“Your brothers.” Lil winked. “And Stefano and Tony, if they’re able to come.” She rested her head against the back of the couch. “Emiliana, Marissa, get down here!”
I gulped the rest of my coffee as Marco, my eldest brother, came over and ruffled my hair. Nico, the second oldest, tweaked my nose, said hi to Lil, then followed Marco to the island to talk with Enzo.
It wasn’t until Trey slammed the front door and flashed me an evil smile that I shoved my mug into Lil’s hands. Then my brother tackle-hugged me as I shrieked. “Get off me, you big oaf!”
His fingers tangled in my hair and messed it up even more.
“You lie! You’reCousin Itt—have you seen your hair?” He took a chunk and flipped it over my head and my face.
“Wow.” I slapped his hands away before he fell onto the cushion beside me. “You’re lucky I love you, or you would be eating a bullet for a comment like that.”
“Please.” He slung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his side. “I’m your favorite brother.”
It was true. We were closest in age, and I had always gone to Trey if I needed anything. We got along well and liked to hang out together. I glanced around, noting that Lil had gone over to sit with the guys, and Emiliana had woken and joined them too. Marissa stood at the first landing, her hair as bad as mine.
“Am I still dreaming?” Marissa had a streak of cerulean paint on the side of her face. “Are those croissants? Just out of the oven?”
“What?” I jerked out of Trey’s hold and shoved him back when he tried to get to the kitchen, where a warm plate of croissants waited, ahead of me.
Emiliana chuckled, and Enzo leaned against the counter, his lips twitching as he tried not to laugh. I sighed at the flakey pastry, salivating for that first buttery taste as I brought it to my mouth. I bit down, and my teeth chopped onto the air. Trey held me in place with arms as strong as steel, his face near mine as he stole the bite I was going to take.
I saw red. “You’re a monster!”
Trey snickered then released me. He moved to sit on the other side of Lil. I slapped my palms against the counter, ready to launch myself out of the chair and toward my prankster brother. He was messing with me when I’d had too little sleep. Usually, we laughed together, but I was exhausted, hungry, and under-caffeinated.
The sound of a plate sliding across stone and stopping in front of me was the only thing that calmed me down. Enzo chuckled as he passed me a freshly made coffee. “Looking sexy, Sofia.” He winked with heat in his eyes before he turned and poured a cup for Emiliana.
Marco glared at Enzo, but I rolled my eyes. We’d all grown up together and were close. Marco had nothing to worry about. Enzo wasn’t mine, no matter how much I wished he was. Things had been less complicated when we were children and he’d sworn a blood oath of protection to me. I simply couldn’t help the longing that hit me whenever he was near.
Marissa pulled a stool close then plucked a croissant from the plate that included frittatas, extra bacon, and some fresh fruit. I eased back into the chair, feeling slightly more normal with food in my stomach. I didn’t think I’d eaten at all the day before—I’d been too hard at work.
Trey leaned around Nico and smiled in understanding. He got me. I grinned back. I was hangry, and there were no hard feelings. “Finals are kicking my ass,” I offered as a halfhearted apology for getting irritated with him. A pang of sorrow gut-punched me as I noticed dark half-moons hanging beneath his eyes. He was pushing himself too hard, trying to be successful in his ER residency while staying on top of his duties to the family.
I loved being in the Five Families, especially ours. The La Rosa household was filled with laughter, unlike what Marissa Rossi and Lil Brambilla endured in theirs. As I looked around the island at everyone, love swelled in me. If only things could have stayed that way… but change was inevitable. And I only hoped that the Mafia life didn’t take too much from us, even though I knew it already had—I glanced at Lil—and probably wouldn’t stop.
CHAPTER NINE
EMILIANA
The guys had cleared out after eating breakfast with us, and after hours of studying, I was ready for anything that took me away from the stress of finals. I leaned a hip against the kitchen island, full from the dinner Sofia and I had made for everyone. It was the four of us, like usual, until Stefano barged in to check on Marissa—and me.
The memory of how Stefano kissed me filled my mind with drugging images. Being with him eclipsed everything that had happened to me and allowed me to just exist in the moment. Falling asleep in his arms was everything.
If things were different, we could be so much more to each other than stolen kisses in the shadows. But they weren’t. It was the Mafia, and life was messy.
“Marissa.”
Stefano’s deep voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and heat stained my cheeks. I jerked my hand away from my lips, which I’d been absently tracing, hoping he hadn’t seen. His eyes flared, and I knew he had. It was a small glimpse into what he was feeling. Then the mask I hated fell over his features once more. The pain of loss burned through my veins. I wanted what we couldn’t have, and Stefano concealing his emotions symbolized that and much more.
I would tear that mask off someday, and he would never wear it around me again. I was determined.
“Marissa”—he shifted to pin her with his intense stare—“this is serious.”
“I know, and I’m onlythinkingabout getting close to Ivan to find out about our sister. I haven’t approached him yet.”
“Fuck.” He tugged her to him. “Don’t. He’s dangerous. I’ll find out about Camila.”
Marissa hesitated for half a second. “Promise?”