The eldest of the kids in Alex’s dad’s second family, the one that he’d kept hidden for so long, was just three years younger than him. Alex’s father had never loved his mother, or him, like this. He’d seen wedding photos, and everybody was smiling, but there had never been a photo like this one on his mother’s wall. No photo that showed his parents were in love. No photos that showed his dad had ever loved him like the don obviously loved his children.
Shaking off that weird mix of anger and self-pity, Alex looked for pictures of Lia. There were quite a few, from babyhood to high school, in dance tutus and play costumes as well as vacation photos and studio portraits, but it seemed there were more of the other kids. Or maybe it was just that Lia’s photos seemed to stand out. She even stood out in the photos with her and her family. She looked different from her siblings. In some photos, she was literally standing out, a step or two separate from the cluster.
“Hey,” she said softly.
Alex spun around like he’d been doing something sneaky. “Hey, hi.”
She was beautiful. It hadn’t even been a week since he’d seen her, but he was knocked over by how pretty she was. She’d done something to her hair, made it a little darker, and it seemed shimmery under the lights in the hall ceiling. She wore a brown leather skirt and knee-high brown boots, and a dark green turtleneck sweater that made her eyes shine like they were faceted—and hugged her amazing tits in a way that practically crossed his eyes. No turtleneck had any right being that fucking hot.
“You look amazing,” he choked out, regretting that he was wearing just jeans and a plaid button-down. At least he hadn’t worn his sneakers. He’d been tempted, but he’d chosen his brown lace-ups instead. The shoes his mother had insisted he buy, because ‘grown-up men don’t wear sneakers unless they’re playing sports.’
He’d pointed out that he wore sneakers all the time, but she’d only rolled her eyes and shoved the shoes at him.
Lia smiled shyly at his compliment. “So do you. I’m sorry I wasn’t ready when you got here. There was a makeup disaster, and I had to start from scratch.”
“It’s okay.” He took her hand. “You never look like you’re wearing makeup.”
“Oh, I am. I just like a natural look. Mainly because I can’t do eyeliner to save my life. When I try, I always end up looking like I’m about to go on stage.”
“Well, makeup or not, you’re beautiful.”
Her smile grew and her cheeks pinked. Then she looked over his shoulder, and he could tell her parents were back. Alex turned to face them. His reflex was to drop her hand, but Lia held on.
“We’re going, Papa.”
“Home by midnight.”
“Nick,” Lia’s mom said softly.
The don’s jaw twitched, but he looked to Lia and said, “What time will you be home?” with the slightest hint of a rise in tone at the end—a question, but barely.
“By midnight, Papa.” Lia let go of Alex’s hand then, and went to her father. He bent down to accept a kiss to his cheek. “I love you.”
“And I you.” He gave her a squeeze and let her go.
As Lia said goodbye to her mother, the don turned his attention to Alex.
He didn’t need to utter a sound for Alex to understand what was expected of him, and what would befall him if he didn’t meet those expectations.
Yet, as they left the house, the don called, “Alex.”
Alex turned back. “Yeah, don?”
“Protect her.”
“With my life.”
~oOo~
Finally away from the gauntlet of the Pagano family home, Alex drove Lia down Greenback Hill. He felt awkward, which was bizarre, considering how much time he and Lia had spent together over the past several weeks, how well he knew her. What they’d already done together. This shouldn’t have felt like a first date, but it did.
“I’m sorry about my dad,” she said when they were clear of her neighborhood.
He reached across the console and set his hand on her knee. “Don’t be. He loves you and worries about you. That’s nice.”
Her hand covered his and squeezed. “Where are we going?”
Alex pulled up to a stoplight. Turning one way would take them into downtown Quiet Cove; the other would them away from the coast, toward Providence—though there was a lot of Rhode Island between the Cove and the city.