When he tried the impersonal approach with Enzo, I dug my fingers into his wrist, nearly causing him to dump the lone remaining coffee into my lap. "What's going on?"
"Don't worry about it." He stared blankly somewhere above my head. Max tried to jerk his hand free, which pissed me off. I dug my fingernails into his skin. Finally, our eyes met. Enzo pushed me upright, leaning in to brush his fingers over the back of Max's hand.
Okay, so we're playing it like that. Glad someone fucking told me.
Sensing my irritation, Enzo quickly dropped his hand to his lap. That should've eased my mind, but instead, it created a sick rolling in my stomach. If I expected the two of them to lay low, then none of us should be touching around other people.EspeciallyEnzo and me. Fuck, why did life have to be so complicated.
"I thought you'd gone home," I said after Max handed the final cup to Frankie and took his place at my side. Max extended his arm over the back of the couch and I leaned into him. It's what the family would expect since, as far as they knew, Max and I were the couple and Enzo the roommate/brother. My stomach did another flip, sending a surge of bile upward. I swallowed hard, breathing through the urge to vomit.
"Nope, just needed to get some air." He kissed the side of my head. I didn't miss the sidelong glance in Frankie's direction. "I'm sorry I didn't let you know I'd be back."
"It's fine," I told him, even though it wasn't. Later, after the dust settled and I no longer felt like every piece of my life was dangerously close to shattering, we'd sit down and hash out whatever had happened. I wasn't a complete idiot; Max disappeared after talking to Frankie, who kept looking over at us, shaking his head. "Does you getting air have anything to do with Frankie being extra douchey since he came back?"
Before Max could answer, a nurse approached us. "Annette Marino's family?"
"Yes," Freddie stood, introducing himself. "Is she going to be okay?"
"It's still too soon to say, but she's a lucky woman," the nurse informed him. "If your brother hadn't reacted as quickly as he had, the outcome could've been much worse. We've given her a tPA injection, which should dissolve the clot that caused the stroke."
"You hear that, Tony?" Freddie asked, looking directly at me. "Now will you listen when we tell you that you did everything right?"
I shrugged because I'd probably always wonder if there was something more I could've done. If there were signs I'd missed because my mind kept wandering to images of Max and Enzo curled against one another as I'd left them this morning.
"Accept the praise, Tony," Enzo added. "She's lucky you were there to help her."
"I guess." The faux leather under my ass squeaked as I shifted, trying to get comfortable. Enzo squeezed my knee. "Fine, you're right."
"And then what?" Frankie growled, glaring at us. I suppose I shouldn't have expected him to join in the love fest. He was still pissed about whatever Max had said to him.
"Give him some time," Max whispered while Freddie and Frankie listened to the nurse's explanation. I tuned them out, knowing Freddie would explain it to the rest of us. The poor nurse didn't need all five brothers bombarding her with questions. "After your mom's out of the woods, we'll sit down together and talk to him. He's stressed out, and that's not helping him understand."
"There's a chance he won't come around," I warned Max. Either way, I was certain their friendship would be collateral damage.
"We can worry about that later," Enzo said. "Right now..." he jerked his head toward Freddie, who was watching us with a furrowed brow and grimace.
"You guys good?" he asked as he waved for everyone else to gather around. "They're admitting Mama, probably for a few days. Obviously, we can't all sit around waiting for news. I know everyone wants to spend time with Mama, but she needs her rest right now. We'll all go in and say hey, but then most of us should take off. Frankie, can you stay up here for the first shift? I need to get back to work. Carlos is handling the dinner rush, but he can't stay to close."
"Yeah, that's fine. Not like my to-do list for the day wasn't shot to hell before Mama even got sick," he replied, glaring at Enzo and Max. I took a step forward, ready to tell my brother to get his head out of his ass but Enzo held me back. I glanced at him, and he shook his head. I hated him being the voice of reason. "I'll have Cal come up to sit with me after he's done with Ryan's practice tonight."
"We can spend tomorrow morning with her," Levi offered. "I know you and Tony both have work to do at Marino's. Mama wouldn't want the restaurant to suffer because she's sick."
"Good, that's good. I'll stop by late morning after Sophia and Peter are both off to school for the day." It was inappropriate, but I choked back a laugh, picturing Freddie's daughter and fiancé skipping down the sidewalk to school, matching pink backpacks bouncing against their backs. Frankie's glare sharpened, and he actually growled at me, catching Freddie's attention. "Is something bothering you, Frankie? Why are you being such a dick to Tony when he's the reason Mama's probably going to be okay? You should be kissing his ass."
"No thanks," Frankie scoffed. "From the sounds of it, his ass has been so busy he needs a personal assistant to set appointments for it."
"That's enough," Max ground out. "This isn't the time or the place, Frankie."
"Oh that's right, I guess it'syourass that's seeing all the action, right?"
"Frankie. Stop." The entire room went silent at Freddie's barked order. I knew if I looked around, I'd see complete strangers watching the drama unfold before them which is why I was suddenly fascinated by the patterns in the worn carpet. "What would Mama say if she knew you were acting like this?"
"What would she say if she knew her sons were both fucking the same guy? I think she'd be more upset about that than me being pissed off about it." Frankie's eyes grew colder than they'd been since he'd come back inside, if that was possible. When he stared Max down, a shiver jolted through my body. "Seriously man, how could you do that?"
"Not. Now," Max shot back through gritted teeth. "You can hate me if you want, but you're not going to redirect your hurt and fear about your mom by lashing out at your brothers. They've done nothing to deserve being treated this way by you. Do you realize what you just did is on the same level with outing them? How would you have felt ifsomeonehad shared something withoutyourconsent? Remember, Frankie,everyonehas secrets."
Sweat beaded across my forehead and I felt my face flush bright red. Whether the reaction was out of embarrassment or rage, I couldn't be sure. I wanted to curl Enzo into my side and protect him from Frankie's venom, but that'd raise even more red flags. Instead, I squeezed Max's hand, silently pleading with him to let it go for now. I wasn't comfortable with our love life being the entertainment in the emergency room waiting area.
"Guys! Knock it off." Freddie scolded them. "Both of you. It's been a long, shitty day and we're all on edge. Frankie, why don't you go call Cal and fill him in on the plan. Max, take Tony and Enzo home. Are you working tonight?"
