Angelo laughs as he pulls me close and kisses the top of my head. “I told you I had a big family.”
“Big is an understatement, sweetheart.”
An extremely handsome older man comes to a stop in front of Angelo. “Son, you look happy. It’s nice to see the smile on your face.”
Angelo grabs the man in a tight embrace. “Uncle Sal, it’s so good to see you.”
I’ve heard stories about Uncle Sal, Santino’s brother from Florida, and their wild days when they were younger. Sal looks so much like Santino, only with less gray sprinkled into his black hair.
Sal turns his gaze toward me, and his smile widens. “Ah, Tilly, my dear.” He reaches for my hand and brings it to his lips. “More beautiful than I ever could’ve imagined.”
My face heats at the way this man looks at me, the devilish gleam in his eyes as he kisses the tender skin on the back of my hand. I can picture Sal and Santino breaking hearts all over the streets of Chicago back in the day.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say, unable to hide my smile as he moves away.
“The pleasure is ours,” he says as he pulls a woman forward. “This is my wife, your aunt Maria.”
The woman is stunning. A complete knockout in her long black silk gown, which hugs every curve just perfectly.
“Well, aren’t you a looker,” she says, and before I can reply, she grabs me, practically squeezing the air from my lungs. “You hold on to this one. Don’t let him boss you around either. We’ll talk. You have to handle a Gallo man.”
I laugh softly as she pulls away, winking at me. There’s so much truth in her words. Every man in this family likes to assert his dominance. They’re not unlike Southern gentlemen with their natural-born instinct to be the master of the universe, including the boss of their women.
Angelo’s different. He’s bossy, for sure, but I’ve learned how to get my way and have him see the light. It doesn’t hurt that a little girl has him practically wrapped around her finger, too.
“We’re not bossy, Auntie Mar,” Angelo tells her.
She places her hand on his cheek, staring up at him with such love. “You’re all bossy, dear. It’s genetic and sometimes you can’t help yourself, but it’s our job as your women to help you adapt.”
Angelo laughs as Uncle Sal rolls his eyes and mumbles under his breath about showing her who’s boss later.
Everyone from last night is behind Sal and Maria, plus some new faces. They’re busy talking, paying no attention to our conversation.
“I heard you had a nice time last night,” Maria says as she steps off to the side, making room for them to greet us.
I guess no one told her what happened last night. How we ended up at a sex club, drinking way too much, and spending time together. I don’t say a word, deciding it’s best for the parents not to know the details of our evening.
My eyes move from one to another, seeing them in the light and dressed to the nines. The men are huge with that dark, mysterious edge to them. Wide shoulders, little peeks of tattoos showing on their exposed skin, and hot as sin. The women are beautiful, and each one is so different, it’s clear the brothers do not have the same taste in women.
Joe steps in front of the pack. “Suzy and I are so happy for you two,” he says in a deep voice. I’m sure he makes most women go weak at the knees, and I’m not immune to his sexy purr.
“Welcome to the family,” Suzy says and isn’t shy about hugging me either. “It’s always wonderful to have more cousins.”
I think about her words as she embraces me. I’ve never really had a family. Mine was small, and when my parents passed, Roger and Mitchell were all I had left. Now, standing in front of all these people, I realize my world has just exploded like in the big bang, but instead of stars, my universe is filled with relatives.
Her husband pulls her back to his side, a move Angelo’s made with me more times than I can count. “These are our children.” He motions for them to step forward, and they do. “This is Gigi, Luna, and Rosie.” He points to each girl as he says her name.
Gigi isn’t a child. She’s almost fully grown and probably going to give her father a run for his sanity. Actually, they’re probably all going to give their father trouble as they grow. They’re a perfect mix of their father and mother, stunningly beautiful.
Luna and Rosie each give me a small smile, but Gigi’s busy typing on her phone until her father clears his throat. She finally looks up when he moves behind her, and his shadow falls over her.
“I’m sorry about that,” Gigi says, ignoring her father and talking directly to me. “Men are so needy.” She rolls her eyes, and I immediately like this kid. “My boyfriend doesn’t like me being so far away.”
I move my gaze to her father as she’s speaking. He’s staring at the ceiling with his jaw set tight and his hands fisted at his sides. Yep, she’s definitely going to give him more than a few gray hairs.
“It’s fine, dear.” I smile. “They don’t get any better the older they get either, but there’s a fine line between caring and suffocation.”
Joe grunts as Gigi rolls her eyes again. She clearly doesn’t like my message. It takes years to know the difference. With age comes wisdom and a ton of hard lessons.
