Chapter 15
ONYX
Lilian poured me another glass of wine, and I drank it without protest. Being around this many people who were all so close was…
odd. I hadn't had a family gathering since I was a child.
Being young and free, weaving between the adults legs as we screamed, with Adam on my heels with a water gun in one hand and a water balloon in the other. My shoulders dropped.
"You got sad so quickly," Lilian said as she reached out and tucked a strand of platinum blond hair behind my ear. "Really? Are you okay, figlio?"
I blinked up at her. My chest ached even more.
If this whole marriage thing wasn't bullshit, I could see myself growing close to someone like her.
Going shopping, eating brunch, gossiping and laughing at whatever crazy thing the Marino's did that week.
But then I remembered I needed Lucero gone.
Not just for me, but for him as well. He couldn't see it yet and I needed him to.
I was not the one for him. If anything, I would drag him down with me.
"Yes," I said softly as I squirmed on the stools we were perched on. "Sorry about that. Kinda started daydreaming."
She patted my hand. "Happens to the best of us."
"Would you hold the goddamn thing straight!" someone shouted from the living room.
"Says the one wearing a dress," a voice retorted.
"Yeah, and in this dress I could stab your eyes out, Nash, so I suggest you fucking hold it straight!"
"Elia, Nash. Enough," I heard someone say, and then rapid-fire Italian. That voice I knew.
Damian.
"I shudder to imagine what they are doing in there," I said.
"All I was told was that it was a surprise, and then they got hungry." She shrugged. "What's a mother to do?"
I grinned. "Well, your food is amazing. I can't even blame them for wrangling you into it."
She shook her head. "No, no, I wanted to come from the start.
I've been so curious about you and worried about my Luci.
Now, I can see that you're a good person, and it takes a weight off my shoulders.
" She sighed. "Although Luci did beg me to come over today too. Asked me to bring the walnut brownies."
"That lying little…"
Lilian snorted. "He told you I just showed up? Men. Don't let that one fool you. He can be a little distracted, but there lies a menace behind those sweet, sweet eyes."
Yeah, I was starting to figure that out. Underestimating Lucero was a mistake that people probably only got to make once. I was quickly learning not to do the same.
"So, how many boys do you have? Any daughters?"
Lilian smiled. "Adopted daughters. They haven't given me any grandchildren yet either.
" She pouted. "Let's see. There's Damian, Nash, Elia, Lucero, Prince, and Dominique.
They all live with us right now, or recently.
And then there's Emir. He's always been a bit…
distant. Likes to keep to himself, so he has a place of his own nearby. "
Wow, seven boys and that's just who was close still. I had no idea how she could even think about handling it.
"Children terrify me," I admitted. "Small, helpless, and the world? It's disgusting."
Lilian nodded. "True, but you're part of a wider family now too. I mean, who would mess with a child of the Marino's? We might not be on top like the Vitale's, but we're getting there. And we know how to defend ours," she said, her eyes burning.
My stomach flip-flopped. Okay, she was terrifying.
Someone knocked, and I hopped out of my seat. "More brothers?"
"Possibly my husband. He said he would pick me up in a little while. I told him to send the driver, but no, he insisted." She laughed.
I opened the door and was confronted with Mr. Marino. He smiled at me as he pushed fingers through mostly gray hair.
"Onyx," he said. "We still have yet to formally meet. Samson," he said, extending a hand.
I shook it, warmth radiating in my palm. "Mr. Marino, it's nice to meet you," I said as I stumbled over my words. "Your wife is ready for you."
"Ah, lead the way. I know my sons kind of swooped in on you today. They tend to do that."
"I'm learning that it runs in the family," I muttered.
His boisterous laugh took me off guard. When we arrived in the kitchen, the first thing he did was run to his wife. He brushed his hand against her cheek, and it was like the world fell away except for the two of them.
"I missed you, Lil."
"Missed you too." She grinned. "We've only been apart for not even four hours."
"Every second was agony."
I'm starting to see where Lucero gets it from.
Even staring at them made me think of myself and the big idiot who had invaded my life.
Samson was wrapped around his wife who was at least a good foot shorter than him.
She moved around the kitchen with him attached to her back, their laughter filling the room.
