“Neither is mine,” I remind her, but she knows my father just as well as I do.
Michelle grew up in the life too. Her father worked for mine until he passed away five years ago in a tragic car accident. She wondered for a long time if it was a hit, but so far, we haven’t found any evidence. My father swears there was no war going on and everything that happened to Eddie, Michelle’s dad, was accidental.
She glances up at the ceiling. “Is it really over between you two, or are you bullshitting me?”
“Yes. It’s really over,” I say, but I don’t even convince myself, and I know Michelle doesn’t buy it either.
“So, it was that good, wasn’t it?”
“What was?” I play stupid.
“The sex.” She shakes her head, annoyed with me. “You said he had a perfect penis and the best body you’d ever seen.”
“Girl.” I let out a loud sigh. “He was the best ever.”
“Toe-curling?” The corner of her mouth ticks up.
We’ve always been honest with each other and never hid anything before… Why start now?
“Everything curling. I’m in trouble here, Michelle. Real trouble.”
“Daphne, your phone is vibrating across the bar,” Johnny says as he lifts my cell phone up and stares at the screen. “Who’s The Best You’ll Ever Have?”
“Oh fuck,” I mutter and leave Michelle behind, marching straight to Johnny and plucking my phone from his grip.
Angelo looks at me, and I can see the questions already swirling around in his head. “Who you seein’, Daphne?” Angelo finally asks as I jam my phone into my purse underneath the bar. “It’s not the first time he’s called.”
I don’t turn around, keeping my back to him because it’s easier to lie when I don’t have to face him. “No one.”
The words are almost truthful. I’m not seeing Leo. Well, not anymore, at least. We aren’t a thing. We fucked. Okay, we fucked a few times, but that doesn’t make us athing.
“You were MIA last night, and now you show up with a hickey on your neck again,” he says.
“Fuck,” I whisper and close my eyes, pretending to dig in my purse for something that’s not there. “I fell down. That’s what the bruise is from. It’s not a hickey, jagoff.”
“So, you fell and hit your neck?” His voice rises on the last word.
I lift my face to find Michelle staring at me, twisting her lips as she tries to hide her laughter. I give her a look that’s nothing short of deadly. “Something like that.” I stand, finally turning toward my brother and somehow keeping a straight face. “Anyway, I’m fine.”
“And the phone call?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Just some random dude.”
Angelo looks to Michelle and she nods, but there’s no smile on her face. She’s the lamest liar on the planet. Although she’d be the first person at my side to fuck shit up, she’d also be the first one singing to the cops and confessing all our crimes, especially if Angelo were the detective. She’s always had a thing for him, even though she tries to hide it. I’m not stupid or blind.
“Yeah. He’s no one, really,” Michelle says with the fakest laugh I’ve ever heard.
Angelo doesn’t say anything more, but his eyes are still on me. There’s no way in hell I’m telling him anything more than he needs to know. And right now, he doesn’t need to know about Leo.
I start to walk away, satisfied that the conversation’s over, when Angelo says, “Billy saw you at the little airport outside of town last night.”
I freeze mid-stride with one leg in the air, waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. My eyes are wide and locked on Michelle, and she looks just as horrified as me.
That fucker has been leading me on, knowing full well I was with someone, but playing stupid, trying to get me to crack. But I’m a pro. Growing up Gallo has taught me a thing or two…evasion being one of those skills.
“He said you were with some guy getting on a private jet last night. Billy said the guy looked familiar, but he couldn’t place his face. Well, not yet, at least. Did you take a little trip, sis? Maybe with the Best You’ll Ever Have.”
I spin around on one heel like I’m a freaking ballerina and stare down my brother. “I don’t have to tell you anything. Mind your own business.” He dips his head, and the corner of his mouth tips upward, making me angrier. “I don’t ask you who you’re screwing, and you don’t get to ask me, big brother.”
