Page 7 of Nico (Belles & Mobsters 2)

I didn’t want this man. I would never want this man.Liar, liar, pants on fire.

“C’mon, Bianca. Sit down.”

Reluctantly, I put my purse on the back of the chair as Nico pulled it out for me.Gentleman and a mobster,I silently scoffed in my head.What a fucking joke!

I murmured my thanks and sat down, avoiding his eyes. It was best not to capture any of his attention. Just get through this lunch, and it’d be over. He’d forget me, and I’d pretend I never met him. Great plan!

Yet I knew there was no chance in hell I’d ever forget this intimidating, overwhelming, good looking man. Tall and handsome, well-built and olive-skinned with a dangerous and intimidating aura. My mind couldn’t comprehend why I found him good looking, he was nothing like William.

William, my husband!

God, I missed him. Despite all the hardships and pain, I still missed him with an ache that felt hollow in my chest. He should have never died so young, robbed of his life that had barely just started.

Instead, here I was sitting with a perfect stranger and a mobster, pretending life was fine, things were normal, and I wasn’t scared out of my mind. Albeit, unbeknownst to me, my life wasn’t normal from the second my mother conceived me. I could pretend all I wanted, but the fact remained, I was the biological daughter of a fucking evil monster.

Taking a deep breath in and then exhaling shakily, I worked to calm my thoughts and my heart rate, then tried to focus on the conversation, but all my senses were completely jumbled.

I have never been one for making small talk, so I just sat there stiffly, watching Nico and his friend while Angie kept talking. I couldn’t pick a word she said; although I did pick up on her flirting with both men.

Glancing at the wall clock, I prayed the service was fast because I couldn’t wait to get out of here.

Painfully aware of Nico Morrelli’s eyes on me, I kept my expression unmoving. Could he see I didn’t belong? Did he know who I was? Or was it something else?

Shifting uncomfortably, I glanced around me. The million dollar view of this country’s Capital with ruthless men having a front seat. What did that tell me? Everything around me screamed money, danger, power. None of it was my world and should have never been my world.

I returned my eyes to our table and noticed both men watching me. I forced a smile. I was so out of my element, not only clothes or situation wise. I had been wrapped up in my home life for the last six years. I was perfectly happy enjoying my little hobby and being a wife.

My childhood has given me a drive to succeed in the motherhood and spouse department. My mother wasn’t given a chance to be a mother nor a wife. Instead, she sacrificed herself to protect me, just as I was trying to do the same now with my girls.

“Bianca?” Angie’s hand on my arm startled me back to now.

“Yes?” My eyes darted between three individuals, my fake smile hurting my cheeks.

“Are you alright?” Her voice was slightly worried. Right! Now she was worried. She should have taken my hint earlier that I didn’t want to be here.

“Yes, yes,” I answered. “Of course. What’s up?”

“Mr. Morrelli and Gabito recommended we try the lobster burger,” she chirped happily, gushing at the two men. “Mr. Morrelli asked if you are ok with it.”

My eyes went to Nico Morrelli. I wondered why Angie kept calling him Mr. Morrelli, and she was already on a first name basis with Gabito. Maybe she could sense the predator lurking under that suit, just like I could. As I stared into Nico’s dark steel gaze, I had the urge to either drown in them or squeeze my eyes shut and pretend I was anywhere but here. Because there was no doubt that this man reeked of ruthlessness. He could destroy me with a snap of his fingers.

The mafia was an unfamiliar world to me, but I knew enough about it to know to stay away. It started with my mother, the stories by my Italian grandmother, and ended with the latest experience with my late husband.

I shook my head. “No, I’ll just have a salad,” I told them. “I’m not that hungry.”

And I can’t afford a lobster burger, I added silently.

“Don’t be silly,” Angie objected. “You look like you are ready to wither away. What have you lost, like twenty pounds since your husband’s funeral?”

Pain pierced through my chest at the reminder of William’s loss. It wasn’t the only reason I lost weight. It was like the entire deck of cards came crumbling down in the span of a few months, destroying all the foundations that my grandmother and dad gave me. It all started with my father’s death, about a year before William’s.

The truths I learned shook me to the core. It turned out I wasn’t who I thought I was. I wasn’t even sure who I was anymore.

My mobster father! Benito King.

He was feared among the criminals, never mind anyone else. The truth was bitter on my tongue. The revelation… better yet, damnation tasted sour, even now. What would have William said if he had known before he died? It was the one secret I kept from him. He didn’t need my cross to bear too. Besides, I couldn’t think of that man as my father. He was just a sperm donor. I had a father, a real father that raised and protected me.

“No,” I responded, my voice slightly trembling. Annoyance at Angie, at this situation, at the secrets I worked hard to forget bubbled up inside me.

---