“He lied to me,” she said simply, “and he’s good at it.”
Knox shrugged. “He was doing his job, and he’ll soon be retired. Then you can know where he is at all times. I promise.” The flash she caught of his grin held a hint of wickedness. “I think he’s being very patient giving you until New Year’s.”
“Oh, yeah?” She felt like punching him like she would an older brother. “What happens then?”
“Couldn’t tell you. But full disclosure? Nonna will help. She really wants you in the family.”
Now that was just sweet. Oh, Serenity couldn’t let Rory get away with giving her a dumb deadline, but still, she wished she could have a nonna and a big family that included meddling brothers.
A black truck drove down the street and pulled into the freshly shoveled part of the driveway. A window rolled down.
“Hey, girlfriend. Let’s go to dinner,” Anna Albertini said.
Serenity sighed. She just could not get rid of this family. Even so, she smiled. Anna was one of her favorite people. She was Rory’s cousin, and she seemed to take the entire family situation—which was a lot—in stride. “I was planning on having a nice dinner at home,” Serenity said lamely.
“Too bad. Come on. You’re on the radar now. You might as well come to dinner. Sunshine Eats is having a special on crab cakes.”
“Crab cakes?” she asked.
Anna nodded vigorously. “Yeah. Apparently, a truck overturned on the interstate yesterday with fresh crab. So...”
That was one of the funny things Serenity had always enjoyed about the small town. If something went wrong, like a truck overturning on I-90, the truckers preferred that the townsfolk claim the perishables before they went bad. Every once in a while, they ended up with something really good like crab.
“You might as well go to dinner with her,” Knox said quietly.
“Am I safe?” she muttered, trying to be sarcastic.
Knox started shoveling the walk. “Sure. Vince is on you. You didn’t even know he was across the street, did you?”
“No, I did not.” She looked near the forest. “I still don’t see him.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty good. Don’t worry, you’ll be protected until Rory gets home.”
That was just wonderful. Yet she did feel safer than she had in weeks. Although, surely, she wasn’t in any real danger. Shrugging, she patted Fabio’s head again and ran around to climb up into the truck. It was Aiden Devlin’s truck, and it smelled like him—like motor oil and something masculine. He and Anna had been dating for a couple of months.
“Where’s your man?” Serenity asked.
“Oh, he’s around. I think he was planning to go hang out with my dad for a bit.”
That was sweet. “While we have a nice girls’ dinner?”
“Yep.” Anna cut her a gaze sideways. “It’s just one dinner, Serenity. Rory wants you occupied and safe while he’s away, considering something weird’s going on here.”
“I know,” Serenity said. “I do appreciate it. I don’t want you to think I don’t.” She glanced at the man making quick work of her walkway. “Should we invite Knox?”
“Nope. It’s a girl’s night.”
Anna laughed as she pulled out of the driveway and drove sedately back toward the small town. “Oh, I get it. Believe me. My entire family has been overprotective of me since I was a kid. I know. It’s a lot. I’m sorry.”
Guilt swamped Serenity. “No, you’re all being so nice, and I appreciate it. I’m kind of freaked out, but not as much as I probably should be.”
“I get that,” Anna said, driving through town to the old-fashioned diner.
Serenity cleared her throat. “Um, I don’t know a lot about Aiden, but rumor has it he works for the ATF but was undercover for a while, including when you two started dating.” Rumors in the small town were usually easily verified. “How can you trust him now? I mean, knowing how easily he lies…how do you move forward?”
Anna slowed to let a couple of snowmobilers pass. It was legal to drive snowmobiles on the roads in town. “I guess I made the decision to trust him once he came clean.” She shrugged. “He had a job to do, and he did it. At the end of the day, I had to ask if I wanted to protect myself and live without him or take a chance and live with him. I love him in my life.”
That was a good way to put it. “I get that, but how do you put up with the overbearingness that seems to be inherent in all Albertini men? Aiden appears similar.”
