Chapter 14 – Nicole
My knee-high boots were more cute than practical.
I plucked nervously at my sweater dress while I waited for my monster to come around the car.
His strict order was not to open my door.
I almost wanted to, just to see if he’d make good on his threat to paddle my ass red.
But there were people on the sidewalk, walking toward the restaurant. I wasn’t that voyeuristic…yet.
Opening the door, Cristiano leaned inside the car, lifted me in his arms, and, despite my protests, carried me into the restaurant.
He only set me down once he crossed the threshold, but his arm shot out, wrapping tightly around my back.
I couldn’t be mad at him. Not really. Not when that possessive hold felt so good—a visible claim for the fifty-plus curious pairs of eyes glancing in our direction.
This was it.
My official act of rebellion. As of today, I was throwing my lot in with the mafia.
In a way, it was a long-overdue homecoming.
I came from this side of the tracks, and while my father had been an associate, never taking the vow to become a Made Man, I would gladly make a vow—whether it be in a church, a country club, or any other venue—to bind myself to this life.
And this man.
But we weren’t there in our relationship. A ring and new name were inevitable, but I was content to wait and enjoy every blissful moment of the present, knowing the future held a bright promise of fulfilled wishes in store for me.
Just to be sure he knew, I tugged on Cristiano’s suit jacket. He bent, and I whispered, “I choose you, monster.”
His sinful smile made my insides smolder. “Good—that is the right choice, not that I would have given you another.”
Tucked under his arm, I advanced into the hall of the Boston don. There were faces, familiar though aged, who greeted me. Mr. Messina rose from his seat to wrap me in a hug.
“Nicole, I’m so happy to see you, ragazza mia,” he crooned in my ear.
He pulled me to the table where Vincenzo already sat. Taking a seat beside Cristiano, I dined on one of the best Christmas dinners in the history of the holiday. It was the perfect start to my forbidden romance, and the fitting ending to the reunion with my childhood friend.
***
Why the hell Cristiano’s brother insisted on accompanying us back to the Loring mausoleum was beyond me.
The fact that it seemed to equally annoy my monster was of little comfort.
I had plans for Cristiano, ones that involved just the two of us and a hell of a lot less clothing, before my sister’s flight landed.
But here we were, the three of us, sitting around the living room, sipping cocoa and munching on cookies.
Well…the guys ate cookies. I was stuffed, and not in the good way, from too much Italian Christmas dinner.
“There she is,” Cristiano said, peering over to look out the window.
Since we were all old acquaintances, I hoped the shock of seeing the Messina boys wouldn’t upset Amanda too badly. I squirmed out of Cristiano’s arm and dashed to open the front door.
“Merry Christmas, you filthy animal,” I cheered, giving my overworked and exhausted sister a big hug.
Her uff of surprise made my heart ache just a little. I was determined not to let her go running off to the Big Apple before the New Year. Her firm could exist without her for a few days at least.
Convincing her of that was another matter.
“Who’s here?” she hissed, dragging her teeny suitcase inside.
“Some old friends,” I announced and stepped back.
Cristiano wrapped his arm around me as he looked over my head to meet Amanda’s wide stare. “Good to see you, Amanda. How was your flight?”
“It was—” she stopped short.
Even lost in my own love story, I felt the crackle of tension in the air.
“It’s been a long time, Mandy.”
Suddenly, my monster and I faded to the background as Vincenzo and Amanda stared at one another. The smirk on his face felt cruel. Dangerous. I snapped my gaze to hers, hoping to understand. The sheer terror only confused me more.
“Oh, hell no!” Amanda croaked.
Shaking her head wildly, as if it would clear the visage from the room, Amanda tugged out her phone.
“Get the fuck out of my house, Messina. This is your only warning.” With that barking command, my fearless sister darted up the stairs.
If Cristiano wasn’t holding me upright, I might have been knocked over in the rush of air as she passed. A stunned silence ebbed in her wake.
What the hell was that?
Vincenzo began to whistle, breaking the cold energy. He clapped his brother on the back before sauntering out the still-open front door. It closed with a vicious bang.
“That went better than I expected,” Cristiano muttered.
I rounded on him, a hundred questions on the tip of my tongue. He gave me a lazy, sexy smile, and tried to tug me back to the living room.
“I should really go check on my sister,” I protested. “I don’t want her catching the first flight back to New York.”
Cristiano groaned, but he let me go only after pressing a firm kiss on my lips. “Hurry back, angel.”
I bolted. Taking the steps two at a time, I was panting when I pushed into Amanda’s bedroom.
Where the polished, professional lawyer was nowhere to be found. Instead, a mad woman paced over the carpet.
