I laugh. “Well, the strategy wasn’t on my part. Those fucking liars! I knew the ‘get it by the new year’ line was a scam. I paid a hefty price for shipping.”
“What did you buy for them?”
“Antonia had asked for a picture of her and your ma to be blown up and painted. I took a screenshot of it, had two made.”
Santino’s about to shovel his first bite into his mouth when he reaches over to kiss me. “I’m going to marry you . . .”
I’m so mesmerized by the look in his eye that I miss the underlying concern on Santino’s face. Finally, taking a bite of my chili, I chuckle then spit out.
“Tsk, Gina. Not to your standards?”
“Ha! Taste it; tell me if I’m exaggerating.”
He takes the tiniest bite.
“Santino, really? You’re like a linebacker in a tutu.”
Santino goes off in Italian, growling how one tiny bean has the sodium capacity of the Atlantic Ocean. Then he’s telling me, “If you ever say another linebacker joke . . .”
“Here,” I hand him my water bottle. “Your mind just went blank. We need to hijack some elderly person’s water pills. You’ll be fine. Once you’re up to par, can we kidnap Piero?”
Santino cocks a brow, guzzling the water and crushing the bottle.
“Well, he’s a very teeny, tiny person.” I gesture, making a circle with my joined hands.
“He and my mom are twins. My Uncle Cecco and the rest of them are intimidating like me. But Piero makes it up for his manners. When he lacks them, he’s vicious.”
“Okay, so you’re saying that kidnapping him and forcing him to make pizzas at our request wouldn’t be easy.”
“Not at all, Bella.”
“Alright, then. I miss Ma’s cooking.”
“I miss your cooking.”
I roll my eyes, pressing the cornbread to the tip of my tongue. “This is Jiffy cornbread, with a little extra sugar. I can live with this.” I cut the piece in half since the crappy diner gave us one. Go figure.
“Now, Santino, back to your lying.”
“C’mon, you can cook. Give yourself credit.” Santino pops his entire piece into his mouth. “Don’t look at me like that, sweetheart. I miss your cooking. Those tacos.”
I pinch off a crumb and chew, not in an attempt to be cute. I miss my size 14 pants! Cracking my knuckles, I contemplate the best comeback. “Santino, I miss your French toast.”
“I did my best with the resources we had at the cabin, sweet tart!” He climbs on top of me, calling me all kinds of crazy in Italian. And just like day one, he has the nerve to sound so good.
“You know I understand you, right?”
“What are you gonna do about it, Bella?”
I lock my foot around him then scoff. “Damn it, Dirty Santa. That whole stripper move transpired perfectly in my head.”
54
Santino
“I’m not teaching you how to flip me, Gina.” I laugh, looking down at my woman. “You don’t need to dance. Just shake that ass, baby.”
“So, you’re saying I can’t dance?” Her mouth tenses in defiance.
Yes. “No, Bella. You can back it up.” I cup her face in my hands, bruising her lips in a furious kiss.
Gina’s mouth melts into me. Scoffing, she squirms beneath me. “I think you’re weaseling out of that one by repeatedly mentioning my ass. Excuse me for growing up with three Brittanys and two Ashleys. How did you get into stripping; anyway? I’ve visited a few strip clubs—female dancers.”
“What were . . .” My eyebrow lifts.
“Business deals,” she grins, popping my arms. “Don’t get any bright ideas. I actually assisted a nightclub owner with rebranding; and he thought I’d want to meet him at the stripper joint he also owned. But the only male strippers I’ve ever seen were named Chip and Dale.”
I get comfortable on my side and have to trap Gina from sliding off the opposite side of the bed. Pawing her hip, I ask, “No Magic Mike?”
“Nope. I prefer action movies. But back to you.”
“As you know, I wasn’t always the good guy. But making my money has always been a way of life for me,” I reply, dropping a kiss on Gina’s shoulder. “Half a year after I decided to straighten up and fly right for Little Antonia, I almost went back to my old habits.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” Gina murmurs.
“You and me both. Carlos was discussing his new company with another construction worker—said the guy had the look, fit the bill. Unfortunately, for him, he couldn’t dance. When I heard how much the dancers