Mafia Casanova - M. Robinson Page 0,46
like a child.”
He was in my face in a split second, his eyes full of rage. “Did you invite him?”
I stepped back, placing my hand on his chest to steady my composure. He was throwing me all out of whack. “I did the invitations with your mother. She knows who we need to invite. God forbid I forget one important person and start a war with the families. She must have invited him.”
“Then, I’ll need to take it up with my mother.”
“How about you take it up with your wife? You said you weren’t going to drink today, and here you are standing at the bar, fixing yourself another whiskey on the rocks. It’s your son’s birthday. Can you behave yourself? We have videographers and photographers taking footage of today. The last thing I want is for Naz to look back on the memories only to see his father hammered.”
As soon as the last word left my mouth, Tristian added more whiskey to his drink, eyes locked on me the entire time. He lifted his drink and gulped it down in one swig. Slamming the glass on the bar when he was done.
“It’s one drink,” he argued, already serving himself another.
Actually, it was two going on three, all within a span of five minutes.
I couldn’t help myself; I wasn’t going to let him ruin this for Naz. I snatched the bottle out of his hand, only to have him come at me. Before he was able to grab my arm, the person I least expected stepped in between us.
Placing his hand on his brother’s chest, Romeo interrupted, “Is there a problem?”
Tristian didn’t miss a beat, spewing, “Yeah. You.”
“Good to see you too, Tristian.”
“I suggest you take your hand off me and run along to find one of your whores for the night. My wife and I were having a private conversation, so mind your own fucking business.”
Romeo cocked his head to the side, and I stood there, just shaking mine.
How had we come to this?
“Looked more like an argument to me,” Romeo stated flatly, unfazed by the temper Tristian had developed.
His fuse was getting shorter as the days were becoming longer.
Romeo declared battle, countering, “I’m not leaving unless Eden tells me to.”
Tristian glared at him. “Of course, always have to be the hero, don’t you, dear brother?” He shoved his arm off his chest. “Get the fuck out of my face before I—”
“Boys!” their mother interjected, tearing apart the blatant standoff. “Enough.” She grabbed Tristian’s shoulder, handing him Naz. “Look at your boy. Now be the man I raised you to be and celebrate the day with your son.”
Tristian passed Naz over to me, pompously walking away without once looking back.
“How long have you known?” I questioned their mom, bringing both her and Romeo’s worried stares over to me.
“A mother knows everything. You’ll learn that with Naz,” she reaffirmed, peering from my gaze to her son’s. “Please make sure your brother stays in line. If your father sees him disrespecting the family, it won’t be pretty, and I don’t want that for Tristian.”
Romeo gave a grim nod. “Neither do I.”
She smiled lovingly, kissed his cheek, and strode away.
I looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet Romeo’s intense gaze but feeling him take us in with an expression I couldn’t quite place.
“Uncle Romeo,” Naz greeted, throwing his body into his arms. He wrapped his arms around his neck and hugged him close to his body.
It warmed my heart, seeing that our complicated relationship didn’t affect his love for my son. I hadn’t seen Romeo much in the last year, although I knew anytime Naz was with his parents, he would spend time with him in their home. It was obviously enough to make an impression on Naz; he never chooses anyone over me.
“Hey,” I said when he caught me staring at them.
Romeo didn’t waver, asking, “How long has he been this bad?”
Not surprising me in the least.
Romeo
She knew what I was talking about, but still, she tried to cover for him. “He’s fine. We’re fine.”
I called her out, she was trembling, and we promised no lies. “You know you can’t lie to me, right?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
“Funny request coming from you.”
“I didn’t come here to fight with you.”
“No? Just break up our fight then?”
“I thought everything was fine.” I smiled, playing coy. “He’s fine. We’re fine.”
“Can I please have my son?” She reached for Naz.
“No.” I held him back. “He’s good with me.”
“Naz, come to