“What was he doing here?” my sister shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at me.
“I…invited him?” I wavered, stepping back.
Maybe I was safer downstairs until she cooled off.
But I was already here, and answers seemed faster coming from her than going back downstairs to the monster who would rather kiss than talk.
So, I pulled myself up straight and faced her wrath.
“He’s my boyfriend’s brother. It’s Christmas.
Plus, we used to play with them as kids—”
“No! he can’t be here!” Amanda’s blue eyes were livid with a wild fire. “If dad catches him, or Cristiano, he’ll lock them up for good!”
I shrugged. “He doesn’t have a case.”
Amanda pounced. Her perfectly manicured fingers sank into my shoulders. I cried out, but she shook me. “You can’t date a Messina!”
“Too late,” I ground out. “I’m not letting him go. Not again.”
“Nicole,” Amanda moaned, voice filled with pain. “You don’t understand. Dad hates what they are.”
“Screw dad! Where is he? Hmm? It’s fucking Christmas, and the only thing I heard from him was a premeditated text from his secretary’s assistant!” I shot back hotly.
Amanda lifted her hands. “Fine, make your bed. I just hope you can lie in it.”
“I have no problem hiding the relationship from dad,” I sniped. “But I would have thought you’d be a little more understanding.”
Her face softened. “You two were always so close. If he’s good to you, I’ll be happy.”
“Thanks.” I rubbed my shoulders. Those claws were going to leave a mark.
“But keep those Messina boys—especially the older one—away from me,” she snapped. “I’m not ruining my career over him!”
With that, she marched to the en suite and slammed the bathroom door.
“Fine!” I stuck out my tongue, turned sharply on my heel, and stomped downstairs.
“Do you know what that was all about?” I demanded the moment I rounded the aperture from the foyer into the living room.
Cristiano was smiling. He’d probably been laughing while I was upstairs being mauled. “Come here, angel.”
I planted my feet in the middle of the room.
“Please,” he added, patting the couch beside him.
Relenting, because it was impossible to stay away from him, I sank down beside his large frame. When he moved to kiss me, I pressed my fingers against his lips and gave him a pointed look.
Sighing as though he were physically pained, Cristiano spilled the story. “Vincenzo went to Thilton Preparatory School on a football scholarship.”
With a gasp, I sat up straight. “No! Really?”
Cristiano smiled sadly. “I used to see you, in the bleachers, during the games. It was hard to watch my brother, the star center lineman, when I kept hoping you’d look at me across the field.”
“I never knew,” I breathed.
Cristiano tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Your sister was the head cheerleader. If we were childhood friends, they were that…and more.”
I held my breath, waiting to hear the rest.
“They dated, secretly,” Cristiano smiled sadly. “It was probably a good thing you never looked my way, because right after graduation, when Vincenzo proposed—”
“He what!” I yelped.
Cristiano nodded. “Your dad moved heaven and earth to have him locked up. Because of our family ties, it wasn’t hard to build the case. Vincenzo just left the maximum security penitentiary after an eight-year lock-up.”
The room suddenly became too hot. My sister’s words rang in my ears. This relationship, the one I clung to, was in danger before it’d barely begun.
Cristiano wrapped me in his arms, running a smoothing touch up my spine. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he promised.
I was shaking. Violent shudders wracked my frame, and air didn’t quite seem to fill my lungs.
“The next few years will be tough, but the reason I broke in, the reason our paths crossed, was because we’re working to blackmail your father,” he said quietly. “We’re going to survive this, Nicky.”
“I thought you were here to rob us,” I gasped, hoping against hope I hadn’t caught him in a lie. That wasn’t something I could easily stomach.
Cristiano snorted. “You assumed, I never corrected you.”
I smacked his shoulder. “You should have told me!”
“I should have.” He bent and kissed my forehead. Then my nose. Then each cheek. “And I won’t let the truth come between us again. Forgive me, angel?”
My lungs loosened, and I drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know, it seems like you need to make it up to me. You know? Show me how repentant you actually are, monster.”
Cristiano’s black eyes glittered. “Let’s go upstairs now, before someone else interrupts us.”
Without waiting for my reply, he picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder, and headed straight for the stairs. I pounded on his back, ordering him to put me down. But I would be lying if I said I hated the view of his toned ass in those suit pants.
As Cristiano locked the door and then tossed me on the bed, I knew in my heart that I would rather have this forbidden relationship than be alone with the family who wasn’t around.
I wriggled backward as he prowled over me. Catching his face between my hands, I breathed, “I will always choose you, Tino.”
“And I you, Nicky.” And then, he kissed me, sealing the promise.
THE END