’s aunt came for dinner. Although now that we were all seated around the dining room table, I wished we’d gone to a restaurant.
It was easier to limit the length of the visit when you were in a public place.
My father looked good. Happy. So did Juliette’s aunt, Aisling. It had taken them decades to get to this point. I just hoped it wouldn’t take Juliette and me decades to get to our happily ever after. We were close, I thought. Although, neither one of us had spoken those three little words.
I love you.
I’d loved her for so long, it was part of my every heartbeat. Juliette was a different story though. She kept herself guarded. I could understand it now that I knew what happened to her. She dealt with it on her own, building her walls, and it’d take a while to break them down.
“You look good.” My father sat next to me, smiling. “I’m happy for you.”
I loved him. I really did. But I resented him. It was hard not to. I resented that he was so distant during our life that he never noticed Mother taking her anger out on my little brother. I resented that more than anything. If she wanted to beat the crap out of me—fine. But she’d put Priest through hell and my father had been completely oblivious.
I wasn’t even sure that he’d understand if I told him. Not that I ever would. I’d given my little brother my word.
Juliette must have sensed my tension because her hand came to rest on my thigh, squeezing it gently. She understood. I knew deep down—even without spoken words—that she understood it.
“Thanks.”
“So what have you two been up to?” Aisling asked.
“Just stuff,” Juliette answered, smiling. “We’re just trying to get some kind of routine going.”
“Good, good,” Father said. “Routine is good for the kids.”
My wife froze.
“It’s too soon to talk about children,” I stated calmly. “We just got married and want to have time for us before we decide on kids.”
Tension left Juliette’s shoulders and she sighed a relieved breath.
Aisling chimed in with a wide smile. “You’re right,” she agreed. “Wynter says you’re busy with the school project. I am so excited to see how it turns out. St. Jean d’Arc will be something unique for sure.”
Juliette met my gaze, then returned her attention back to her aunt. “I’m excited too. It will be a huge accomplishment.”
