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Able to see more than just her bright, orange hair, he moved his eyes to her button nose and chubby cheeks that were both just as rosy and covered in freckles. She looked like a cute, chubby bunny, and he figured she was about as harmless, too. While Amo looked like a beast that would swallow her whole in comparison.

He told himself to walk away, but the beast inside kept him in place.

Cause, oh …

Did she look …

Delicious.

* * *

Knowing it was just the hormones that had his daughter hugging him goodbye, along with hugging her other congratulating brothers, he watched her leave his office right before Nero gave him a nod. It might not have been a hug or an I love you, but he knew it was his son’s way of forgiving him as he watched him, too, disappear through the door.

Dante hadn’t expected much of a response from Lucca, so he wasn’t surprised when he headed for the door without so much as a glance.

“Lucca …” he said before he could walk through. “I’d like to talk to you alone for a moment.”

Stopping, his son lightly closed the door before he walked over to take one of the leather chairs.

He watched Lucca reach into his pocket and pull out a pack of cigarettes. Putting the stick to his lips, he lit the end with the flick of his Zippo. Dante stared at the burning end. He had seen these exact motions a million times before, but never, not even once, had he slid the crystal ashtray he used for his cigars closer for him to use.

Lucca narrowed his eyes on the ashtray, unbelieving of the act himself.

“Son …” Dante began the words he had been desperately holding on to, “it’s time.”

Twenty

Last First Kiss

Nadia waved the boys goodbye as she made it to her apartment door, fumbling with the keys for a moment before finally able to put it in the slot when the door opened.

“Hey, Nadia.” Haley smiled mischievously.

That look caused Nadia to look past her to see Dante sitting on their couch behind her. What the—

“Bye, Nadia!”

“Where the hell are you going?” she asked as her friend passed her.

“Dante gave me a free room at his casino hotel for the night.” Haley dangled a key out in front of her then yelled loud enough so her voice would travel, “Thanks again, Dante. I’ll see you soon!”

Her mouth dropped open in disbelief and only dropped more when she watched her friend give her a thumbs-up of approval, along with a wink for good luck before she disappeared from view. Unlike Nadia, Haley wasn’t above gambling, especially when it came to playing slots, as it was the perfect loner activity.

“What the fuck?” Nadia spoke the rest of her thought rather than thinking it.

“What?” Dante asked, confused from where he sat in the small living area.

“She doesn’t …” She had to replay what she had just witnessed in her mind before she could finish. “Haley doesn’t talk to people.”

“Sure she does. She just did.”

“Not if she can help it,” she explained while she came inside and closed the door behind her. “And she certainly doesn’t talk to strangers, let alone men who come to our apartment uninvited.”

“Hm …” Dante brushed it off, seeing it wasn’t a big deal.

But it is. “She likes you.”

“I take it that’s a big deal, too?”

“Yes, she’s not exactly a people person,” Nadia said, looking at him curiously now. It was like she was trying to figure out what the hell Haley saw in him to be able to talk to him like it was nothing.

“Neither am I.” He shrugged. “Maybe that’s why.”

“And what about her?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Did you like Haley?”

It was clear he didn’t know how to respond based on her stance. “She’s … nice?”

Her eyes went into slits. “Just nice?”

“Yeah, she was nice, woman! I only got to talk to her for ten minutes before you walked in the door. What the fuck else do you want me to say? Other than I can certainly see why you two get along.”

* * *

Dante was rethinking this whole fucking thing. The headache this was already causing was the exact reason he had never wanted another relationship in his life. And hell, they weren’t even in a fucking relationship. He was fucking here to try to see if they could start one, and it was already going bad from having to dodge around and answer the stupid-ass questions properly that women always asked.

The only reason he wasn’t walking out that door right now was because the woman had brought his children back into his life.

“How’s that?”

“For one, she’s the only one I’ve seen who’s been able to stop your roll.” Dante was fucking envious of Haley for that. Nadia had controlled the endings of all their conversations as of late, yet her friend, who was supposedly meek and mild, had controlled theirs.