“You said it didn’t go as planned.”
“Yeah,” I grumbled, trying to knock myself back into alignment so as not to tip my hand. “I’d kind of been keeping us at arm’s length, you know? Never really letting us get too close. I don’t know. I think if he’d tried something last night, I would have let him. Instead, he kind of friend-zoned me.”
Carmine wrinkled up his nose. “Oh. That sucks. Well, listen, if you don’t think it’s weird, I can set you up with someone.”
“Really?” I’d never been set up on any sort of blind date or anything of that nature before. “I’m not really looking to get too involved with someone.”
He shook his head. “No, my friends arenotthe type you’d want to do that with, but if you’re looking for someone to just have a little fun with, they’d be perfect”
I set my head in my hands. “Maybe. Do you have any pictures?”
“Mmhm.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped through it, then handed it over to me. It was a picture of him and several other men who were all dressed in similar tuxedos. I pointed to one guy with blond hair and an innocent face. He kind of reminded me of Ashton. “Who’s this?”
He snickered. “Maneater. You would pick out the most innocent-looking one.”
I rolled my eyes. “I like what I like.”
“His name is Sam. I can hook you guys up if you want. Trust me. He’s every bit as innocent as he looks. Not likenothing, but next to nothing. If I show himyou,he might come off that alone.”
“Don’t be gross,” I growled, “but keep it in mind. I’ll let you know.”
He laughed. “Cool.”
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” I asked. “After spending time with Benny a few days ago, it seemed like he was kind of aiming for underboss. How’d you get it?”
He nodded. “Oh, yeah. It was weird. It had been Manny, but he was really just a stand in until her kids were old enough. I always assumed it would be Cherri or Bennett when they were a little older, but one day, Illiana invited me into her office and told me she wanted me to do it. At first, I refused because I thought it should go to one of them, but she insisted, so I took it.”
“Huh.”
“Right?” Carmine said. “If it’s not gonna be one of her pure kids, why wouldn’t it be you as the oldest?”
“Yeah. Not that I’d be good at it, anyway. I think you’re good for it. I was just curious how that happened.”
He laughed. “You think I’m good for it? I think I’m horrible. The captains all respect me enough, I guess, but sometimes, I want to tell them to just go straight to Illiana. Not that I’d ever dare.”
I smiled. “Right.”
“Hey! You’re back.” Cherri walked into the dining room and sat down at the table across from Carmine and me. She craned her neck to look into Carmine’s fruit bowl, but then she scrunched her nose and backed off. It was a confirmation that I needed. She turned and smiled at me. “How was your night?”
“More boring than it was supposed to be. Speaking of which, thank you for letting me use your car again. I’m gonna talk to mom today about getting one of my own,” I said.
“Are you sure? I literally do nothing all day. It’s fine for you to use it.”
“No offense, but I want something a little cooler.”
She held up her hands, her grin broadening. “No offense taken. I get that it’s not the prettiest car around, but it gets the job done.”
“That’s all you can really ask of it, right?” I joked.
She nodded. “True indeed.”
Sitting with Carmine and Cherri relaxed my nerves a bit. Even if there was something weird going on with Carmine, it was nice to be among people who didn’t hate me from their cores. Ashton didn’t hate me, I knew that, but he was heavily influenced by people that did. At least Carmine and Cherri appeared to be making their own decisions.
“Denise?” Illiana’s high pitched and proper voice rang through the house.
“In the dining room!” I called out.
The shallow, rhythmic clack of Illiana’s heels against the foyer’s marble floor preceded her walking into the dining room. She stopped at the arched doorway and crossed her arms. “Oh, good. I was hoping you could help me with something.”
