Page 197 of The Enforcer
Brianna looked back to him and winced. “Quite a bit.”
“Enough to keep me in the style I’m accustomed to?” Tino asked as he rolled off the couch like Brianna had and stood with a wide smile. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck. “Enough to buy me everything on my Christmas list and make me a happy man?”
Tino smacked Brianna’s ass before he walked to the kitchen.
“Gross,” Carina said as he passed, but when his back was to her, she smiled and glanced over her shoulder at him in the kitchen. “You’re in a good mood.”
“Yeah, well, turns out Brianna’s a romantic too,” he called from the kitchen.
Brianna couldn’t help it.
She laughed.
Carina walked over to her and dropped her voice so Tino couldn’t hear. “Is this a good thing?”
Brianna stopped sucking on her Popsicle to give Carina a smile, knowing that the ridiculous amount of happiness she’d been hiding was showing on her face. “Yes,” she whispered. “It’s the best thing in the whole world.”
“Okay.” Carina held up her hands in surrender. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“I’m happy,” Brianna promised her.
Carina turned back to Tino. “And you’re happy?”
Tino leaned against the entrance to the kitchen, his gaze on Brianna. “Yeah.” He smiled. “Very happy.”
“Okay,” Carina decided for all of them. “I told Nonno Brianna was coming with me for Thanksgiving. We’re staying the weekend.”
Tino dropped his head back and looked at the ceiling. “Carina—”
“The puttana’s going to the Brambinos’,” Carina said, because she hadn’t said Mary’s name since Tino got out of the Savios’ basement.
“Is she taking Frankie with her?” Tino was still looking at the ceiling. “I don’t like spending time with him either.”
“Yup.” Carina nodded. “I told Nonno I wasn’t coming if either of them were there. They’re gonna be gone for Christmas too.”
“I have to be with Romeo,” Tino argued. “Nova has to go to the don’s, but no one gives a shit about me. I can’t leave him alone for Thanksgiving. I can’t leave him alone for Christmas either. He was alone for all those years in prison.”
“Come for the lights,” Carina urged. “I want my brother there for the lights. You’ve missed them every year since you started working with Carlo.”
Tino looked to Brianna and smiled again. “I’ll get there for the lights.”
Chapter Forty-Three
So Dyker Heights had this thing.
This totally crazy, wildly insane thing that started because no one should give a bunch of Italians Christmas lights and suggest one couldn’t outdo the others.
The don had crews working on his mansion for months before Thanksgiving.
Months.
Tino had no idea that there were Christmas-light professionals until he’d moved to Dyker Heights, but there were, and they cost a lot.
Tino knew because he heard Nova bitching about the price one time.
These crazy Italiani spent tens of thousands of dollars on their Christmas-light displays trying to outdo one another, and every year it got bigger and more outrageous. It was a wonder Con Ed didn’t just blow a fucking breaker and lose all of Brooklyn off the grid.
Nova had zero patience for it. He thought it was a spoiled, suburban thing, but Tino had always liked the lights, and he didn’t care who was putting them up. The lights were something Tino did with Carina. Give two ADD kids that many Christmas lights, and they’ll stare at that sparkly shit until their eyes hurt.
