run for the hills but the blonde fell to her knees, her shoulders trembling. It was clear they knew enough about Nicoli, that his words scared them on a real level and the brunette suddenly crashed to her knees too, obviously thinking it was the safer option.
"I'm sorry," they said at once, looking to Nicoli with desperation.
"To her!" he bellowed and they immediately turned to me, wide-eyed and fearful. Not even just of him. They were looking at me like I held all the power in the world, and I guessed with Nicoli Romero willing to go to bat for me, I did.
"I'm so sorry," Felicia begged, tears welling in her eyes.
"Really," her friend added, nodding ferociously as sweat beaded on her brow.
I pulled my hand free of Nicoli's, walking toward them and bending down to grab my shoes. Felicia caught them before I did, holding them in front of me to help me into them. Her friend leapt on the opportunity, grabbing one shoe from her so she could offer it to me too.
I glanced back at Nicoli in alarm and his shadowed eyes and folded arms told me to show them my strength. So I rested my hands on their heads for support and slipped my feet into the shoes. When they'd strapped them on, I walked between them, holding my head high as I made it to the door and stepped outside. Nicoli didn't appear for several more seconds and I had the feeling he was telling them something that would give them nightmares for the rest of their lives.
When he stepped through the door, he curled an arm around my waist and pressed a kiss to my temple. "You're a queen and the whole of Sinners Bay will know it soon enough, baby doll. I will silence anyone who says otherwise."
I smiled broadly and he grinned darkly right back.
"You have lipstick all over your mouth," I told him with a laugh.
"So do you," he teased and I shrugged.
He crowded me in against the wall, using his thumb to wipe away the smears at the corners of my mouth. "You bring out a wild side of me, savage girl. But I'd prefer if my brothers didn't know I just fucked you above the whole restaurant. I will never hear the end of it."
"That's the first time you called them that," I said, smirking and he smiled.
"Go clean up." He pulled me away from the wall, directing me down the stairs towards the restrooms.
"Bossy," I arched a brow.
"Guilty," he growled, stern.
I moved forward, reaching out to tighten up his tie. "They're going to be able to tell anyway."
"Bullshit."
I laughed and walked away, heading downstairs into the restroom as Nicoli slipped into the men’s. By the time I'd touched up my makeup and pulled my hair back into a bun which wasn't nearly as neat as the one Sloan had done for me before dinner, I looked totally innocent. Apart from the missing panties, but it wasn't something anyone was going to notice and Nicoli apparently had no intention of giving them back. Still, the way the Romeros seemed to act so intuitively with one another, I just knew they weren't going to swallow a lie about us wandering through that garden for all that time together.
I stepped out of the restroom, finding Nicoli waiting for me, the lipstick washed from his mouth and his hair pushed back into place. He offered me his arm and I smiled as I took it.
"Bet you five dollars that they know," I whispered.
"You don't have five dollars to barter with," he murmured.
"I will have in a second."
He laughed as we approached their table and Enzo immediately stood up, starting to clap dramatically. "You dirty fuck!" he pointed at Nicoli and I held out my hand to Nicoli in a clear demand.
He sighed, taking out his wallet and planting ten dollars in my palm as Rocco howled like a wolf and Frankie slammed his hand on the table with a loud laugh, making the cutlery jump.
"You are such a fucking Romero," Rocco taunted Nicoli and Sloan jabbed him in the side.
"They are totally innocent," Sloan defended us.
"Yeah as innocent as you were, principessa, when you hung upside down off of that kitchen island and sucked my-"
"Rocco!" Sloan punched him in the arm and me and Nicoli burst out laughing.
Nicoli's family had seriously grown on me. And there was a part of me that really dared to hope that I could stay a part