Page 102 of Cassio (Belles & Mobsters 3)

“Hmmm.”

“Do you like the ring?”

She glanced down to it, as if she wasn’t aware she was fidgeting with it.

“I do,” she replied. “Though to be honest, I’m not much for rings.”

It didn’t surprise me to hear it. Especially since she did field work. Jewelry hindered fighting. The five-carat diamond was set in antique settings that belonged to my nonna.

“You’ll have to wear the wedding ring,” I told her. “Tattoo offer still stands.”

Her soft chuckle filled the car. “I will.” Silence filled the car and before she even opened her mouth, I knew she had a question. “Hunter?”

“Hmmm.”

“Did you set up Margaret to get pregnant?”

Fuck!

“I set her up to be invited to a masquerade party she had been wanting to attend,” I finally told her. “Of course, I couldn’t guarantee the pregnancy. But I was going to use her inappropriate behavior to corner Jack.”

She didn’t like it. “That’s fucked up.”

“I never said I was an honorable man.”

Her delicate eyebrows creased. “Yet, somehow you saved me.”

I remained silent for a while, and I wondered if this was her pissed off mood.

“Don’t do it again,” she finally broke the silence. I nodded. “And you should apologize to her.”

“You do know she did worse things than just that?”

“I don’t care, Cassio,” she said, her teeth slightly clenched. I also noted she switched from Hunter to Cassio. She was mad. “Her life, her choices. It is different when she is set up. And she’s family.”

ChapterThirty-Three

ÁINE

Inarrowed my eyes on him, waiting for an answer. Yet, he seemed untroubled by his admission. I refused to let anyone, man or woman, take advantage, hurt or manipulate people I cared about. No matter how damn hot they were.

“Cassio?” I said through clenched teeth. Each second that he didn’t answer added another notch to my anger. Yeah, this gene I got from Jack Callahan alright.

“I like it better when you call me Hunter.”

I blinked confused.Wait. What?

I didn’t realize I switched from Hunter to Cassio, but that hardly seemed to be the point right now. After a tense stretch of time, he gave me a fleeting glance.

“I won’t do it again to your family and friends,” he agreed.

With a small exhale, the tightness in my chest eased. It wasn’t a big argument, but it gave me a glimpse of how we would work. We had chemistry, but marriage was a lot more than chemistry and this conversation gave me hope.Hope for us.

“Why do you want to rush the wedding?” I asked him out of nowhere.

He swiftly switched lanes before throwing me another look. “I thought it was clear. Two years is a long time to wait for someone.”

“We could date,” I proposed. Though, waiting wasn’t really thrilling for me either. But something about spending your wedding day that was prepared with someone else in mind didn’t sit well with me.

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