“Johnny said you left the bar with a blonde last night. Plus, you slept in, and you looked like you got clawed up by a feral cat when I woke your ass up.”
Shit. I do have fond memories of Isla sinking her nails into my shoulders and raking them down my chest as I was balls deep inside her. I hadn’t taken notice when I showered and dressed; the bathroom mirror had been steamed up.
I shrug. “Maybe I rescued a stray yesterday.”
He snorts. “Yeah, you’re just the patron saint of good fucking deeds.”
“I agreed to be your best man, didn’t I?” I run a hand through my wet hair. “Look, I promised Luna I’d behave. And I’ve stayed out of trouble.”
Priest glares at me. “So far. I mean it,stronzi. None of you ruin this for me, or I’ll have you clipped.”
“Luna would never let you have one of us killed,” Scorpion says mildly. “She’s too softhearted.”
Priest looks us all dead in the eyes, one at a time. “Who says she’d ever know?”
“No women,” I agree easily.
There’s only one who interests me anyway, and I’m not stupid enough to pursue her a second night. I’ll just want another and another after that, and then I’d still want more. Isla is damned addictive.
“No drinking tonight,” Lucky says, “but what about this afternoon?”
“No drinking until the ceremony is over,” Priest growls, “or I’ll cut off your balls and feed them to sharks.”
Lucky goes a little pale. He was probably drinking his face off at the club last night anyway. I understand. This is the most freedom we’ve had in years. We’re still the Andrianis here, but we don’t have to look over our shoulders.
We’re not sitting ducks in the middle of a city teeming with rival Mafia factions. After our war with the Revellos died, things settled into a lull. But no one who’s been in this world long enough believes that a lull will fucking last. In the city, we’re on guard, on edge. We’re strapped and at the ready for whatever shit may go down. Here in paradise, everything is slowed down. There’s a false sense of peace. I guess I fell into the trap myself last night with Isla.
“Fine,” Lucky mutters. “But what are we doing today if we’re not drinking? Strip club? At least that would be fun.”
“Jesus.” Priest shakes his head. “Luna would kill me. Do I look like I want to be murdered in my sleep?”
“Well, fuck me.” Lucky shakes his head, clearly not impressed by the day ahead of us.
I can’t say I blame him. I love my brother, but being at Priest’s mercy and jumping through whatever hoops he’s arranged for us isn’t exactly my idea of fun.
“You’ll survive,” Scorpion tells him.
“We’re going snorkeling,” Priest announces.
Lucky starts to grumble again.
“It’s going to be fun as fuck,” our eldest brother snaps, interrupting his complaining. “Now get some trunks on and meet me in the lobby. We’ll be taking the boat I recently acquired, and we’ll be gone all day. We’ll get back in time to get a good night’s rest for the wedding tomorrow.”
“A good night’s rest,” Lucky repeats under his breath. “Maybe we can braid each other’s hair and have a fucking pillow fight before we go to sleep too.”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing. Priest is serious about this, and even if he is being a bit of a groomzilla, I love my brother. I love Luna like the sister I never had. The two of them have been through hell, and they almost lost each other in the middle of the brutal, all-out war between a faction led by Amedeo the Animal Revello and our crew.
“Stop whining and go get your trunks on,” I tell Lucky, smacking him on the shoulder.
“Ouch.” He rubs the place where I hit him, turning a glare on me. “Don’t bruise me. The ladies won’t like it.”
“No fucking women,” Priest growls.
“After the wedding is over,” Lucky stresses, giving our brother a shit-eating grin. “Wouldn’t dream of it before you sayI dofor the second time.”
“This is the one that matters. The last time was under duress. This wedding is about Luna and what she deserves.”
“Come on, Luck.” Scorpion and I start dragging him from the bungalow.
