Page 42 of Sin City Obsession (De Salvo Empire #1)

Emanuele insisted on driving, of course. Even though it was her city. And since Rocco refused to let her sit in the passenger seat, and leave him alone in the back, Emanuele used his phone’s GPS to get them to her parents’ house. Which meant it took nearly ten minutes longer.

Served them both right.

She directed him to park in the driveway as opposed to along the curb, and then her nerves kicked in again.

They returned full-force, just as they’d been at the airport not two hours prior.

Only this time, she wasn’t worried about a sea of armed men and an angry Dragon.

She was worried about dropping in on her parents—with a nice, strong Italian mafia man in tow.

Alessa smoothed her hands down her dress, wondering much too late why she’d opted for this out of all the new clothes she’d finally allowed Rocco to buy her.

She hadn’t yet indulged the full all-day shopping spree straight out of a Hollywood romance movie that he seemed to want to take her on, but she’d accepted an afternoon.

In her mind, it was more than enough. And she’d picked a very feminine, very not tough-girl-chic dress for the day, thinking the fitted, flirty-but-not-revealing style would help emphasize that she had no intention of working.

She had wanted to make that specific statement before her feet even hit the tarmac.

She was pretty sure she’d succeeded.

But she probably should have changed at her apartment.

“You look gorgeous,” Rocco murmured in her ear. “Why are you so nervous? I’m the one meeting the parents.”

His attempt at a silly joke did make her smile, even though it shouldn’t have. “Do you know how long it’s been since I brought a boy home?” She regretted the question as soon as it left her lips .

Rocco’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me.”

Alessa gave him her best incredulous stare.

“I was fourteen , Rocco. I wasn’t really allowed to be dating, but boys were cute and I was trying to break away from the ‘marry a De Salvo’ mantra I kept hearing.

So I basically just picked one and asked him out.

” She rolled her eyes at his darkening look.

“Don’t even go there. Mom threw a fit, Dad threatened to shoot him, and he treated me like I had the plague the very next day.

We barely even held hands.” In hindsight, she was grateful for that.

Emanuele chuckled. “Something to look forward to, then.”

Rocco blew out a breath, his expression settled, and he offered her his arm. “Well, let’s not leave them guessing.”

Alessa accepted his arm and walked with him up the drive, then up the gently sloped handicap ramp. Keeping her voice low, she said, “And no, we will not be making out on the porch.”

“I wasn’t thinking about going there,” Rocco said, speaking slowly. “But now that you’ve given me the idea….”

She would have smacked him upside the head, but her mother chose that moment to throw open the front door.

“Alessa?” Stella Adimari gaped out at them, as if not immediately recognizing her daughter, standing among two large, suited men.

Rocco brought them to a stop a respectful distance away, their feet just barely off the ramp.

Alessa smiled and slipped from his side. “Surprise,” she said with a weak laugh, “I’m home for the weekend. I hope that’s okay.” She stepped up to her mother and pulled the slightly shorter, silver-haired woman into a hug. “Hi, Mom.”

Stella’s arms came around her and she squeezed tight, as she often did, before she let go.

Her brown eyes were big and glossy, somehow reflecting the shine of her hair.

She probably still had some natural brown left, but when she’d started seeing ‘more than a little’ silver slipping in, she’d decided to embrace it and dyed her whole head.

It’d shocked the entire family, so for a week straight they’d all taken to calling her ‘grandma’ instead.

Alessa remembered, only in that moment, her mother had actually loved that joke.

“My goodness, look at you!” Stella swept her hands up and down, framing Alessa but not touching. “I haven’t seen you dressed like this in years. You look like a woman!”

Alessa fought the need to smack herself in the face. “ Mom , please.”

“Mrs. Adimari,” Rocco said, stepping forward and smoothly drawing Alessa back to his side. “We’re sorry to drop in unannounced. Are you and your husband available for a visit? Or should we come back?”

Stella’s eyes widened and she shifted her weight, regarding Rocco openly. “You—you’re the man I spoke to on the phone.”

“I am.”

She looked back to Alessa.

Alessa smiled. “Introductions will be easier with Dad around.”

Stella nodded, drew herself up, and pulled the door wide. “Of course, of course! Come in. Alfonso! Alessa’s home! And she brought men!”

Alessa stumbled .

Rocco caught her around the waist, Emanuele’s choked-off snort catching in her ears.

The Adimaris were more than Rocco had expected, and also exactly what he’d hoped for.

Though their home was modest, it had obviously been filled for many years with love and life.

Most of it had been adapted to accommodate Alfonso Jr., who struggled to spend too much time on his feet and always required no less than a cane.

But for a man who had spent the better part of two decades on forced retirement, he was still sharp.

