If I were anyone else, Lucky’s jealousy would irritate me. But I feel that same green-eyed monster whenever Stella’s attention is off me and on anyone else, so who am I to judge the kid for something I can’t seem to have any control over either.
“Hey, what about me? Am I chopped liver to you now?” Kostya complains beside me, grabbing our niece and pulling her into his own hug.
Lucky’s scowl stays in place, but at least he doesn’t look at Kostya with the same hostility he saves for me. I’m guessing it’s because while I’ve been spending all my free time with Stella, Kostya has been using his to spend time with Kira and her foster brother Darius at her place. A place I’m sure Lucky plans to live in twenty-four seven the second he graduates high school.
“Let me show you guys around,” Kostya says, already ushering them deeper into the casino.
I watch Selene give Annamaria a quick nod, granting her permission to go with Kostya.
Poor girl really is kept on a tight leash, isn’t she?
But Stella’s younger sister isn’t my concern tonight, her father is.
“Vincent,” I finally greet, extending my hand. “I’m glad you were able to make it.”
“None of us would dare miss this event. Stella wouldn’t hear of it,” Selene chimes, surprising the hell out of me when she leans in and kisses both my cheeks.
The fuck?
She steps back, completely unaware that her little gesture caught me—and the men in her life—off guard.
“Where is that daughter of mine anyway? Do you know?” she asks, scanning the bustling crowd before turning back to me.
“I… um…”
Fuck, is it hot in here?
I tug at my lapel. “She should be around here somewhere. I can go find her.”
“Nonsense. You stay right here and have your guy talk. I’ll find my daughter.” Selene grins at me. “But before I go, I want to thank you for all the care and attention you’ve given her this past month. I’ve never seen Stella so happy.”
Shit.
Shit.
Does she know? Is that why she’s acting like this? So out of character?
I mean, I’m used to getting the cold shoulder and the not-so-odd scathing remark from Stella’s family members, but this…acting all nice and friendly to me…this will take some getting used to.
“So happy that Stella might almost forget that he’s the reason she has a scar on her left shoulder,” Giovanni adds, his chestnut eyes throwing knives at me.
Okay. This is more my speed. This animosity I can understand.
“Gio,” Vincent interjects, silencing him with nothing more than his tone. “We’ve put that incident behind us. No need to pick at an old scab that is determined to heal.”
“I second that,” Selene says. “Gio, why don’t you accompany me on my search?”
Giovanni shoots me one last biting look but doesn’t dare deny his boss’s wife anything. He follows her into the crowd, both of them swallowed up within seconds.
Vincent, his enforcer, Dominic, and I stay where we are.
“Is yourconsiglieregoing to be a problem for me?” I ask, keeping my voice even. “If so, I’d rather know now than later.”
“Gio is not a problem,” Vincent replies. “But you can expect a few jabs from time to time. He may have accepted you into our lives, but that doesn’t mean he’ll roll out the red carpet for you.”
The man is just like Lucky.
“Understood. And you? What do you think of all this?”
