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Or I might strangle her.
And I didn’t want to explain any of this to Vito. I needed time to process this and calm down. Whipping out my phone, I pulled up my text thread with BELLO.
Started my period. Feel like shit
Going to bed early. See you tomorrow
It was a lie, but the best I could manage at the moment. And men never questioned Aunt Flo.
I turned off my phone and got to work.
Later that night I was hanging out in the storage room, scrolling on my phone, when my brother arrived. He was carrying a paper bag. “What’s that?” I asked. “I thought you were finding the air mattress.”
“Your future brother-in-law sent this for you.” He handed me the bag.
“He’s not my future anything, asshole.” I peeked inside. I instantly recognized the contents. “Oh, my god. A meatball sub. And dark chocolate cake. I love that man.”
“Do I get some?” Mikey asked.
“No. This is mine.”
My brother lowered himself onto some boxes. “Why is he sending you food?”
“I told Vito I had period cramps when I decided I didn’t want to see him tonight.” I took out the wrapped sub. “Vito must’ve told Maz.”
“That’s very sweet. But why are you avoiding Vito?”
I shoved a huge bite of sub in my mouth and moaned. So, so good. Hot and cheesy, and Maz’s tomato sauce was perfection. When I swallowed, I said, “Because his sister pissed me off today and I don’t want to answer questions about it.”
“Ah.”
“She’s a total bitch.” I pointed at him. “Donotsleep with her.”
Guilt crawled all over his expression. “Too late.”
“What the fuck, Mikey!” I sat up straight. “She’s been here, like, a hot minute!”
“What was I supposed to do? She found me in my office this afternoon and one thing led to another.”
I rubbed my eyes. “I’m so disgusted with you right now.”
“I don’t know why. She’s fucking hot, Mags. And what’s the big deal? You’re sleeping with her brother.”
“Which is why this is too weird. God, Mike. She’s awful.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
His smug, satisfied expression made the amazing meatball sub roil in my stomach. “Don’t ruin my dinner, please. Jesus, men are theworst.”
“Tell me why you hate her.”
I swallowed another bite of sub. “She accused me of being a gold digger! To my face!”
“She’s probably just protective of Vito. They seem suspicious of outsiders. A mafia side effect.”
“I don’t care. She should trust him instead of coming after me with her claws out.”
He shrugged. “Maybe she’s worried because he approved the list of improvements I asked for and transferred the money.”