Page 52 of My Solemn Vow (The Mafia Arrangement #1)
VALOR
THE IN-LAW IS NOT AN OUTLAW
“I can’t believe you live here,” Leticia whispers to Antonella, looking around the house. “I’m pretty sure there are gargoyles on the roof.”
“No gargoyles,” Antonella whispers back. “But there is a tortoise.”
“On the roof?” Leticia unzips her boots and leaves them on the rug, her coat already hung on the rack by the door.
“Solarium,” Antonella says before looking over her shoulder to me as she leads Leticia, arm in arm, to the kitchen. “Okay, will you tell me how you planned this?”
“That was all me.” Leticia giggles. She draws a big, deep breath.
“You see, it wasn’t enough texting you every day, so I called up the Clark Enterprise office and pretended to be a vendor, started reading a bunch of technical jargon off the internet, and asked for answers or the person who would be in charge of this sort of top-secret project.
The receptionist, after like, thirty minutes, transferred me to Royal, who was surprisingly nice and informal, and with a little flirting, I got him to put Valor on the line. ”
“Ha.” I laugh before I can stop myself.
“What of that wasn’t true?” Leticia looks me up and down. “Because your receptionist, Margret, is very nice and, I say, deserves a raise if she regularly puts up with that bullshit.”
“No, it’s just that Royal was positive you weren’t flirting with him,” I explain while taking out a bottle of wine, offering the label out to Antonella.
She shakes her head and opens the fridge before pulling out three beers.
“You’re going to make it so hard to go home if you spoil me like this.” Leticia eyes the beer before making grabby-hand motions, like Kerrianne does when she really wants something.
“Beer goes better with the pork I’m making,” Antonella explains, and I use the church key to open the bottles, handing Leticia hers first.
“Thank you.” She beams and looks around the house.
“This is nice. A lot brighter than I was expecting, not that I would know because you’re like the single-word answer queen.
I’m not lying when Valor told me he had no problem with me coming to dinner tonight.
I thought he was full of shit, and you’d be gone or something. Maybe chained up in the basement.”
“I should have made it clearer that you were supposed to talk with your cousin.” I take the heat for Antonella.
The truth is, she probably didn’t think it was a good idea to text Leticia. But without previous message history to see how much they spoke before... It hadn’t raised any sort of alarm that she wasn’t texting regularly.
They look at me like I’m growing a third head. “Should I maybe give you two some space?”
“No.” They answer at the same time, tones sharp and accusatory.
“Well, Leticia, you’re welcome here anytime, and, Antonella, anytime you’d like to see Leticia, you two can meet up in public if you’d prefer.
I don’t trust Gregorio or Berto and don’t want you at their home without me, but I have no problem with you two speaking and getting together.
” I shrug and take a sip of my beer, trying to catch my breath.
“It’s so weird.” Leticia’s words are singsongy, delivered through clenched teeth and with a melody. “He’s almost normal. Toni, are you sure he’s a Cavanagh? Did you look at his driver’s license? Did you marry the wrong rich guy?”
Antonella rolls her eyes and answers at regular volume. “Oh, I’m pretty sure he’s the right rich guy. The Irish do things differently.”
“Clearly,” Leticia murmurs.
“Daaaad!” Kerrianne calls from upstairs.
“Yes, Kerrianne?” I echo back.
“Can I wear pants?” she shouts down the stairs.
“I told her one time that she had to wear a dress when company came over, and now we go through this every time she meets someone new,” I explain before answering back at a louder volume. “Yeah, pup. Pants are fine.”
“Pup?” Leticia squints at me.
And it’s then I know I fucked up. The hair on the back of my neck rises.
“Term of endearment. Kerrianne is kinda unique. You’ll like her.” Antonella is quick to explain it away.
“Nope.” Leticia shakes her head. “Bullshit meter is off the charts. He stiffened, and you’re about as subtle as a freight train. You’re not actually offering an explanation. I wanna know.”
How is she so perceptive? My wolf homes in on her. Leticia is most certainly human.
My wolf momentarily flashes in my eyes, despite my best efforts. He’s tight against the surface, and Leticia gasps.
Antonella looks at me, and I know it’ll come out eventually. But fuck, Dad will be pissed at me for blowing this in less than thirty minutes of having another D’Medici in the house .
“Leticia.” Antonella draws her attention. “Not tonight. But we will tell you later. When have I ever lied to you?”
“I don’t like this.” Leticia narrows her gaze on me. “I saw your eyes do something. If you’re getting her messed up or on some shit, I’ll be really pissed. I may have absolutely no skills to take you down myself, but do not think I cannot come up with something.”
“I swear to you. The only trouble Antonella will find herself in is whatever she chooses to walk into. She will always have a choice for an out.” I step closer to Leticia and offer out my hand. “I’ll tell you in two weeks when you come back for dinner again, you have my word.”
