I was so worried that Ruth would hate it here. That she’d be scared and on edge and it wouldn’t be good for the baby, and we’d have to find somewhere else to live, far away from Diego. My heart crumbled at the mere thought, but Ruth has settled in like one of the family.
Could I even bear being apart from him at this point? I don’t think so.
And: “We’ve got it!” Allegra calls, jogging across the grounds with Leah at her shoulder. Both women are dark-haired and grinning, and there’s a lump hidden under Allegra’s sweater.
As the kingpin’s sister, she was the only one brave enough for this mission. Frankly, I still can’t believe she’s got one, but that lump is incriminating as hell.
“We need sticks,” Leah declares when she reaches us, hunting around on the ground. Ruth points her to the two we already fetched. “Ah, perfect.”
Leah’s married to another mobster—and though Nico and Diego aren’t blood relations, she’s already declared me her future sister-in-law. I smiled so hard that evening, my cheeks ached all the next day.
Can this be real? Can Ruth and I really slot in here so easily, welcomed into the warm arms of the mob?
“Oh, I love that one,” I say as Allegra pulls the embroidered silk waistcoat from under her sweater. It’s midnight blue, the fabric slippery and fine. Leah jabs both sticks into the snowman’s body, and Allegra slings the waistcoat over his makeshift shoulders.
We all stand back, gazing at our work.
The snow-Santo is lumpy and lopsided, one stick-arm twice the size of the other. He’s short, too, way shorter than the real deal, his squat body listing in the snow. Sometime while I was busy with the belly, Ruth stuck two pine needles above his pebble eyes, like grumpy little eyebrows.
Allegra cackles. “He’s perfect. Wait, I need a photo of this.”
And we’re too busy giggling and posing with our Franken-Santo to notice our men until they’re standing beside us, staring down in horror.
“Is that…?” Raul asks, glancing up at the mansion windows. The doctor looks paler than usual, his expression grim.
“Shit,” Nico says, and then he’s yanking the waistcoat away and kicking the snowman down, pelted with snowballs by his enraged wife. “Shit!”
“Bullies!” Leah yells. “Schoolyard bullies!”
“Give me that phone, Allegra. Delete that photo right now—”
Diego takes my arm and steers me away from the yells and peals of laughter. Ruth watches them all from one side, smiling calmly and stroking her belly.
“What were you thinking, baby?” Diego tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, shaking his head. His fingers are chilled from the cold, what with the borrowed gloves on my hands, and his scar is ghostly on his cheek. At least his beard’s keeping his chin warm. “Santo’s a kingpin, not a kindergarten teacher. If he caught you all with his waistcoat—”
“We were going to put it back!”
“Giggling and posing like that—”
“Oh, please.” I yank on Diego’s sleeve, just wanting to touch him. “We all know he’s locked away with the Edwards girl again. Hiscaptive.A meteor could hit and Santo wouldn’t notice.”
Diego’s mouth twitches, but he frowns down at me, all mock-stern. “Well, I had other plans for us this afternoon, but if you’re too busy trying your luck with the boss…”
“What plans?” I’m already bouncing on my heels in the snow. We’ve only been together for a few days, but I’ve learned that Diego has thebestsurprises, and it’s Christmas Eve. A time for miracles. “What are we doing?”
“Oh? You’re not too busy then?”
I tackle the mobster with all my weight, but we both know he only falls back into the white drifts ‘cause he’s humoring me. Still, any excuse to crawl on top of him and stuff snow down his collar. “Where are wegoing, huh?”
“To pick out a ring!” Diego yells, his deep rumbly laugh vibrating right through me. Then he catches my eye and goes all solemn. “If you want to, I mean. We can wait a while longer if you prefer.” Those big hands squeeze my waist through my winter coat, possessive and greedy, and he adds, “Nottoolong, though. Don’t leave me hanging. I’m not a patient man, remember?”
Me neither. I’m not patient when it comes to this, when it comes tous,and I want this man’s ring on my finger right this second. My cheeks are hot as I launch to my feet, bending down to yank on his coat sleeve. “Up. Up, up, up. Let’s go.”
It’s a perfect day. Cold and crisp, the grounds echoing with laughter, and I haven’t touched a damn vacuum in nearly a week.
I’m ready for this. For our next chapter.
Ready for anything, as long as it’s with him.