Page 38 of Vows of a Mobster

I chuckled as she pulled me along with Daphne towards the terrace. None of us gave another glance to Marcus. I really wished he would stop trying so hard to get into my pants. I was frank with him and told him I was not interested… multiple times. But it only made him more determined to seduce me. Now, he thought himself in love with me which was a ridiculous notion. The man chased skirts as a hobby.

Fifteen

Mateo

The fear and horror on Brianna’s face when she saw Marcus with the little girl was disturbing. I knew something was wrong but couldn’t see anything that would have caused such an alarm.

Marcus was swinging a little, blonde haired girl over the pool’s edge, and she was squealing from joy. Brianna forgot her friends and started running towards them shouting at my brother and I realized the little girl couldn’t swim. We all ran behind her, and it took Brianna cursing at him to get Marcus to stop.

I wondered who the little girl was but in my heart I knew. Brianna was her mother. It caused a sinking feeling to realize Brianna was married. I didn’t see that one coming. She was definitely out of Marcus’ reach... and mine.

Seeing her hug the little girl like her life depended on it confirmed their relationship. For a fleeting moment, the little girl’s eyes met mine and although her coloring was nothing like her mothers, I could see Brianna in that little face.

Which one of the men at this party was the lucky husband,I wondered to myself as I watched her walk away with Marissa and Daphne. This must have been what Marissa meant when she said Brianna could resist Marcus and could keep him at bay.

I turned my gaze to my brother. He watched after them too, a puppy love stricken look on his face. He had it bad for Brianna.

“Marcus, you are not to touch her,” I gritted through my teeth. It pissed me off to see him watching her, although I just did the same. There was one major difference. Marcus didn’t give a fuck that she was married.

Damn it, why did it bother me that she was married,I asked myself.She should be mine!

Women never had a big impact on me. To me, they were a replaceable commodity. But watching Brianna, it felt different. Fuck, I would not stay here long. Maybe I’d use the advice Brianna gave me a few nights ago. It certainly worked in the bar.

“Mateo,” my aunt’s shrill voice reached me and I knew it wouldn’t work. That damn womanwouldfollow me into the bathroom. What my uncle was thinking when he married her, I had no idea. She wanted to fuck any man that even glanced her way. She used to be an attractive woman but after so many men were killed because she couldn’t keep her legs closed, I despised her. She was lucky I loved Marissa and her brothers, otherwise I wouldn’t tolerate her.

An hour later, I was still at the party. For some dumb reason, I stuck around, interested to find out which one of these men was Brianna’s husband. It felt like a damn teenage girl's love-stricken move to spy on her. I scoffed at myself. I was anything but love stricken. That word didn’t exist in my vocabulary.

Who was her husband? I hated to admit it to myself but Brianna, and curiosity about which man was her husband, was the only reason I still stuck around. It wouldn’t be anyone in our family. But mostly members of our family were here.

I sat at the table trying to enjoy my scotch since it would seem there was nothing else to enjoy. I found the only man my aunt hated and sat by his side. Antonio was her late husband’s best friend and my right-hand man since the day I took over as the boss of this family. He was in his fifties, a good man… although still a badass. I was glad to have him on my side.

“I’m surprised to see you still here,” Antonio commented.

He was right, I never came to these kinds of parties. When I came to these gatherings, I never stuck around long. There were too many women around, and they liked to eye me like I was a prize. I picked my own women and kept them around for a short period. There would never be a risk of running into them again. I liked to keep my family, business, and private life separate.

“Checking out the territory,” I offered vaguely.

His gaze followed mine and laughed. Damn fucker.

“I see,” he spoke through the chuckle.

“And you?” I retorted dryly. “I know how much my aunt loves you,” I added sarcastically.

“Checking out territory too,” he muttered, his eyes on the table where Marissa, Daphne, and Brianna sat together. In the last few years, I noticed Antonio eyeing Daphne, although he’d barely even spoken to her. He felt protective of her. At times, I wondered if he attended these kinds of gatherings just to ensure Daphne was alright. I knew when her mother was going through cancer treatments, her father asked him to keep an eye on her since he was taking every free minute to spend with his wife at the hospital. Maybe she grew on him.

Unlike my aunt. She could never grow on anyone. She was a major pain in the ass. Thank God sitting with Antonio worked to keep her at bay. Every so often I found myself glancing Brianna’s way and searching out her daughter. She kept a keen eye on her daughter, glancing her way every so often.

I wondered why I had never seen her before. If they all went to college together, and obviously, they were very close, why have I not heard or seen her before now? Marissa's brothers knew her too. Giovanni, Marissa’s eldest brother, seemed particularly close with Brianna.

“Hey girly,” Giovanni wrapped his arms around Brianna and lifted her in the air. “Where have you been hiding?”

“Hey,” she squealed back at him, smiling comfortably, before smacking him. “Put me down.”

He twirled her instead, before putting her down, and while Brianna tried to get her balance back, he pecked her on the cheek. She brushed her hand over his cheek and smiled at him gently. Seeing the exchange rubbed me the wrong way.

“Dance with me,” he asked hopefully. Then just as he asked, an upbeat song came on. Just the kind they played in the nightclubs.

“Just take pity and dance with him,” Marissa urged her on.