Page 76 of Taming Nikki

Gemma didn’t want to say, she didn’t want to get in trouble, so Amara stepped in. “He called her a selfish bitch. I’ve never seen her so shocked. It was Papa who let us go.”

I was speechless. Viola had never let the girls come to this lunch thing before. She always had an excuse. It always bothered me. If there was anyone I’d want to spend my birthday with, it was these two, but I never bothered arguing with her. I glanced back at Leo with a frown. Before yesterday, I would’ve been really touched by the gesture. Now I knew better. I wasn’t going to get swept away by his random acts of kindness. He only acted that way to hide his true nature. He was still a domineering asshole.

I shook my head, turning my focus back to my sisters. “Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re here. Did you hear Diego and his team won yesterday? I got to watch the whole thing from the dugout.”

I kept them and myself distracted with stories about the game and plans for the sleepover I promised Gemma when I came home. I didn’t know if I’d be able to convince Leo to let me go back early and he never came over to my table to talk about it. He stayed with Nonna for the most part. She is a real chatty Kathy. If you get trapped in a conversation with her, you’d better be in it for the long haul. I almost peed my pants once because she wouldn’t let me leave until she was finished. I was one of the few in the house who didn’t mind and would sit with her for hours talking and playing cards.

She puttered over at one point, dropping across from me in the booth.

“Girls, go see if your uncle is going to be serving food soon. I’m starving.”

They both nodded and ran off. I frowned. Nonna only sent them away when she wanted to talk to me alone.

“What’s up, Nonna?”

She watched me carefully. “I heard you’ve been having trouble with your fiancé.”

I shook my head. “Nope. Not today, Nonna. I need a fucking break from him.” I tried to push myself to my feet, but her face hardened and she snapped at me.

“Sit down!”

I dropped back into my seat, my jaw falling open. Nonna didn’t yell at me. It wasn’t her style. And she never needed to. She could control an entire room without raising her voice. Who do you think taught Papa to wield that kind of power?

“Now, I know you are a stubborn one and this whole thing goes against your nature, but you’re going to sit here and listen to me until I’m finished.” She didn’t ask for a response. She just waited until I turned completely to face her. Only once she had my full attention and felt like I wouldn’t run did her face soften.

“Cara mia, it’s the way of our world to get married like this. And you couldn’t find a better man. He actually cares, which is more than I could say about your Nonno. He couldn’t be bothered with the affairs of women. If I had told him my mother was being cruel, he’d roll his eyes and tell me to call my sister.” She took my hand, holding it between her own. “That man went to bat for you without a lick of hesitation. He and your papa got into it about him calling Viola a bitch. It looked like there was war on the horizon. He cares, amore.”

I shook my head. “No, he doesn’t. He’s got you fooled, like he had me fooled time and time again. He might act all charming, but he still sees me the same as every other man in the Cosa Nostra. A woman has no place here and I’m not tying myself to that kind of life.”

She looked sad, the frown pulling at her wrinkles. I squeezed her hand lightly.

“I know you want everything to work out, but I’m just a pawn to him. All of this is a long, drawn out punishment for me breaking into his office. He’s said more than once what he thinks his wife should be like and he won’t get that with me.”

My stomach churned uncomfortably, but I ignored it. “Leo doesn’t want me, he wants revenge. I’m sure he’ll figure it out eventually and find himself a nice mafia princess who can give him exactly what he wants.”

She reached across the table, cupping my cheek. “What about you? What do you want?”

I smiled softly. “A choice.”

ChapterThirty-Four

LEO

“Hey boss, phone call for you!”

After dropping Nicole off at her uncle’s last night, I refused to go home. I was too angry to sleep. She had decided threatening me was the way to go, and I was ready to call her bluff. When Mikey suggested letting her have the night to cool off, I almost refused. I didn’t want to reward her for being a brat and throwing a tantrum just because I called her out. The only reason I agreed was because it looked like she might run again. Even though I threatened it more than once, I knew if I ever dragged Nicole to the courthouse against her will, she would never let up. She’d be a constant pain in my ass until I got fed up and let her go.

I’d been in my office since. We were in the process of getting the two fuckers who tried to frame me out of jail so I could handle them myself. I knew Nicole would probably know who their boss was, but I wasn’t going to ask her. I didn’t want her involved in the first place.

Gio was the only one brave enough to approach me. He sat in the chair on the opposite side of my desk, playing with his phone. He’d occasionally throw out a few comments about progress or other jobs that needed my approval, but he mostly stayed quiet.

Frankie hovered near the door, his phone clutched in his hand. I didn’t reply, so Gio held his hand out without looking behind him. Frankie tossed it to him. When it smacked against my desk with a loud thud, Frankie’s face went pale and he took off at a dead run.

Gio shook his head, grabbing the phone off the floor. “Little shit,” he mumbled, handing me the phone. I frowned at it. It said Amara on the screen. What would Nicole’s little sister want to do with me?

“Hello?”

“Oh good. That boy was taking forever to pull his balls out of his pocket.” It wasn’t Amara on the other end of the line. I could hear Amara’s voice in the background, trying to argue with the speaker, but she was dismissed pretty quickly. “Hush. I’m on the phone. Go get your sister ready.”

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