“Drinking makes her hungry,” Atta said, reaching across the table and going for a hash brown from my plate.
I poised my fork over my food and pretended I was going to stab her with it. She hurriedly stuck the potato in her mouth and scrunched her nose up at me.
Marciano laughed so hard he had to set down the bite he was about to take. Atta and I caught his laughter, and we were howling by the time Marciano began to eat again. I had fallen for Marciano as a brother almost right away.
Atta nodded at me, reading the thoughts behind my eyes. She had fallen for him as a cousin. The Fausti men were jovial when they were together. It was easy to accept them as family,especially, I was noticing, outside of Italy. Perhaps in America, they still had rules, but not as hard as they did in Italy.
“Ty is missing out on so much,” Atta said, setting her napkin down. Then the slight look she sent me registered.
She was missing him but was also relieved that he was safe in Maine. He had gone back to escort Emma to Angelo and Atta’s wedding. If the Fausti men did something to disturb Rattler and his brothers, Ty was not around to be used as leverage and revenge.
“He will be back tomorrow.” Angelo wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her in, kissing her temple. “I spoke to him earlier.”
A song started to play from the jukebox. Atta and I looked at each other and sang along to it. It was our song, one we enjoyed singing together. The waitress came back to our table, halting our karaoke time. She was as nervous as she was the first time. Her eyes kept darting to every man seated at the table.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can I get you all anything else?”
“Hash browns.” Mariano nodded to my plate, barely looking at her. “Another stack of pancakes too.”
Marciano added to his order as well.
Our eyes met over the table.
“Challenge accepted,” I said.
He laughed again.
“He even cuts her pancakes,” the waitress muttered as she walked away, sighing wistfully.
I looked down at my plate. My husband did. He prepared my plate for me before he gave it to me. He even ordered me extra syrup on the side. He knew I liked to dip my pancakes. He did the same for me with salad. He would mix it all together for me.
He always took the first bite as well. He said for me to consider him the food tester for his queen. He wanted to makesure all was okay before I ate it. When the waitress brought more of everything out, Mariano did his usual routine.
I leaned over and kissed him in thanks, then moved to his ear. “I want to go home,” I whispered, moving my eyebrows up and down as I pulled away.
He grinned at my eyebrow wiggle. “You’re still drunk, Annie.”
“Just a little, which is a shame. I was enjoying…feeling loose, if you understand what I am saying.” I gave him a pointed look. “We have whiskey at home. I might get drunk again to see how I am in bed then.”
His eyes heated as I ran my hand over his thigh, his thigh not the central point of what I was going for.
A loudthunk, thunk, thunkcame at the glass window. Atta screamed, and when my eyes found the samethingshe had seen, I dropped my fork on the plate so hard, it chipped.
Rattler.
His brothers hovered around him. They were all wearing cowboy hats, trench coats, and leather gloves.
Mariano’s hand was on my neck. He squeezed lightly. “Look at me, Annie.”
I did.
“I protect you.” His eyes were serious on mine, but in that moment, they were almost…softer, allowing me fully into the moment with him. I could be vulnerable.
Once inside, his eyes grew harder, but somehow, they let me even in further, coating me in armor and allowing me to stay in the shadow of his safety for as long as I needed to.
I had never felt either way before, vulnerable or safe in anyone’s care, and somehow, they came together to sum up the way Mariano Leone Fausti loved me.
I could not even speak. All I could do was nod. When I could form a word, I whispered a word he knew frightened me,snake.Then I held on to his hand so hard, it was almost as if I wanted to merge our bones together. I had not even realized how hard I was leaning on him, almost in his lap, until the moment of shock faded.
