“You too, Mikey.”
He slapped me on the shoulder, almost throwing me off-kilter. “You’re still an asshole. That’s why you’re my favorite cousin,” he said with a grin.
Peering over his shoulder, I gawked at his woman. She had pink cheeks, wild curls that fell over her shoulders, and matching warm brown eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. “Who do we have here?” I asked, giving her my best smile.
Mike cleared his throat; his glare was inescapable as he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist. “This is my wife, Mia.” He emphasized the wife part.
“It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mia.” I reached for her hand.
“She’s mine,” Mike warned, pulling Mia toward him.
She gave me a playful smirk. “Hey, handsome.”
Mike pulled her closer. “Mia,” he snarled.
“Get over yourself, Michael. It’s your cousin,” she told him, motioning toward me as she pried herself from his grip.
“Oh, I like her already.”
“Hey, little cousin,” Thomas said, pulling me into a bear hug as a beautiful redhead stood behind him. “It’s so good to see you, man.”
“It’s nice to see you made it out alive,” I told him. His years undercover had aged him, but his getting out in one piece was nothing short of miraculous.
“I could say the same to you. I want you to meet my wife, Angel.”
“Hi, Morgan. It’s wonderful to meet you.” She held her hand out.
Instead of taking her hand, I did it the Gallo way and wrapped her in my arms. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Angel,” I whispered before releasing her.
“Morgan!” a woman screeched from behind Angel, pushing her out of the way. “I’ve missed you!”
“Izzy?” I asked as I looked down at her and shook my head, shocked that she was no longer the little girl I’d pictured.
My little cousin Izzy had always been beautiful—well, maybe not during that awkward teenage phase. When she was little, she’d follow us around, trying to do whatever we were. I couldn’t imagine dealing with a little sister all the time. I would’ve gone batshit crazy.
“You’ve grown more beautiful with age,” I teased, but it was the truth.
“You’re still a bullshitter, DeLuca.” She kicked the dirt near her feet much like she had when she was a little girl.
“Where’s my hug from the bride-to-be?”
She flung herself into my arms. As I squeezed her, I watched as Ma greeted everybody too with a giant smile on her face.
“You’re like hugging a damn hard teddy bear,” Izzy said as her fingers dug into my back.
“Must be a Gallo thing,” I replied, noticing that I was similar in size to her brothers.
“Choking me,” she whined with a strangled voice.
“Sorry, babe,” I said as I set her feet on the ground.
“You’re a big lug.” She laughed as Auntie Mar approached us.
There was something weird about seeing my family after having been apart for many years. Although they were different people and had grown older, we fell in like old times. The familiarity hadn’t vanished. We shared memories of the way things used to be, and that drew us together, making us one.
The number of new names I’d have to remember was daunting. Angel was Thomas’ wife, James was Izzy’s husband-to-be, Max was Anthony’s wife, Suzy was Joe’s wife, and Mia was Mike’s. Plus, they each had children. Maybe by the end of the trip I’d have the names down pat. It was enough to make my head spin.
“Hey, Auntie Mar. I’ve missed you.”
