Page 145 of Vows of a Mobster

“Declan, it’s not about trust,” I told him. “I trust Marissa with my life. And Emma’s. Please don’t take it personally.”

There was a long moment of testosterone stare down till finally Declan nodded in agreement.

I felt a presence behind me and turned my head.

“Jesus Christ,” I screamed, jumping out of my skin. Antonio was behind Mateo and me. “What the fuck, Antonio?” I hissed in a low voice. “You just scared the living Jesus out of me. What are you doing back there?”

He grinned. “I’m watching your back.”

I pressed my hand on my chest. “You will give me a heart attack,” I muttered, rolling my eyes at him. “Did you hear him come behind us?” I questioned Mateo.Yep, he did. “Am I the only one oblivious here?”

“Brie, you just get lost in the people around you or your own thoughts,” Marissa tried to make me feel better and totally failed.

“Okay, let me walk to Emma with you guys so I can tell her I’ll see her at the reception.” I took Marissa’s hand, while Declan stood behind both of us. “Jesus, are you watching our backs too?” I questioned him.

“Or watching your behinds,” he cackled, the joke bad and dangerous.

Both Marissa and I faltered our steps. “Don’t taunt, Declan,” I warned him.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Marissa hissed. “Mateo is possessive of her.”

My eyes traveled to my now husband. He and Antonio were talking, but his eyes were on me. That man noticed everything. My body responded to him instantly. He still didn’t tell me what we were doing for our one-day honeymoon excursion.

“You’ll stay with Emma tonight, right Mar?” I asked my best friend.

“Yes, Mar and I will stay with Emma all night,” Daphne answered beside me.

“Can I ride with Aunt Mar?” Emma repeated her earlier question.

I lowered down, my dress sprawling around me like a lake. “Yes, you can go with her. Mateo and I will be right behind you. And tonight, I’ll go on a short trip but I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Because I have to go to the doctor?”

“Well, first because I can’t be without you.” She giggled. “And yes, we will have to go to the doctor again.”

I stood up. “Shit, I don’t know if I can do another one of those sessions, Brie,” Daphne muttered in a low voice, to keep it out of Emma’s earshot.

I took a deep breath in and then slowly exhaled out. “Dr. Guzman called me yesterday. He thinks he might have a good match but I haven’t heard from him since.”

“Did he say who?” Marissa asked.

“No, donors are anonymous. It is not you, nor any of your family,” I told her. “I’m just scared to even hope for it.”

“It will work out, Brianna,” Declan spoke finally, going from playful flirting to serious. “Do you mind letting me know if the donor ends up not being a match?” I frowned at that request. “Maybe my family could get tested. My mom was quite fascinated with your daughter.”

“Oh.” It seemed odd, but I couldn’t afford to refuse it.

“Declan,” I started and he watched me intently. “Is Aoife a common name among Irish?”

Fuck it. I asked it, and there was no taking it back.

He studied me, and it took all I got not to squirm under his gaze. “It is an old Irish name. It is not so common anymore but it is not unheard of among Irish.”

“I see.”

“Okay, we are going to go.” Marissa lifted Emma into her arms, and I leaned over to place one more kiss on Emma’s cheek. “Let’s go, Declan.”

I watched them walk out of the church, multiple men trailing behind them. There were a few in front of them. My instinct was telling me that Declan would never let anything happen to Marissa nor Emma. He was very much like Mateo in that regard.