Page 99 of Sweetest Sin
“Yeah, he was also an abusive POS who used to beat on my mom until she finally left him,” I mutter.
Matteo’s grin disappears. “Shit, I’m sorry. Want me to take him out for you?”
“Bad word, Uncle Matty,” Damien says as I gape at Matteo, shocked that he just offered to take out my sperm donor.
But then a playful smile spreads across his face, and I cackle.
“I’m good, but thank you.”
“All right.” He shrugs. “But if you change your mind, just let me know. I could totally take him out. Speaking of which”—he glances at Dominick—“want to come spar with me down at the gym? I could use some actual competition.” He side-eyes Lorenzo, who shrugs.
“It’s not my fault. I don’t want to ugly up my mug,” Lorenzo says, reverently stroking the sides of his face with his thumb and forefinger. “I’ve got a date with Hillary, and she happens to like my pretty face.”
“That’s because she’s shallow,” Matteo points out. “Of course she only cares about your looks.”
“It’s not like that,” Lorenzo volleys. “And you’re just being a little bitch about her because you saw her first, but she wanted me.”
“Watch your mouth,” Dominick growls at the same time Matteo barks out a laugh.
“Only because she knew you were husband material,” Matteo says, “and she’s looking to be a trophy wife.”
“You’re not husband material?” I ask.
He might be a little rough around the edges and a major jokester, but he’s always so nice to Damien and me.
“My brother is a perpetual bachelor,” Dominick says dryly. “He’d rather jump off a tall building than settle down.”
“That’s just because you haven’t found the right woman,” I tell Matteo, who clearly disagrees based on the look he’s giving me. “Look at Dominick. He had no desire to settle down, and now, he’s working overtime to knock me up and make me his wife.”
It’s meant as a joke—sort of—but Matteo’s eyes bug out.
“What?” he hisses. “You’re trying to have another baby? Are you fucking mad?”
“Language,” Dominick comments.
“A baby?” Damien asks. “I want a baby brother!”
“You guys are ridiculous,” Matteo says, standing and violently pushing his chair in, making Damien jump.
“Were you not raised in the same house as me?” he says to Dominick, sounding more serious than I’ve ever heard him before. “Were you not there when our sister was … hurt? All the times our mom suffered at the hands of our piece-of-shit father? I get that you don’t want to deny your son, and Peyton comes with him, but why would you willingly bring more innocent people into this fucked-up world?”
Matteo glances from Dominick to Lorenzo. “Your mom and dad are dead,” he says to Lorenzo. “Everybody we’ve ever tried to keep safe has been hurt in some way or another. It’s irresponsible and reckless to?—”
“Enough,” Dominick snaps. “The world isn’t perfect, and ours is even less, but you can’t expect us all to live our lives alone.”
He stands and walks over to Matteo, getting in his face, and for a second, I worry they’re about to fight right here, in the dining room, in front of Damien.
“I know Andrey was a piece of crap, but that’s on him, not you. Neither of us ishim, nor will we ever be. You want to live your life alone? Fine. But don’t judge those of us who are trying to find a sliver of light here.”
Dominick shocks me—and I’m sure everyone else—when he pulls his brother into a tight hug. “I love you, Matteo, but you have got to stop blaming yourself for what happened to Brielle and Mom. We did everything we could, but Andrey was a sick bastard who got what was coming to him.”
He pulls back but keeps his hands on his brother’s shoulders. “If you only believe one thing I tell you, believe that you deserve to be loved. My son loves you, I love you …”
“And so do I,” Brielle says, stepping into the dining room.
She’s dressed in yoga pants and a tank with her face makeup-free and her hair up in a loose ponytail—more than likely having just gotten home from the Pilates studio where she attends classes several times a week.
“And I don’t blame either of you for what happened to me,” she adds. “So, stop blaming yourselves. You’ve protected me your entire lives.”
