Page 20 of Taming Nikki

I only spoke again once the men left. “Frankie, my cousins have some spare trunks in the house if you wanted to join us. Otherwise, I suggest pulling out one of those umbrellas or you’re going to melt.”

He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and it was sweltering hot today. He glanced between me and the house before he shrugged and jogged inside. He joined us not long later, hovering near the edge until I called Gemma over and secretly told her to shove him in. He relaxed after that and chatted with Amara while Gemma hung off his back in the pool.

I could only handle sitting outside the pool for so long. I had no idea how Bianca and Valeria did it, baking themselves on the chairs for hours. I dove into the water, sticking near the bottom until I reached the other end and doubled back. I resurfaced behind Amara and splashed her before I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, hanging on her like Gemma did Frankie.

“So, Frankie. What’s the real reason your cousin sent you out here?”

He frowned. “No idea. He said he was bringing me along because I needed to learn more, but I ain’t learning shit out here.”

Gemma snickered, and he flushed, remembering he was supposed to watch his mouth around the girls. He shot me a sheepish look, and I winked at him.

“I won’t tell if you won’t. Did he say what you’d be learning?”

He shook his head as he spun in a circle to keep Gemma entertained while we talked. He seemed like an honest enough kid. I didn’t feel like he was lying, but I did feel like he was out here for a reason. It didn’t make sense that Leo would bring him just to hang out, not unless he was on the fence about me and hoped to keep Amara and Frankie on the back burner, which was not going to happen. He wanted war, he was going to get it. And that meant my sisters weren't part of his little game with Papa.

“Do you think he’s a buffer like Papa asked me and Gemma to be for you?”

I frowned and released her so I could look her in the face. “Wait. What?”

She nodded quickly. “He called us in his office and asked us to keep you calm since Leo was coming over. I had already been on my way to check on you anyway, so I agreed to keep him happy.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line and tried to mask my emotions from the kids. That asshole was using my little sisters against me to try and make me act the way he wanted for Leo. Amara dropped her gaze and tugged at a strand of her hair.

“Are you mad?”

I sighed and pulled her into a hug. “No, honey. At least, not at you. I just need to figure out how to get my gun back from Leo before I deal with them.” She gasped, her eyes worried, and I chuckled. “I’m kidding.” Maybe.

“Why do you hate Leo so much?” Frankie questioned. Gemma still clung to him like a barnacle. There wasn’t a shy bone in that girl’s body.

“You mean other than him forcing me to marry him?”

His eyes went wide. “Wait, really?”

I scrunched my nose. “Vitale really likes to keep you in the dark, doesn’t he?”

Frankie scowled. His focus shifted, and his eyes darted back and forth. “Does that mean Amara and I aren’t getting married?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know what they’re planning, but I’m going to say no. Not if I have something to say about it.”

A hurt expression flashed across his face before he could mask it, and I felt a little guilty. “It’s not that I don’t like you, Frankie. If you and Amara hang out, fall in love, and want to get married when you’re older, then I’ll back you one hundred percent. But you shouldn’t be forced to get married so two cranky assholes can make deals with each other.”

Frankie and Amara flushed and shifted away from one another. I did my best not to laugh. I still felt bad for dragging them into the drama. I changed the subject by starting a game of Marco Polo that dragged on until we were all starving and made our way inside.

We all stood in the kitchen, snacking on fruit while we chatted about nothing. Frankie was a good kid, and I could see him and Amara being friends. They were both a little on the awkward side, but they liked a lot of the same things. Didn’t mean they had to get married, though.

Viola appeared not long after and shrieked at the girls for snacking so close to supper time. She sent them up to change while ignoring me completely. It was how we dealt with each other. We pretended the other didn’t exist. She only spoke to me when she was yelling about something. She bustled around the kitchen and scowled at me when I hoisted myself onto the end of the island. Frankie disappeared for a bit to change and when it was just the two of us, the tension was palpable, so I mostly played with my phone.

I was grateful when the kids came back and sat at the island so they could be close to me and chat. I was so used to Viola pretending I didn’t exist, I didn’t respond when she spoke to me until Amara nudged me and pointed at her. I frowned and twisted to look at her.

“Your papa tells me you’re getting married,” she repeated through clenched teeth. I rolled my eyes.

“My papa is mistaken.”

She sucked her teeth and returned her focus to the food. “You can’t avoid it forever. Did you have a date in mind?”

“Yep. Between the days of never and not going to happen.”

She tipped her head back, probably counting to keep her patience. The kids watched, enthralled, as I kept dismissing her attempts to start wedding talk with me.

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