I frown. “I don’t want to be rude but that doesn’t sound very convincing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when I first came down to this super-secret meeting, I was expecting a lot more thanwe’ll try. I mean, that’s not very specific. It could mean anything.”
Doc grins. “You’d make a great lawyer, Tits. You sure you don’t wanna go to law school instead of running some food joint? You can be the Busty Brunette Legally Blonde.”
I ignore him and look from Eli to Bobby. “What do you actually mean bychange? What are you promising for our children?”
“That you’ll call the shots,” Bobby says. “You’ll be the mama and you can decide what you want the kids to get up to, where they’ll go to school, and what their hobbies and friendships look like.”
“We’ll help,” Adriano says, in a low rumble. “We’ll be there for you, but the practical decisions will be yours.”
A shiver goes down my spine at the thought of so much responsibility, but it’s a pleasurable one.
“Okay…” I say slowly then I point at Doc. “Another child hits our baby with a toy and makes them bleed. What do you do?”
A muscle jumps in Doc’s jaw. Bobby and Adriano exchange worried looks.
“Control my temper,” Doc says, through gritted teeth. “And check if our kid is okay and…do nothing else.”
I give him a small smile. “And what if another father tells his children not to play with ours because of our relationship structure?”
Doc opens his mouth but Eli cuts in. “We’ll engage him in a respectful conversation in which we’ll make it clear that if he continues to run his mouth about our family, he will meet a very unfortunate end.”
I groan. “You can’t—”
“This is what I mean,bella.” Eli sits up in his chair and flattens his stuck-up hair. He adjusts his tie, rolls down his sleeves, and suddenly looks every inch the Italian prince. His dark brown gaze locks on mine. “We will compromise. We are willing to be calm and gentle with our children, but we will not be calm and gentle with the world. Our family comes first. Always. And any threat made against us by someone who would like to think they have power over our family must be dealt with.”
“I thought we were moving away from illegal activity?”
“We’re not gonna cut some asshole dad’s hands off and drop him in the Hudson,” Doc says. “But when it comes to putting pricks in their place, we have a responsibility to take care of our own.”
“Think about it, JJ,” Bobby says. “If someone was picking on Margot or your brothers, wouldn’t you want them taken care of? Looked after?”
My thoughts go to my stepmother, the only person who really picked on us Whitehall kids. To be honest, if Eli had marched through our front door and told Corinne to stop being mean to us or he’d ruin her life…I would have liked it.
“I guess I can understand,” I say. “But what about dating?”
Identical frowns crumple their faces.
“Not us,” I explain. “Our children. When they hit puberty, what are you going to do? Especially if they’re girls?”
There is a short silence, but I know it’s something they must have discussed because all of their jaws tighten. “This is what I mean, if you’re going to do the whole,I’ve got a shotgun and I’m not afraid to use it thingour girls will suffer. They should be as free to explore as the boys.”
“I agree,” Bobby says.
“So do I,” Adriano adds.
I beam at him. “Really?”
“Of course. As long as I can show all our kids how to use a knife and throw a punch, they can do whatever they want.”
“That’s amazing,” I say happily, then turn to Eli and Doc. “What about you two?”
“I will respect that our daughter will do whatever she wants,” Eli says stiffly. “Though it will be challenging.”
“I know, but we can get through that if you’re willing to talk.” I turn to Doc. “Nico?”
