His eyes turned sad.
“I did what I thought was right, and in the end it all worked out.”
“How do you figure?” I shouted.
Antonio looked over to Nic. “Does she know about Jim?”
Swinging my head over to Nic, I asked, “Jim? Who is Jim?”
Nic groaned. “Jesus, this is starting to get overwhelming, Antonio.”
“Angelo, sit down.”
“NO! I’m not sitting down. Jim, Lucas, FBI agents. Was I the only one who didn’t know what was going on?” I spun around and looked at Nic. “And when did you find all of this out?”
“About thirty minutes ago.”
My body relaxed. “Oh.”
Nic stood and took my hands in his. “Let’s let Antonio finish and then you and I will talk.”
When my eyes caught Charity’s I smiled weakly. “I’ll take that drink now.”
WE ALL SAT and listened to Antonio explain how once Jim had notified him about figuring out that the girl I had gone to Italy to follow was Gabi, he had used me to help out in their plan to get Dante.
“So you told Jim to call me and pretend like he was giving me this info without you knowing. Why?”
“Because if my hunch about how much you loved my sister was right, I needed you to know the truth. I needed you to go to her. What I was really wasn’t banking on was that you would be smart enough to look for Dante’s men. So when you had your friend call a black and white to the scene, I knew we had to rush in and grab him.”
“You knew he was there?”
“Yes. Lucas was in the car recording everything. Dante knew we had figured out he was on to Gabi. He was waiting for her to leave because he knew I would tell her to go to the next safe house. What he didn’t know was that we knew he knew.”
“My God. I’m so flipping confused,” Charity said with a sigh.
I shook my head. “So wait, you told Gabi to leave because you wanted Dante to try to get her?”
“Yes. We were there as well. Waiting for when it happened. So in a way, you seeing the car kind of fucked up the plan.”
I cringed. “Sorry.”
Antonio laughed. “It’s okay, because with you being there . . . going to Gabi, it pissed Dante off. He sort of lost it in the car and started talking about the night he shot his father. He confessed to everything and we got it all. When we intercepted the call for the black and white, we had to move in a bit earlier. It would have been nice to have attempted kidnapping, but we do have him talking about the plan to do it so hopefully that, along with his murder confession, will be enough to put his ass in jail for the rest of his life.”
“But you got his confession on tape? Is this all over? Do I have to keep hiding?” Gabi asked.
“Yes. It’s over, Gabi. He’ll never be a threat to you again. Under Dante’s leadership the family has fallen apart and no one is loyal to him. Truth be told, they’ll probably be happy to see him sent to jail.”
She covered her mouth as a loud sob slipped out. “I can go back to being me? No more lies? No more running?”
I could see the devastation on Antonio’s face. He hated that his sister had been running scared for so long. “No more running, Angelo. It’s over.”
Gabi’s body melted into mine. It didn’t take her long before she broke down in another round of crying.
Glancing up, I looked at Cole. He lifted his brows and mouthed, holy shit.
I drew Gabi closer to my body and nodded. My attention then focused on her brother. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hit the asshole or shake his hand. Right now, I was leaning toward hitting him.
Charity walked out onto the balcony and handed me a cup of coffee.
“She still asleep?”
I nodded and took a drink. “Yeah. I’m sure she is emotionally exhausted.”
Chewing on her lip, she looked away from me. “It’s not really over, is it?”
Blowing out a deep breath, I replied, “No. She’ll have to testify.”
“So all that running, the lies, it was all for nothing?”
I smiled. “I wouldn’t say that. If she hadn’t gone on the run, we’d have never have had her come into our lives. Plus, like Antonio said, no one is loyal to Dante. Even if he tried to put a hit out on Gabi, he wouldn’t find anyone to do it.”
Charity sighed. “That’s true. She wouldn’t have been brought into our lives and I wouldn’t be debating on what baby blanket to knit in our Knitters are Purls club.”
With a laugh, I sat down next to her. “Crazy last few months, huh?”
She stared straight ahead. “Yeah. Crazy.”
“Cole handling the baby okay?”
Charity turned to me and winked. “You would know better than me, you’re his best friend.”
I smiled as she continued on.
“At first I think he was freaked. Then with everything that happened yesterday with Gabi, I noticed he never left my side. He stayed last night and it was probably the most amazing night yet.”
I lifted my hand. “Spare me the details or I may throw up in my mouth.”
She giggled. “No, it’s nothing like that. We stayed up most of the night talking.”
“Talking, huh? Doesn’t sound like the Cole I know and love.”
I got another chuckle from her. “I don’t know who else to say this to, so you’re the lucky one again.”
“Hit me,” I said.
She looked into her cup nervously. I already knew what was coming, but knew she needed to say it out loud to someone else before she even thought of saying it to Cole.
“I’m in love with Cole. And I’m so scared because what I feel for him is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I knew he was a player that day I hooked up with him. But something happened when we were together and maybe it was the baby. I don’t know. I don’t want to pressure him or scare him, but I feel like I need to be honest with him about how I feel.”
