Page 84 of Ruthless Vengeance
“That’s fair,” Lila chuckles as she places a hand on her stomach.
I frown a bit. “How are you feeling?”
There are slight shadows under Lila’s eyes.
She makes a face as she rubs her stomach.
“More tired than usual, and I desperately miss my morning coffee. But other than that, it’s smooth sailing so far.”
Rosa narrows her eyes dramatically. “You’re definitely having another girl.”
Lila smiles. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind having another girl. Though Andre’s already a drama queen, always complaining he’s outnumbered.”
Rosa beams. “He is. And he better get used to it.”
We’re still laughing when the doorbell rings downstairs, and Rosa’s eyes widen.
“Oh, my god, he’s here! Do I look okay?”
I step back to admire the full picture. “You look perfect.”
Lila holds my hand, hand in her mouth like a proud mama. “Yeah. The poor guy’s never going to recover.”
I add a final spritz of hairspray to Rosa’s hair, and then we head out into the hall.
Marco’s voice echoes up to us from the foyer below. “…no drinking. No kissing. And absolutely no funny business in the parking lot.”
Rosa groans as she grabs the skirt of her dress and hurries downstairs.
I peer over the banister to find Marco standing face-to-face with a lanky teenage boy in a wrinkled suit.
The poor kid looks like he might pass out under the weight of Marco’s death glare, so I hurry to follow Rosa down the stairs to intervene before she ends up spending her homecoming in the ER.
Rosa pushes past him. “Marco, you’re scaring him!”
“That’s the point.” Marco’s eyes are still locked on Alex, who looks about ready to faint. “I know how teenage boys can be.”
Rosa scoffs. “You haven’t been a teenager in almost two decades.”
“How old do you think I am?”
Rosa grabs Alex by the arm and starts pulling him out the door, ignoring Marco completely. “We’re going to be late.”
Alex looks to be completely frozen with panic.
Marco still has his eyes locked on Alex. “I have Enzo chaperoning you, and I’ve got five more men stationed outsidethe venue. Try anything stupid, and you’ll be explaining yourself to me.”
“Go,” I mouth to Alex, and he nods, his hair falling in his eyes.
Rosa quickly yanks on his arm, and they hurry down the front steps toward the car.
“You so much as blink in the wrong direction, I’ll know about it!” Marco calls out.
“Buzzkill!” Rosa yells over her shoulder.
“I’d rather be a buzzkill than have a dead sister!”
I move to his side and reach for his hand as we watch Rosa and Alex climb into the backseat of the black limousine.
