Love And War - Mallory Monroe Page 0,1

was, but a beautiful, sensitive, little kid. “Because you’re treating this one differently than all the others,” Tommy responded. “I mean, look at you. You’re a nervous wreck. You’re worrying about what you’re wearing for crying out loud! You, Sal Luca Gabrini, don’t usually give a fuck.”

Then Tommy paused, and his smile was gone. “Because no other woman has ever made you care at all.”

Sal could have continued to lash-out at his brother, but it cut too deep. He leaned against the wardrobe with his legs crossed at the ankle, and his arms folded. He suddenly looked burdened-down to Tommy. “She’s one of a kind,” Sal said with hope in his eyes. “That’s for damn sure.” But he also had to be honest with Tommy. “And she’s black,” he said.

Tommy smiled and nodded. “Yes, she’s black, Sal. She’s a dark-skinned bombshell. A phenomenal beauty, as I recall.”

Sal looked at Tommy as if he’d just heard something remarkable. “So, you think she’s beautiful, too?”

Tommy frowned. “I think she’s beautiful too? What kind of question is that? Of course she’s beautiful, Sal! You would have to be blind to not see that.”

“Ah, Tommy, what are you talking? Blind my ass! It’s not that cut and dry. But you aren’t objective anyway. If she’s black she’s beautiful to you. But I’m talking specifically. I’m talking Gemma. Because when I first saw her, I wasn’t so sure.”

Tommy found this amazing. He stared at his brother.

“I kept thinking, when I first met her, that she was either the most gorgeous creature I’d ever seen, or the ugliest.”

Tommy nearly jumped up. “The ugliest? Sal! Why would you think that? What man on this green earth would think that woman was ugly?”

“Because I never met anybody like her, okay? She looked different to me. Exotic-like. She was tall and sleek and smart as a whip. And nearly black as a shoe. Let’s be honest. I didn’t know what to make of her. But when I saw her the other night at Reno’s cookout, I was floored. And I’m like you now. How could I have ever thought she was ugly?”

Tommy knew why. Because Sal, in a lot of ways, was a narrow-minded bigot who saw the world from the prism of their twisted upbringing. But he didn’t go there. He knew Sal was trying to change.

“So even after you’ve discovered that she’s a special lady,” Tommy said, “and even though you’re making a fuss over her unlike any other lady you’ve ever went out on a date with, you still won’t consider the possibility of marriage?”

“No. But not for the reasons you think,” Sal quipped. “That shit’s embarrassing, that’s all I’m saying.”

Tommy wondered if he’d missed something. “What shit?” he asked.

“That shit,” Sal responded.

Tommy nearly rolled his eyes. Sometimes his brother spoke in a language that nobody on earth could understand. “Break it down, Sal.”

“I used to be a certain kind of individual,” Sal broke it down. “That’s all I’m saying. I used to talk a lot of ignorant shit about minorities. Now I’m going out on a date with one? It makes me feel like a hypocrite. Like I wanted a black chick all along, but was just shielding it with all of that racist crap. It makes me feel like I don’t deserve her. Like I’m not . . .”

Tommy stared at his brother. “Like you aren’t what?” he asked.

“Like I’m not man enough for her,” Sal responded.

Tommy smiled. “You?”

“I know that shit sounds crazy, I know it does. But that’s how I feel!”

“It’s not crazy, Sal,” Tommy said, as he rose to his feet. “In fact, it’s good that you feel that way. It’ll keep you on your toes with her. Because, if I’m remembering correctly, Reno has a soft spot for that lady, too. You’d better not fuck around with her heart. You’ll have Reno to answer to.”

Sal frowned. “Fuck Reno! That’s the part I hate: that he had to meet her first.”

Tommy laughed. “Just don’t blow it. That’s all I’m saying.”

“I won’t,” Sal said.

Tommy looked at his wrist watch. “Going to walk me down? I need to get cracking.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sal said, as he grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone off of his night stand. The two brothers headed out of Sal’s hotel suite and made their way to the elevators.

They were staying at their cousin Reno’s PaLargio Hotel and Casino on the Vegas Strip. They both were in town on business, among other matters.

“Where are you headed?” Sal asked Tommy, as