Leticia scrutinizes me a bit further before switching her beer to her left hand and shaking on it. “Deal.”
We separate, and awkward silence descends for all of sixty seconds before we’re saved by my little raptor.
Kerrianne comes tearing into the kitchen, sliding on her socks across the floors. “I thought you said she was Antonella’s cousin.”
“I am.” Leticia pulls her long blonde hair over her shoulder and stands like Antonella.
The resemblance is there but nowhere near as strong with Leticia’s blonde hair to Antonella’s dark brown.
Leticia looks at Kerrianne, eyebrow raised, and taps her pointer finger against her lips. “I like your outfit.”
“Thanks! Tortoises are my favorite.” Kerrianne beams. She’s wearing a T-shirt with little tortoises mixed into the paisley print.
“I heard there’s a tortoise here. Is he yours?” Leticia isn’t as natural with Kerrianne as Antonella is, but their conversation turns to ‘let me show you my tortoise,’ and Leticia waves over her shoulder at us as she leaves to visit Captain.
“I’m so sorry.” Antonella apologizes as she walks over to the oven and grabs oven mitts. “She doesn’t know how to let things go.”
“It’s okay. You two are close, and I’m serious about you having a life.
Eventually, she would need to learn the family secret.
But I should have been clearer that you should talk with your cousin and truly talk.
Obviously, with discretion but...” I take the oven mitts from Antonella and use them to pull her cooking vessel out of the oven.
“You don’t need to hide away from her. You’re allowed, encouraged, to have a life. ”
Antonella’s cooking smells divine. It’s had me salivating all afternoon. But in the last hour, it’s really started to develop a robust aroma.
“Well, it’s nice that you’ve said that because Leticia and I had planned, earlier this year, before well.
.. this happened... to reinstate a family tradition my mom and I had.
I wasn’t sure you’d...” Antonella stops talking as she pokes the roast with a fork.
She shakes her head. “Ten more minutes.”
I re-cover the roast and put it in the oven, then try to bring her back to what she was saying. “I wasn’t sure you’d?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d agree to it.” She admits with a sigh. “In my defense, it’s not like —”
“You don’t need a defense.” I take off the oven mitts and grab her by the waist, pulling her close to me.
My cock pulses thinking of how I had her today and how I want more.
Focus, Valor. “As long as it’s safe, and you’re not actively trying to undo the truce.
.. there’s nothing I can think of that you couldn’t do with the right level of security. ”
“Take Kerrianne shopping and then to lunch with us?” Antonella winces. “I thought it’d be nice to include her because then she could get you and your parents something without all of you knowing by default. But completely understand if it’s a no.”
“It’s not a no, but why does this sound like lunch is deep in D’Medici territory?” I narrow my eyes .
“Oh, that’s because it’s deep in D’Medici territory at La Fatal Piedra.
” Antonella wraps her arms up over my shoulders.
“But the days we wanted to go, Berto, Gregorio, and Eduardo will all be in Italy for their yearly pre-Christmas trip. I would be the highest-ranking D’Medici in the entire city, and I don’t even have that last name anymore. ”
“Okay, but you’re taking a full team of security, plus Jack and Declan.” And I’ll probably be hiding in an SUV down the street . It seems strange to want to be so deep in the heart of the Gold Coast, but she said family tradition. It must be a part of it.
“That’s fine. I’m not asking you to pu —”
“Put Kerrianne in danger. I know.” I rase an eyebrow. “I like my wife and have every intention of keeping her too.”
“First you’re falling in lust with me, and now you even like me.” Antonella fakes a gasp, shaking her head before letting out a sigh and pulling away from me.
I grab at her, wanting to pull her back, but she picks up her beer and knows exactly what she’s doing when she pushes her tongue out to taste the rim.
My cock gets ideas, and I can’t pull my eyes off her. Antonella is playing with fire.
Let’s sink our teeth into her and give her a wolf. We can keep her forever. Wouldn’t even need to —
“Ope. Looks like I was wrong, and dinner isn’t ready yet,” Leticia says loudly as they’re coming back down the hall. “Though your dad might eat Antonella if it isn’t done soon.”
Kerrianne giggles, “We don’t eat people.”
With the interruption, the moment passes between us, so I move us on from the awkward ‘pup’ and ‘we don’t eat people’ tells of the non-humans in the room.
Reaching for the cupboard, I wave her over. “Kerrianne, do you want to set the table?”
“Okay.” She holds her hands out dramatically for a stack of plates .
I pull them out of the cupboard and then find Leticia standing behind her with her hands similarly outstretched.
I eye her but grab the right amount of silverware and offer it to her.
“What?” She looks like I offended her. “In the last year, I’ve cooked all but five of the family meals. The least I can do is set the table.”