Page 9 of Fragile Union

My eyes glance at the door they’ve just gone through and see both Da and Danny follow the girls out. God, Melissa doesn’t need this stress, she’s pregnant.

I'm anxious as I wait for them to return, every time there's movement by the door, I turn to see if it's them. Finally, Makenna strolls in with a smile on her face, "Your ma's gone to bed, she won't be down for the rest of the evening. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the reception," she tells me.

Mal laughs. "What did you do to her?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing, I didn't get a chance."

I raise a brow. "Huh?"

Romero throws his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his body. "Denis beat you to it?" he asks her.

"Not him..." she says, but turns her attention to the door. I follow her gaze just in time to see Danny smack Melissa's arse. The two of them oblivious to the fact that everyone's staring at them. They're so caught up in each other. They’re in love. It’s something I’ve always wanted. The all-consuming love that’ll bring you to your knees. It wasn't something I grew up around, didn't know if it truly existed. But it was what I craved. Now, I know I'll never get it. That I'll never have the love that my brother feels for his wife. Deep down it hurts. It fucking stings. But I'm married now and there's nothing I can do about it.

"Well if it wasn't Da, who did and what did they do?" Mal asks, pulling my attention from Danny and Melissa.

"She did." Makenna points at Melissa. "Your ma pushed us too far today and Melissa snapped. She has a dislocated shoulder, a broken nose, a busted lip, and she was unconscious."

"Fucking hell," Romero mutters. "Are all the women psychos?"

"Yep," Mal says with a smile, "even our Holly has her moments."

I narrow my eyes at him. "No, I don't."

He grins. "You fucking do. You're more twisted than the rest of them. It's why you and Jade get along so fucking well," he says talking about our cousin. I haven’t seen her in a while, she lives in Chicago with my auntie, uncle, and cousins.

I raise my head and glare at him. "I resent that."

Makenna throws her head back and laughs. "It wasn't you who signed Alessio up to the male porn monthly subscription?"

I bite my lip. Yeah, that was me.

"Or," she continues, "it wasn't you who gave Killian's number out to the priest?"

I close my eyes as Romero's body starts to shake beside me.

“He still calls him now, trying to get him to see the right path.” Makenna continues.

"And wasn't it you who added hair removal cream into Alessio's shower gel?" Dante asks with a smile.

"You told me it was a faulty batch," Alessio fumes his eyes wide as he stares at me. "Those fucking magazines are still coming. You need to get rid of them."

I smile sweetly at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Dante snaps his fingers. "It was you, wasn't it?"

I tilt my head. "What was me?"

"You're the one who changed all Rome's passcodes." He throws his head back and laughs. "Oh, I fucking knew it would be fun having you around. I just didn't know how much fun it would be."

Ah yeah, that was me. He shouldn't have pissed me off.

"Make sure you keep me out of your games," Dante demands.

"Don't piss us off and you'll be fine," Kenna assures him and of course it has the two of them bickering.

I turn to face Romero who's been quiet since he found out I changed his passcodes. He's got a smirk on his face and relief washes through me. "So, you have a vengeful streak?"

"The worst," Danny says as he and Melissa come to sit down at the table. When I face him, I see he has his arm thrown around Melissa's shoulder, like Romero’s is around mine. "One time, she found out I was the one who told Da that she sneaked out of the house and she got grounded. She put laxatives in my coffee, fake tan in my shower gel, and she took all the petrol from my car."

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