“Careful!” I whisper-shouted, and he threw a hand up in the air but didn’t slow down.
Shaking my head, I made Flo her cup of coffee and took it to her, not interrupting the conversation she was having with a very good-looking older man. Her cheeks were as red as the tip of her nose, and I smiled as I left the two of them to chat.
I roamed the main floor, politely smiling and accepting congratulations from the people milling about. At the back of the house was a less formal living room, and that’s where I found Luca and some of his top guys lounging with cigars and talking.
Luca looked up from the tumbler of amber liquor in his hand and smiled. “There you are.”
“Here I am,” I said, doing jazz hands.
The men chuckled as Luca captured my wrist, pulling me down to his lap. I settled in against his chest, finally able to relax my shoulders and forget the hundred people milling about the house.
He kissed my cheek and asked, “Did you eat?” His hand slid around to palm my stomach.
“No. I was about to, but I wanted to see if you needed anything.”
The corners of his mouth turned up. “I’m okay. I just need you to take care of yourself. In fact—” Luca shuffled me off his lap and onto the empty cushion between him and Marco. He gave Marco a blank look, then smiled down at me. “I’ll be right back.” He dropped a kiss on top of my head and left me with Marco, Franco, Mickey, and Frankie.
“You did a good job today,” Marco said as he swirled his drink. “Very First Lady.” He chuckled, but it wasn’t mocking, just sad.
“Pete was a good one.” I crossed my leg, leaning away from Marco. Luca hadn’t told me if he’d settled things with his cousin, so I was unsure how friendly I should be.
“That he was.” Mickey raised his glass, and the guys did the same and drank. Marco handed me Luca’s glass from the table, and I took a sip. We all sat in silence, Pete’s memory hanging over us.
Franco straightened up in his chair as he assessed me. I didn’t know much about him other than he was Luca’s cousin on his mom’s side, one of the few that worked directly for him. Most of his mom’s family was in Chicago and New York. “Congrats on the engagement.”
I dipped my chin with a measured smile. “Thank you.” I felt like Miss America trying to answer in a way that was both respectful to the occasion and appropriately excited to be engaged.
“You ready to join the family?” Franco asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Are you all ready for me?”
“Sasha, I don’t even think Luca’s ready for you, let alone the whole family.” Marco was making fun of me, but it was a welcome change from Franco’s serious expression.
“You love me, don’t lie.”
“Yeah. Yeah. You just keep Luca happy, and we’ll be good.”
“That, I think I can manage.”
“I’m sure you can.” Mickey laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows. Nudging Franco, he pointed at me with his drink. “You should catch one of her shows.”
Marco shook his head at his brother’s big mouth, his eyes looking over Mickey’s head to the doorway where Luca stood with a plate of food piled high and a smirk on his face.
“Yeah?” Franco asked, his stare contemplative, not the gross leer I was used to with dudes when they talked about my dancing. Not like the looks Mickey gave me.
“Oh yeah. Totally worth twenty bucks.”
“Glad you think so,” Luca said.
Mickey flinched, his smile turning into a grimace. Slowly turning around, he peeked over the back of his wingback chair. “Hey there. Just talking about how talented your fiancée is. Congratulations, again.”
Luca didn’t say anything, just walked past Mickey and handed me the plate of food. In two quick steps, he was in front of Mickey with his hand raised.
SMACK.
“I think you should find a different way to spend your twenty dollars.”
Mickey held his cheek, his jaw working back and forth. “You got it, Boss.”