I backed away until I could retreat into the living room. My back thumped against something hard.
"Watch it," Damian said, glaring down at me.
"Sorry," I muttered as he pushed me away and Lucero caught me in his arms.
"Don't do that again," Lucero warned his brother.
"He ran into me," he growled.
"Why are you all so grumpy?" I asked. "Hangry?"
"Food's just about done!" Lilian called from the kitchen.
The collective look of relief on their faces made me want to laugh.
Instead, my attention was stolen by what they had been working on.
It was a shelf, but not just any shelf. It was antique, gothic looking as if it had been popped right out of a chapel and put into my living room.
The best part, however, was the fact that it now connected to my office instead of the door.
"You press this switch to open and close it." Lucero showed me. "You were yelling at the bookcase a few days ago because it was too full, and I thought I'd get you a new one and hide your office better. You have really important things in there."
"I do," I whispered as my fingers trailed the shelf. "This is… a lot of work."
"Damn straight it was," a man grunted as he stood up with a hammer in his hands. "Took fucking forever. But it looks good," he said before he stuck out a hand. "Nash."
"On—"
"We know," they all said in unison.
My face heated as I turned to the last guy I had only met briefly. He looked just like Emir, except he had deep blue hair that brushed his shoulders and he was, in fact, wearing a blue dress with a high slit on the side.
"Don't mind the dress." Elia smiled. "I got wrangled into this project right after a date and Lucero is a big baby so I couldn't say no."
"I am not a baby!"
"Sure," Elia said, laughing. "You almost just threw a tantrum and stomped your foot."
Lucero snagged me against his side. "Shut up. Well, what do you think? Really?"
I love it.
Honestly, it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. I swallowed around a lump in my throat.
"It's nice," I whispered.
Lucero whooped. "I told you he would love it!"
"It's nice?" Elia repeated as he popped a hand on his hip. "That's all we get after working our asses off?"
"You are so easily impressed," Damian told Lucero.
Lucero just hugged me against his body more tightly. "You don't know him like I do. He loves it."
I really do.
***********************************
As soon as Lucero's family was gone, I sagged against the door.
They were exhausting, my stomach was so full I felt like I would burst, and my house was put back the way it was.
Okay, that wasn't so bad. The kitchen was clean and the living room tidied.
It was like they had never even been there.
If I didn't want anything to do with this insanity, it could kind of be the perfect family.
I pushed off the door as I padded to the kitchen. Lucero was dutifully putting the leftovers away in Tupperware containers, fully concentrating on his job so much that he didn't notice me. For a while I stood there, staring.
"Your mom said you met me at some gallery. That I talked to you? What did I say?"
Lucero glanced over his shoulder. "It was a long time ago. You were kind of drunk."
I blinked. "Me? Drunk? At an event?"
Now, that didn't sound like me at all. I was always on top of it. When had that happened? I tried to rack my brain, but nothing came up.
"So, you called your mom on me," I said as I stepped closer. "That was a bold move."
He gave me a guilty grin. "I didn't know what else to do. She always knows."
I had to give him some credit; it had, in fact, worked. After the flowing wine and the delicious meal, I felt more relaxed than I had in years. When he walked up to me, I didn't retreat. Instead, I gazed up at him.
"You should take your family name back," I said. "They really seem upset by it."
Lucero nodded. "I know. When we find out who tried to frame me, I will."
I tilted my head. "Do you promise?"
Emotions warred in his eyes, but he nodded. Reaching out, he touched my jaw, his thumb dragging down my flesh. "Seeing you with my family today really made me happy," he admitted. "You all get along so well. Well, except for Damian."
"Yeah, he hates me."
"It's okay. He'll come around," Lucero said quickly, invading every inch of my space. He was quiet for a while before he frowned. "Can I kiss you?"
I groaned. "Why do you like kissing so much?"
"Why do you hate it?"
I squirmed. Now, that was hard to explain. I shrugged, not wanting to tell him that it felt too close. Too intimate. Sleeping with someone could be detached, easy. Kissing them? It felt like connecting in ways that would be impossible to untangle later.
"Can I?" Lucero whispered.
Groaning, I licked my lips. I was in a good mood. And kissing Lucero? It was addictive. Stupidly, I had missed it.
"Yes."