5. Sarah
Sarah
It started raining twenty minutes ago, forcing everyone inside Luca’s mom’s house. The noise level has doubled since then. Conversations overlap from every direction while children dart through the crowd and somebody argues loudly from the kitchen.
Meanwhile, I can’t stop looking around the room.
Every person here seems completely normal. Sofia is cooking. Bruno is laughing. People are talking about work, sports, and vacation plans. The only problem is that most of them are somehow connected to the Mafia.
Michael and Katie are late as usual. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The man is responsible for a billion-dollar corporation and an entire criminal organization. The fact that he still finds time to look at Katie like she’s the center of his universe is honestly impressive.
Luca stands at the kitchen island with a beer in one hand, the other resting on the counter. He’s talking to a group of his cousins when he catches me looking at him. He winks, and I smile despite everything.
A hand settles against the small of my back, and I relax immediately.
“Whatcha doing?”
I smile at the sound of his voice.
“Making you a plate.”
His hand slides under my shirt as he pulls me against him.
“You know I’m a grown man, right?”
“Trust me,” I say, turning to look down between us. “I know just how much of a man you are.”
A laugh rumbles through his chest as I add another spoonful of food to the plate.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know.” I scoop some pasta onto the plate. “But I haven’t seen you touch a single piece of food since we got here, and I know you didn’t eat at home.”
He rests his chin on my shoulder.
“How did I get so lucky with you?”
I shrug and top off his plate with a piece of watermelon. I turn and push it towards him.
“Eat.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, giving me a two-finger salute before taking the plate. “You going to come sit down with me?”
“I guess,” I say. “If you absolutely insist.”
“I do.”
He turns and starts weaving through the house.
A few steps later, he drops his free hand behind him without even looking.
God. I don’t know why that does it for me every single time.
Maybe it’s the confidence. Maybe it’s the assumption that I’ll be there.
Whatever it is, it’s ridiculously hot. I lace my fingers through his, and he glances back at me with a grin.
He finds two empty spots in the dining room, and we sit down. He starts eating, and I watch him. Four months ago, when I offered to drive him home from Katie’s house so she and Michael could have some time alone, I had no idea we would end up here.
“Hey!”
I look up and find Katie smiling at us.
“Hey, bestie!” I say.
She comes over and hugs my shoulders. Michael gives Luca and me a nod as he pulls Katie’s chair out. She sits, and he slides into the seat next to her. He already has his hand on the back of her chair.
Luca glances my way, but I focus on Katie instead.
Less than twenty-four hours ago, my biggest concern was whether Luca and I would eat tacos or have sex first. Now I’m sitting across from my best friend smiling and making conversation while keeping a secret that could blow up her entire life.
If she finds out I knew and didn’t tell her, I don’t know how she ever forgives me.
“You okay?”
I snap back to the conversation. Katie’s staring at me like, what the fuck is wrong with you?
“Uh, yeah, I’m fine.”
Michael smirks next to her.
“She’s lying.”
“Fuck you.”
The comeback is immediate. Did I really tell a mafia boss, fuck you? I didn’t think about it. I just said it, but Michael only grins.
“Definitely still mad about putt-putt.”
Katie laughs.
“Or because I bailed on girls’ night.”
I force myself to laugh with them.
“That’s exactly it.”
I had already forgotten about Friday night.
Michael had some business dinner come up, so he and Katie moved their plans.
He gave Luca the night off, and the two of us spent the evening together.
Normally, I’d be teasing her about ditching me.
Instead, I can barely focus on the conversation in front of me.
I look over at Luca, and his eyes widen for a second. I look away at once.
“Oh my God,” Katie says. “I have to show you the dress I wore.”
She pulls out her phone and starts scrolling until she finds what she’s looking for. Then she turns the screen toward me.
In the photo, she’s standing beside Michael.
They both look devastatingly good. Michael has one arm low around her waist. He’s wearing a dark suit and has one of those smooth smiles that always seems effortless.
Katie is breathtaking. Her dark curls are pinned up, but a few pieces frame her face.
The red satin dress hugs her body before disappearing into a slit that travels all the way up her thigh.
“So?” she asks, smiling.
“You look amazing.”
Her smile widens.
God, she’s so fucking happy.
I glance to her left and find Michael already watching her. He has one of those rare smiles that only seems to happen when she’s around. I should be afraid of this man. After everything Luca told me, I should be horrified. Instead, he’s just Michael.
The same Michael who sat through Olive Garden because Katie wanted breadsticks. The same Michael who went bowling with us two weeks ago. The same Michael who laughs when Katie and I get drunk and start acting like idiots in his theater room.
I’m not scared of him at all. If anything, knowing what he does makes me feel safer. Because now I understand what everyone else already knows. Michael protects the people he loves—ruthlessly, relentlessly, and without hesitation.
My eyes drift back to Katie. She’s smiling at something Michael said, completely oblivious to the crisis unfolding in my head.
My best friend is in love. Ridiculously in love.
I can’t be the person who takes that away from her.
Michael will tell her. He has to, and when he does, I’ll be where I have always been—right beside her.