I reached for her hand. “I think if we learned anything over the last few days, it’s that honesty is the way to go.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “But it’s scary. If I tell Cole I love him, I may be pushing him away.”
“Or pulling me closer.”
Charity and I both turned to see Cole standing there. A huge smile was spread over his face. My heart never felt so happy as it did seeing my best friend standing there with that goofy-ass look on his face that said I’m head over heels in love.
“I thought you left!” Charity said as she stood up.
Cole walked up to her, took her coffee cup and handed it to me. Reaching down, he picked up Charity and headed back into the house and to her bedroom.
“Make sure you remember we’re here!” I shouted out to them.
Gabi walked around the corner grinning. “Well, I see those two are really bonding.”
I nodded. “Cole overheard Charity telling me she loved him.”
Stopping, Gabi’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
My eyes scanned her body from top to bottom. She was wearing a white flowing skirt and a yellow top. Her blonde hair was pulled up into two pigtails and she had not an ounce of makeup on.
She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
I stood. Cupping her face in my hands, I looked deep into her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, agapiméni. I should have trusted you.”
Her eyes glistened. “I should have trusted you with the truth. I was so scared and confused.”
Brushing my lips across her cheek, I took in a deep breath. “The thought of losing you . . . it destroyed me.”
“Nic,” she whispered as she leaned back and captured my gaze. “You’ll never lose me.”
“And you’ll never lose me. I promise.”
When she smiled, I knew everything would be okay. But first, we had a bit of additional making up to do.
Taking her hand, I said, “We’re going to my house.”
Her eyes lit up as she lifted her brows. “I like that p
lan.”
Grabbing her hand, I practically dragged her back into the house. Quickly getting my phone and wallet, I pulled her out the door, down the stairs, and to her car.
“We can walk ya know.”
I laughed. “No, because if I don’t get what I want soon, I’ll end up fucking you in someone’s front yard.”
Gabi laughed. “That would probably be bad for my business.”
Making it to my house in record time, I parked Gabi’s car out front. I couldn’t focus on anything. The only thing I could think about was my cock inside her warm pussy. And it was driving me fucking nuts. I just wanted to forget the last few days. This last week.
Opening the passenger side door, I took her hand in mine and nearly jerked her up the steps to my house.
“Nic!” she said with a giggle. “Where is the fire?”
“In my damn pants.”
Gabi giggled. “I’ve missed you.”
Unlocking the door, I slid my hand behind her neck and pulled her lips to mine. I kissed her like I’d never kissed her before. The soft moan rushed through my body and made my dick harder than ever before.
She reached for and found the door handle, opening the door. We stumbled in, nearly falling over boxes in the process.
“Nic,” Gabi said as she tried to pull my shirt over my head.
Breaking our kiss long enough to pull our shirts off, we both tossed them to the floor and slammed our mouths together again. My hand was up her skirt, pushing her lace panties to the side.
“I need you now, Gabi. I’m sorry. I need my cock buried in your . . .”
A voice cleared from behind us and everything instantly came to a stop.
Looking past Gabi’s shoulder, I saw my mother standing there.
Holy fuck. I just said I needed to have my cock buried in Gabi and my mother heard it.
“Please . . . please tell me it’s not your mom,” Gabi whispered as I looked back down at her.
“Um,” was all I could get out as I looked back up. Aunt Maria, Aunt Agnes, and cousin Sophia were all standing there now, smiling.
“I see you two made up. Wonderful! Get dressed and let’s eat, we’ll have a celebration!”
“Opa!” the other’s all cried out.
Gabi’s eyes widened in horror at the sound of more than one person shouting out. “Oh. My. God. There are more people here?”
I nodded. “This is my family, Gabi. There is always more than one person.”
Her head dropped to my chest. I thought she was crying when her body started to shake, but when I lifted her chin to look at me, she was laughing.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
She shook her head and let out another chuckle before asking, “Ready for what?”
“To spend the rest of your life in this crazy-ass Greek family of mine.”
Her smile dropped and tears quickly filled her eyes.
She looked so damn cute when she nodded. “There’s nothing I want more in this life than to deal with your crazy-ass Greek family.”
Leaning down, I brushed my lips across hers. “Good.”
Gabi and I quickly pulled our shirts back on. Before walking into the kitchen where everyone was, I pulled Gabi to a stop.
“There is one little thing I do have to tell you about.”
Her brows pulled together with a concerned look. “Besides that your mother overheard you just now.”
I groaned. “Yes, besides that.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“My mother kind of did something insane. Like really insane.”
Gabi stared at me. “What did she do?”
“She took your hair and had a DNA test done to see if you had any Greek in you.”
It was like she was staring straight through me she was so stunned. “Gabi? Hey, are you okay?”
Waving my hand in front of her face, she didn’t even blink.
“Gabi, she didn’t mean any harm. Hey, talk to me, prinkipissa.”
Her eyes lifted to mine. “Oh. Oh. I know exactly when she got my hair sample!”
“You do?” I asked with a shocked voice.
