Smoke (The Carelli Family Saga #1) - Eden Butler Page 0,27
often he called to the tone of his voice.
I had no idea why.
“I can help with the bed when I get back,” he said through a yawn. His cadence was raspy, like he hadn’t had anything to drink in a while.
A quick laugh moved from my throat, nearly waking Mateo as he slept next to me on the bed. “Vi’s nerves can’t handle the wait. I’ll get your brothers to help.”
“You’re a brave woman, bella…” Another yawn and Smoke cleared his throat. “And beautiful.”
“Now I know you’re sleep deprived.”
“Just honest and…hell. I miss you.”
“Fuck you, it is a dowel, asshole.”
The loud, obnoxious bickering brought me out of my thoughts, and I dropped my shoulders, glaring at the two Carelli brothers as they fought over the mess in the center of my living room.
“Who the hell paints a wooden dowel black? The shit is this?” Dante picked up the offending piece and glared at it.
The two men ignored me when I shushed them, pointing to my back bedroom where Mateo lay sleeping.
“Whatever jackass built this thing…I swear to Madonna…”
“Hey!” I told Dante, snapping my fingers… “Keep your voice down.” Grabbing the instructions from Dario, I sat in the middle of the mess, jerking the piece from his hand before he could stop me. “If it’s such a drama, forget about the whole thing. I’ll figure this out myself.”
Dario’s long, amazed whistle sent a wave of irritation up my spine and I jerked a glare at him, ignoring the grin that broke across his face as he and Dante leaned back against the sofa. They were silent, letting me scan the instructions, but I still spotted the glances they gave each other out of the corner of my eye.
“If you’re gonna talk about me,” I told Dante, when he gestured at me, his shoulders shaking at something Dante mouthed back, “then be a man and say it out loud.”
“Okay. Sorry,” he said, his tone amused. He pointed to the metal pin near my foot, jerking his hands back up in surrender when I glared at him. “Just trying to be helpful. Jesus…you still…you know? All moony and sad over our big brother? Jesus, he’ll be back on Saturday. Pathetic.”
That earned him a slug to the shoulder from Dario and a frown from me. “Mind your business,” I warned him. Then, realizing what I might have inadvertently admitted, regrouped. “And I don’t moon over anybody.”
“No? Okay…okay, I know you don’t.”
They went on in silence, letting me work, separating the dowels—which were gray, not black, from the pins, and organizing the mess they’d made of the bed parts before I could figure out in what order to start. The chirps and clicks from Dario’s phone irritated me as the man busied himself on his cell, same as always, but not as much as the exaggerated yawning noises Dante made as he stretched out, ignoring his brother while he kicked his foot away from him.
“Oh…” Dante finally said, distracting me as I squinted at the confusing instructions. The man nudged me with his elbow, and I swatted him away. But, that idiot was persistent. “I get you now…” He smiled as he nodded to the mantel above my electric fireplace. “That’s why you’re not mooning. Look at that, D,” he told Dario and the man followed the jerk of his brother’s chin to the bouquet of flowers in the vase next to the framed picture of Mateo and me from Easter. “You already got a replacement?”
They’d come yesterday. Glass vase with a pink bow wrapped around the center and the thickest, largest red roses I’d ever seen. No card. No professions of missing me. Just beautiful red roses in an elegant vase.
I guessed he was being subtle.
When Smoke didn’t mention the flowers in his calls, I decided not to either. Despite how different he’d acted in the past two weeks, I still wasn’t sure what had changed for him. My being sick, maybe? Both of us admitting we mattered to each other? With Smoke, who knew, and because I wasn’t sure how the conversation he wanted to have would go, I decided to let him take the lead.
“You are nosey bastards, aren’t you?” I said, feeling my face heat.
“Shit…look at her cheeks,” Dario said, pulling his attention away from his phone to grin at me. “Maggie, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush before. It looks good on you.”
“Chooch,” Dante told his brother, slapping his arm. “That’s our brother’s…woman…”