Donny is sitting in the corner, sunglasses on and rubbing his temples. “I’m still drunk and stoned, don’t ask me.”
My support base is dwindling quickly. Izzy—my cousin, and one of the few people I truly care about—crosses her arms and turns away. “I’m on whatever side Alana picks.”
Izzy’s fiancé, Lance, adds, “I’m team Alana all the way. She’s my best friend I’m not sleeping with.” He wraps his arms around Izzy and snuggles into her neck.
Oh Lance, what a mistake you’ve made. Admitting in front of the whole clan that you’re actively sleeping with the daughter of a mob boss? Tsk Tsk, my friend. It doesn’t matter that they’ve been engaged for a while now, and been living together for a year, tradition is tradition.
Uncle Gio storms into the room, eyes blazing with the misplaced righteous anger of a father. “The fuck?”
But Aunt Dawn places her hand on her husband’s arm. “She has an eleven-year-old son, we don’t have to pretend she’s a virgin. That ship sailed years ago.”
Uncle Gio narrows his eyes and makes the “I’m watching you” gesture at Lance. Then he turns back to me. Finally! He’ll have my back. And then he says, “Picking Alana’s side is the safest option.”
Et tu, Uncle Gio? Damn.
I push my way to the kitchen, where Thiago and his family are fussing over the food. As soon as I walk in, I feel the icy sting of twenty cold shoulders. How the hell does this news travel so fast?
Reaching for a plate, my hand is whacked by a spatula. I’m not sure who does it, but the aunts and wives glare at me. This is getting ridiculous.
“I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Thiago’s wife whips around, brandishing a butter knife. “You did. I’ve known you for a long time, and at the very least you said something stupid. At worst, you hurt her on a deep and personal level.”
Thiago steps behind his wife and carefully takes the knife out of her hand. “Just say the words, ‘I’m sorry.’”
“I’ve been with this family for thirty fucking years. I’ve fought in the trenches. Lied, stole, and bled for you. Did it ever cross your mind that the dog walker is a crazy bitch?”
The chill in the air changes to a fiery rage. Thiago’s wife glares at me. “Now you’re disrespecting Nonna. She picked Jenny to care for Kingston, and I will not have you disparaging Nonna’s memory. Out!” She points back to the living room.
Fuck. I find a corner where no one will talk to me and start playing Bubblegum Princess Sparkles on my phone, eventually flipping over to fan theories for the next season of the Knights of the Night for the rest of the evening. Anything to distract me from the painful truth—that Jenny has infiltrated my life. My family would pick her over me. How the hell did this happen?
There’s a shadow over me and a nudge to my foot. Lance. Fucking traitor. He rubs his neck and shifts his weight back and forth. “I was wondering if you wanted to be a groomsman for the wedding. It would mean a lot to me and to Izzy.”
“Fuck you,” I grumble, followed by a quiet, “Yes.” I flip my phone over on my leg. “Who’s going to be your best man? Alana?”
He checks his phone and slides it back into his pocket. “Alana will be a maid of honor along with Waverly. I think she wanted to wear a dress instead of a suit. Thiago will be my best man.”
“Thiago?”
Lance lifts his hands up. “We’ve been friends for twelve years now. I was in the room the day he met his wife.” He mumbles under his breath, “Alana was the one who set them up.”
Alana. I would need a murder board and a lot of string to figure out all the ways she’s affected the family in the four years since she arrived on the scene.
Lance hovers around for a second. “How are you holding up?”
“Besides the fact that my family would betray me in a heartbeat?”
He drops his voice a little. “About Nonna?”
“It hasn’t hit yet.”
He nudges my foot again. “When it does, I’m here. I’m a shockingly good listener, great hugger, and, since I’m not family, I’m safe to vent around if that’s what you need.”
I huff. “You’re family.”
And I swear to God he fucking lights up like a Christmas tree. “Thanks, man.” He pats me on the shoulder and returns to the others.
The night ticks on, bit by bit, my people return to me. I think once they saw Lance talking to me, they knew it was safe. Good. I need them. Uncle Gio won’t talk to me about family business with the girls around. And that suits me just fine.