She laughed then looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes and asked, “What did the results say?”
I jerked my head back. “Huh?”
“The results. What did it say?”
“You’re not mad?”
With a shrug, she answered. “I mean, I’m not going to say that I don’t find it a little odd, but then again, I don’t find it strange at all. It’s weird.”
I laughed. “It said you were three percent Greek.”
Gabi covered her mouth and chuckled. “No way!”
Nodding, I said, “It did.”
She laughed. “Nick, that is impossible. I’ve done my family tree back for hundreds of years. I’m full-blown Italian.”
He winked. “Let’s just let her believe.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and guided her into the kitchen.
“She’s going to expect me to fall in love with Greek food now.”
I tossed my head back and let out a roar of laughter before I said, “Hell, she’s going to expect you to give up Italian cooking for Greek.”
Moaning, she dropped her head against my shoulder.
“Welcome to the family, baby.”
FOUR MONTHS LATER
“WHAT DO YOU mean you’re making Irish desserts?”
Glancing over to Katerina, I stared at her for a few seconds. By now, I was starting to figure out Nic’s mother. She was a hard nut to crack, but I was somehow making my way in and learning how to maneuver around in this family.
It was the pretend three percent Greek in me.
“Well, Kilyn is Irish, so I thought for her baby shower, a few Irish desserts would be fun to do.”
She stood there staring at me with her mouth gaped open. “What is wrong with baklava or katifi?”
Shrugging, I replied, “Nothing.”
“Most of the guests will be Greek!”
“Probably,” I said with a chuckle.
“Then why not make a Greek dessert. Something everyone would enjoy?”
I was having a hard time holding back my smile. “Katerina, you’re more than welcome to make the desserts if you’d think everyone would prefer Greek.”
Narrowing her eyes at me, she forced a smile and waved her hand around. “No. Kilyn specifically asked for you to handle the desserts.”
I smiled. “Besides, it will be fun for everyone to try something new.”
Katerina huffed.
Going back to reading Kilyn’s and Thano’s baby registry, I couldn’t help but notice Katerina glancing around the house.
Peeking up, I watched her walk over to one of the kitchen cabinets and open it. Any other woman would have been pissed, but I knew this was part of the Nic package. And I knew that privacy was something his family didn’t do. I learned that the day Nic practically had sex with me in front of his mother and aunts when they decided to come over and cook him some meals so he didn’t starve.
“Did Nic get new mixing bowls?”
I fought to roll my eyes.
“Nope. Those are mine.”
Another cabinet opened. “He bought new plates?”
“Those are my plates.”
Grunting, she looked through a drawer then another cabinet.
“Your pasta bowl?” she asked.
“Yep.”
She shut the cabinet. “Have you officially moved in, Gabriella?”
Her eyes shot right to my left hand.
“I guess you could say I have since I’m here every night.”
“What about your place above the bakery?” Katerina asked as she took a seat at the kitchen island.
“Charity is living there. With the baby coming, she needed the extra room.”
Katerina smiled. She loved babies, and I knew she was counting the days until Kilyn had her second child. It killed her Thano and Kilyn hadn’t told anyone the sex of the baby.
??
?How nice of you to do that. It’s the Greek in you.”
I smiled. “Don’t you think it is strange, Katerina, that I’m ninety-seven percent Italian, and three percent Greek?”
“No. Someone in your family history had the good sense to sleep with a Greek man.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “We both know how well they are in bed.”
Dropping my mouth open, I gasped. “Katerina!”
She brushed me off with her hands. “Oh, don’t pretend you are shy and innocent now, Gabriella. I’ve heard my Nicholaus and how he talks dirty to you.”
I wanted to crawl under a rock. I’d never live that moment down for as long as I live.
“If my Nic makes you as happy as my Dimitris does, I know why someone in your family went Greek. You know what they say about Greek men.”
Grinning, I asked, “No, what do they say?”
“Once you’ve had Greek, you can’t walk for a week.”
I could feel the heat on my cheeks as she sat there and stared at me with a deadpan face.
When she lifted her brow, as if to challenge me, I closed my eyes and wished for a time machine to go back an hour and not answer the door.
My phone beeped, causing me to open my eyes and glance down at it.
“It’s Max.”
Katerina chuckled. “It’s always Max.”
I couldn’t argue with her on that.
Standing, I knew she was waiting. “Would you like to drive over there with me?”
A smile exploded on her face. “I’d love to.”
Katerina and I talked a little more about Kilyn’s baby shower on the way to the bakery. It was a short drive. Less than five minutes. I was lucky enough to find a parking space right out front so we walked in through the front door.
My eyes immediately went to the display cabinets.
Oh. No. She. Did. Not.
Snapping my eyes up to Charity, she was making a face like she tried to stop it, but failed.
Katerina walked in and started greeting patrons at their tables as I stood there and stared at the foreign desserts.
Leaning closer, I whispered, “Kataifi!”
Sweeping my eyes across I saw baklava, phyllo pastries, kourabiedes, and kariokes.