My Ex’s Dad (Sinful Mafia Daddies #1)

Chapter 1

LILIANA

Acorner of a jolly snowman decal peels away from the window as I slump onto the subway seat across the aisle.

Flopped over like that, his top hat hangs down and the happy smile he usually sports is inverted into a frown.

Probably just like the one I can’t wipe off my face as I exhale another long breath.

The subway fills, and I zone out on the festive décor some kid probably stuck on the dirty window a couple of weeks ago.

It’s hard to believe the holidays came and went already.

It’s even harder to accept that the usual seasonal uptick in business didn’t bring any boon or extra money for my parents’ bakery.

What am I going to do?

The subway takes off with a lurch, jerking me forward. The older woman beside me sways into me, then catches herself on a pole. The young dude standing in front of us takes advantage of the momentum, tipping toward me.

Yeah, like I want some stranger’s dick shoved in my face right now.

I roll my eyes.

“Hmmm, someone smells good,” he says, with just enough of a purr to make me want to roll my eyes again. Sleazy. That come-to-papa voice that always annoys the hell out of me.

I lift my gaze to skewer him with what I hope is an expression that might encourage him to give up.

“Oh, leave her be,” the older woman chides. “She’s taken.”

I turn toward her, raising a brow.

“Well, she’s too pretty to be single.” She smiles at me, like she’s an expert. “And even if she’s not, she’s clearly not inviting you to flirt with her.” She huffs at him, like that’s final.

“Can’t blame a man for trying.” He winks at me, and I curl my lip at him. Any other afternoon, I would try to be more polite. After visiting the bakery and discussing yet another foreclosure notice with my father, though, my fucks have flown.

“You smell good enough to eat,” he adds, dragging his gaze up and down me slowly.

It’s been a while since a man looked at me like I’d make a perfect snack.

Even though I am taken, like this woman guessed, I can’t remember the last time my boyfriend, Roman, checked me out with that kind of raw hunger.

“And her boyfriend has first dibs.” The woman shoos him away.

As soon as he’s gone, muttering to himself at the other end of the car, she leans toward me. “Better?”

I let out a weak laugh. “Thanks.”

“There are just too many annoying men in the world to suffer through that kind of nonsense.” She adjusts her hands over her lap, probably as overheated as I am with the heater vents right in front of us, blasting too hard.

I nod, without the energy for anything more, worries swirling in my head. That guy is already forgotten, not worth my time.

How will we pay the bills?

How can we afford this loan?

How can I make the bakery grow, not limp along like it has been for years?

“It gets to us all,” the woman says wisely as we rock and roll with the old subway lumbering along.

“Hmm?”

She gestures at the limp snowman decal. “The inevitable winter blues now that the holidays are gone.” She peers at me, maternal once again.

“Oh. Right.”

“Is that what’s got you so down?” she asks kindly.

There’s no point denying that I must look glum.

While the holidays were all right—at least the parts when I was with my parents were fun—I remember how awkward it was, too.

Like when Roman avoided bringing me to any of his family festivities.

He distracted me by taking me to his vacation home upstate, that massive castle-like place where we sort of enjoyed a winter getaway for a couple of days, but it didn’t escape my notice how he’d flat-out refused to bring me to meet his parents or spend time with his large family.

“Uh, no. Not really,” I admit.

“Trouble with men?” she guesses with an arch of her brow.

I smile, appreciating her Good Samaritan vibe. “Well…”

She nods slowly. “It always is, isn’t it?” she mutters.

My lips curl up more. I won’t admit that things are bad with Roman. But there’s room for improvement. Aside from his lack of interest in pursuing me like that young man just did, Roman’s just too distant.

Is it the holidays?

Is it his job and his worry that he’ll never impress his father?

Is it him losing interest in me?

A sigh is all I have to offer the woman. I’m not fishing for relationship advice from her. Maeve, my best friend since high school, has that role. I glance at my phone and find the text I sent her before I got on the subway still sitting on delivered, unread.

Having a decent conversation with Roman doesn’t appeal. He never seems to listen, and he’s too quick to dismiss my worries about my parents’ bakery as frivolous. Like an establishment that serves baked goods and pastries is too beneath him as a member of the wealthy Sokolov family.

The subway slows, and she pats my knee. “Whatever it is, trouble with men or otherwise, cheer up. The new year’s just starting, right?” Her smile is sweet, and I feel guilty that I can’t reply in kind.

It is a new year, but as I leave the station and walk the rest of the way to the apartment I share with Roman, I can’t convince myself that this means new beginnings. New growth. Life is stagnant as ever, it seems, stuck worrying about the bakery surviving.

As I approach the elevator, I check my phone again.

Huh.

Nothing from Maeve, which surprises me. She’s usually free on Monday afternoons, since it’s her day off.

Going home to an empty apartment might be cathartic, though.

Roman is probably out at a meeting, busy as a financial consultant.

Without him there nitpicking me about this or that, I can think through the bakery’s pending foreclosure, even with the loan we’re trying to expedite.

I exhale deeply as I reach the door and key in the code to open it.

Maybe some peace and quiet will do me well. Maeve will probably reply soon, and by then, I’ll rehearse what I can say and vent and—

I step inside the apartment and freeze at the scene in front of me.

Blood boils in my veins as I blink once. Then once again.

I don’t need to wait to see my best friend.

Because she’s right there. Naked. On my boyfriend as she rides him on the couch.

I gasp as rage fills me. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

They stop instantly as I stand there, fuming, so hot with fury I feel like I’m melting.