Rocco saw easily why he might once have been someone a previous mafia head would have entrusted with a job as precious as protecting a dear loved one.

And there were signs, small and subtle though they were, that the De Salvos had not yet forgotten the cost Alfonso had paid in his service to them.

Just as the carefully maintained lawn surrounding only Al’s grave, the fresh flowers lining the base of the stone, and the quality of the marker itself, all indicated that the youngest Alfonso’s sacrifice was also remembered.

But he wasn’t just meeting Alessa’s parents to get a behind-the-scenes look at how his allies treated their people, useful though that information could be.

So, shortly before dinner, when Alessa allowed her mother to drag her out of the room for something involving ‘women’s things’ that was sure to take more than a second, Rocco decided the time was upon him.

He hadn’t wanted to be too obvious, after all.

“Do you smoke, Rocco?” Alfonso asked before Rocco could act.

The question threw him, just for a beat. “No. But I’ll sit with you if you want to go out for one.”

Alfonso smiled. “Stella doesn’t like it much, but she lets me light up for occasions. Just let me grab my cigar from my office, I’ll meet you out back. We can talk there.” He looked in Em’s direction. “What about you?”

Em didn’t hesitate. “No thank you, sir. Three years sober.”

Alfonso whistled, already rotating the wheels of his chair. “Good man. None for you, then. You’ll have to tell Stella if you’re dry, too, though. She’ll just assume you’re a drinker.” He added the last with a laugh as he rolled from the room.

Rocco looked over at Em. “Has it been three years?”

“And two months, technically.” Em smiled.

“Damn. You should’ve reminded me so we could have celebrated.” He clapped the man on the shoulder as he stepped past, toward the patio door. “Don’t let me miss year five. We’ll do something then.”

“I dunno, you might have your hands full by then,” Em replied with a wide grin.

Rocco smiled and continued out the door. He damn sure hoped so. He spotted the patio furniture set off to the side and made his way there, choosing a seat just one removed from the space obviously left open for his host’s chair .

Alfonso didn’t keep him waiting, and in moments his cigar was lit and he was blowing out his first puff into the early evening air.

“So, Rocco … ordinarily this would be inappropriate, but seeing as you’re sleeping with my daughter, you’ll have to forgive me.

” His gaze hardened. “What are your intentions with my Lessa? Tell me straight. I know what world we live in. I need to know what kind of support my girl’s gonna need. ”

Rocco smiled at the no-nonsense question. “That is what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said. Something like anxiety twisted his gut. “I’m not playing any games with her. Alessa is … everything. And I have every intention of making her my wife, of keeping her beside me so long as I live.”

Alfonso’s jaw fell open, the cigar slipping almost completely out of his mouth.

“But I haven’t told her that yet,” Rocco continued, speaking calmly despite the pit of nausea continuing to form inside. “I know what family means to her, and I know what I would need to ask of her would be difficult. So I wanted to ask you first, if I could have your blessing, as Alessa’s father.”

Alfonso cleared his throat sharply and roughly snuffed out the cigar. “You … don’t think that’s a little fast?”

Rocco shook his head. “I think I would cease to breathe if she were taken from this world.”

Alfonso was quiet for several seconds, his brow furrowed. “And Alessa,” he finally said, “do you know how she feels? Do you know ?”

The nausea in his stomach began to ease and Rocco’s smile returned. “She’s already told me. But that, I believe, is something you should ask her. I would have reason to lie, after all. ”

Alfonso laughed quietly. “I suppose you would.” He drew a breath. “She has responsibilities here, you know. To the family.”

Rocco nodded. “I’m meeting with the De Salvos tonight, to discuss other matters,” he said.

“I intend to take the opportunity to also speak to Dante about my intentions regarding Alessa. I don’t want my proposal to her to be seen as a betrayal.

And I want her to be able to answer only for herself—not out of guilt or duty. ”

Alfonso studied him for a long minute. Then he reached for his cigar and frowned when he realized he’d already snuffed it. “Damn. Got distracted.” He sighed and set it down again. “You’re in love with my little girl.”

It wasn’t a question, but Rocco answered anyway. “I am.”

“You know she’s not your typical mafia woman.”

Rocco smiled wide. “I’ve seen her work.”

Pride gleamed in Alfonso’s eyes. “If you mean what you say, really mean it, and she feels the same, then you have my blessing. But we’ll expect to stay in her life.

So that’ll have to be figured out.” He drew another breath.

“And you’ll need to straighten things out with Mr. De Salvo before you ask. ”

Rocco held out his hand. “You have my word.” He paused, and as his future father-in-law took his hand, he asked, “Just one thing. Are you open to having a vacation house in Las Vegas?”