Under the layers of my coat and scarf and gloves, I’m overheated to the point of dizziness.

Shock and anger gather into a storm in my mind, locking me into a fight-or-flight rush of adrenaline that keeps me rooted in place.

Maeve squeals in surprise, twisting to the side and scrambling to cover herself.

Roman slides a pillow over to hide his dick. He curses and scowls at me while my former best friend winces. Not in shame. But like I’ve inconvenienced her.

“What are you doing here?” Roman reaches for his pants on the floor, pinning me with a smirk.

“I live here,” I shout. One step brings me closer, but I straighten and let the fury speak for me.

“I used to live here.” Catching him cheating is a dealbreaker I won’t ignore.

I’m out of here. “What the hell are you doing?” I whip my head to glare at Maeve.

“How could you?” I can’t help the screech in my tone, too overwhelmed with shock to care. “Maeve. How could you do this to me?”

She glances at Roman and smiles like she can’t help herself.

No shame.

No fear.

“It’s not like he wasn’t available.” She clears her throat.

I choke on my breath. “What?”

“If you ever put out and satisfied him, he wouldn’t have been so lonely.” She shrugs one shoulder, tipping her chin up as she owns her betrayal.

“Liliana.” Roman stands, done with tugging his pants on. “It’s not what it looks like.”

I suck in another strangled breath, incredulous.

“It looks like you had your dick inside another woman. It looks to me that you’re cheating with my best friend!

” All my gloomy thoughts burn away, replaced by a rage I can’t even try to control.

“Don’t tell me what this looks like, Roman. I can see with my own eyes!”

He sighs, like I’m the problem here. Walking toward me, he rubs his chin and glances back at Maeve for a second. “It’s just this one time. All right? We just—”

“You betrayed me,” I shoot back, too fed up with him, with this day, with how lousy this supposedly new year was shaping up to be. “Both of you.” I aim my finger at them as if they need the emphasis.

“One time. It’s just this one time,” Roman starts again, following me as I hurry toward the bedroom. The bedroom where “our” bed is a mess.

“Oh, one time, huh?” I fling my hand at the bed.

He opens and closes his mouth, but it’s the absence of sincere remorse on his face that guts me.

“It doesn’t matter how many times it’s been. You cheated.” I slash my arm through the air. “And I’m done.” Without sparing him another look, I rush to the closet for the first bag I can find.

“What?” Now I’m getting a reaction out of him. He reaches for my hand, a scowl on his face when I jerk out of his reach. “You’re done? You think you get to say when we’re over?”

“You decided that we’re over. The second you fucked my best friend was the end,” I snarl at him and rush to grab my things.

“Just because I make one mistake—”

“Don’t lie to me!” I growl. Shaking my head, I try to tune him out. This red-hot anger fills me with an urgency to sprint from this shock. So much for peace and quiet to think and plan. So much for counting on anyone to hear me out and help me through this dilemma about keeping the bakery alive.

“Hey!” He tries to block me at the door, but I shove him away. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I pull up to a stop and get in his face. “I’m not staying here!”

He scoffs, crossing his arms. “You think you can just get up and go? Walk away from me like that?” He snaps his fingers and smirks. “You’re ready to walk away from us?”

I glower at him then narrow my eyes at Maeve, who’s failing to hide a grin as she still sits naked on the couch, like she’s thriving on this drama. “Yeah. I’m ready. There is no more us.”

Shaking his head slowly, he gives me a once-over. Unlike the creep on the subway, Roman pierces me with a look of disdain. “Then go. It’s not like you were ever good enough for me, anyway.”

Spikes of heat hit me, ramping up my anger. My blood rushes faster, and my head aches with too much tension from all the stress of the day.

“You weren’t,” Maeve adds from the background.

It’s one thing for him to cheat on me. But my best friend? I gape at her for a second. “And you think you are?” I step back around Roman. “Enjoy my sloppy seconds, Maeve. Maybe he’ll figure out how to actually make a woman come since you’re so easy.”

She gasps and Roman follows me. “You lying bitch. I know—I can—” He growls again, spluttering for a comeback. “Don’t blame me for how bad it was. It was a fucking chore trying to ever make you come. You’re so fat and frigid, I deserve a motherfucking medal for trying with you!”

“Whatever you say, Roman.” I don’t look back, giving him the last word in that patronizing tone he’s never liked—the one that implies he’s too simple, too young, to get it.

“Don’t mock me,” he warns, reaching for my hand.

I wrench it free and grab the doorknob. “Don’t touch me.”

His face tightens again. “If you go out that door, don’t plan on coming back. Ever again.”

I laugh once, yanking the door open. He thinks I’m bluffing.

“Liliana, I mean it,” he growls. “No one gets to walk away from me.” He stabs a finger at his chest.

I smile slightly with all the ugliness of anger. “Watch me.”

I slam the door shut behind me and don’t waste a second. Before the adrenaline can crash and I’ll be reacting to this betrayal, I get my phone out and text my friend Jenni, asking if I can come over.

She won’t mind. She’s never liked Roman, and she especially hasn’t been fond of him pressuring me to consider the loan he’s been pushing on my parents.

I shake my head as I get back into the cold outside.

Jenni will let me stay with her. And she can hear me out about all of it. How my best friend and boyfriend betrayed me.

“You’re doing me a favor, Roman,” I snarl to myself. I don’t have time to waste on a cheating boyfriend or a friendship with a liar.

“It’s a new year. New me,” I vow with vehemence, taking one angry step at a time to return to the subway. It’s time to make the most of it.

The End