Bought Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle
Later
“How many months have you two been married?” Johnny holds his glass up to clink against Dane’s before taking a sip.
“Eight. The baby came early.” Dane glances at me when he answers his cousin, a huge smile spreading across his face. “Eight months and here’s little Jenna.”
“It’s a family name,” I say, even though nobody asked. These men, who are all willing to drop everything to help out blood, understand how important family is. I don’t need to remind them that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep family safe.
Jenna was my grandmother’s name. Well, I think that it was actually something like Geraldine, but she refused to go by that because she hated it so much, so Jenna it was. Even as a little girl I remember calling her that in secret. My parents would have been pissed if they thought that I was calling her anything other than grandma, but she loved it.
And now I’ll always remember the one woman in my family who loved me more than anything.
Dane rocks Jenna, looking more at home with a burp cloth thrown over his shoulder than I ever thought that he would. I’m about to tell him how great fatherhood looks on him when my phone buzzes.
“Excuse me,” I say, and the three men all give me a nod. Lorenzo and Johnny came over this afternoon to bring dinner and also to talk about how the new mayor is doing. I hope for his sake that he’s doing just fine because otherwise I have no doubt in my mind that the three of them will remove him and find someone else to do the job.
“Hey, Tess,” I say, answering the phone once I’m outside. It’s not that I don’t want Dane to know what I’m doing. He’ll find out soon enough when the surprise happens, but right now I want to be able to get everything straightened out and planned without him listening in. “How’s it all going?”
“Airy and Jane are on the call, too,” Tess says, and the other women greet me.
I feel a flush of pleasure and love. Never in my life did I think that I’d find friendship with other women like this. They’re constantly texting me to check in on me. When Jenna was born two weeks ago, they had homemade food driven down for Dane and me so that I didn’t have to cook for a week.
They’re incredible, I just wish that they lived closer.
“Hey, guys,” I say, turning to look back through the door into the living room. The three men are all talking, Jenna sound asleep in Dane’s arms, so there’s no way that they’re going to hear what I’m saying. “Is everything working out?”
“You better believe it,” Jane says. “Our husbands have no idea what’s going on, but they’re just getting into your town now.”
Airy giggles. “So the three of us left all of the kids with family and we’re on our way too. If our husbands looked out the rearview mirror they’d probably see us. We’ve been tailing them all this way, but they have no idea that we’re back here.”
I feel a thrill run through me. This is what I missed out on by not being allowed to have friends when I was growing up. I never got to come up with little schemes and plots and I dance a little before speaking again.
“Okay, all of the guys are here right now, so you guys can just head straight to the condo. I’ll beep the door open when you text me that they guys are heading up to our floor, okay?” I’m fighting to keep my voice low because I’m so excited. I love surprises, which is something that I’m just learning about myself. Who knew?
After hanging up, I walk back out and take Jenna from Dane. It’s perfect timing because she’s just starting to fuss, which means that she’ll need to eat something soon. “I got her,” I tell my husband, leaning down to give him a kiss. “Love you.”
“Love you.” He snakes his hand around the back of my neck and holds me in place for a moment as we kiss before letting me go.
When my phone vibrates in my pocket I open the security app and tap to unlock the front door. My ears are pricked as I listen for the sound of the Bonanno men.
A moment later, they’re at the door, piling through it, grins on their faces.
Dane, Lorenzo, and Johnny all stand up, their hands reaching for their guns.
Oh, shit, I didn’t think about that.
“It’s fine!” I cry, grabbing Dane’s arm. “It’s family! Not someone really breaking in!”
He turns to me, a grin on his face, and I feel all of the adrenaline that had been coursing through my body slowly disappear.
“What?” I ask, right as Tess, Jane, and Airy pour through the door into the condo. It hits me like a ton of bricks and I smack Dane’s arm. “You knew!”
He laughs and bands his arm around my waist to pull me to him to kiss him. “Of course I knew, Natalia! You have to be sneakier than that to get something over on us.”
My face red, I turn to look at Marcelo, Travis, and Salvatore. “Did you three know?”
Marcelo grins. “We figured it out when we noticed the car full of giggling wives behind us all the way down the interstate, so we let Dane know that we were coming to town.”
I groan, then turn to look at the wives. My friends are standing behind their husbands, all of them looking a little shocked at the fact that we were caught. “Really?” I ask, even though I’m already staring to laugh. “We couldn’t even keep something like this secret?”
Jane starts to laugh first. Her laugh is so contagious that Travis turns around and kisses her before the rest of us start cracking up. Jenna squirms in my arms and I know that I don’t have very long to take her to another room and feed her before she loses it.
“So we’re going away for the weekend?” Dane asks, cupping my cheek in his hand. “That’s a lovely thing for you to have put together, but you didn’t need to do that, darling. I don’t want to leave you here alone with Jenna.”
I jerk my chin at the three women. “I’m not going to be alone,” I say. “I’m going to have the best help in the world. Seriously, Dane, I want you to go enjoy yourself. Take some time with the guys. Play poker or pool or whatever it is that you want. Buy some dad sneakers. Something.”
This makes him laugh. “I’m never wearing dad sneakers, darling, I’m sorry to say.”
I pout. “Not even brand new white New Balances?”
“Especially not those.” He kisses me then plants a kiss on Jenna’s forehead. “So it’s a good thing that I’m already packed, huh?”
I groan. “You really all had it figured out?”
Salvatore laughs. “Natalia, you’re a dear, but when our wives tell us that we have business down here but won’t clue us in to what it is, we got a little suspicious. Then we noticed that we were being followed the entire way here and put two and two together.”
“You’re going to have to try harder to get us,” Johnny says, and Lorenzo agrees.
“Oh, I will,” I say, kissing Dane. Even though I’m thrilled that he’s going to get to spend some time with his family and relax, I’m going to miss him. Never in my life did I think that I’d want someone the way that I want him. It’s silly, but he’s everything to me. He makes me happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.
And he’s an incredible dad. I know that Jenna’s still an infant, but I can’t stop thinking about how incredible it would be to have a house full of babies with Dane. I want to fill this condo up so that we have to move and buy someplace bigger.
Maybe we could buy the next floors down and renovate so that it’s one huge home for our family. Honestly, I don’t care if he wants to do that or if he wants to move someplace larger.
I just want to be with him.
He must see what I’m thinking in my eyes, because he turns in front of me, shielding me from everyone so that it’s like we’re the only two in the room. “I want it all, too,” he tells me, kissing me lightly. “And I’m going to make sure that you get it all. You, and Jenna, and all of the other kids that we’re going to have.”
“Irish twins sound nice,” I tell him, my lips lingering against him. I feel him smile and he pulls back enough to lock eyes with me.
“You just wait,” he says. “I’m going to to enjoy some time away with the guys, but as soon as I get back, it’s on. I want you pregnant again, Natalia, as soon as possible. We’re going to give Jenna all the siblings she could ever want.”
I believe him. Dane has never lied to me. He’s always kept me safe and made sure that I knew just how much he loved me, and I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll keep this promise, too.
And, honestly? I can’t wait.
* * *
Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you loved it! Want more mafia? Read on for chapter one of Buying His Bride, free in KU!
Party balloons fill the front entrance of the house, bumping against each other every time someone opens the front door to come in. They match the ones that I begged my dad to tie to the mailbox so that nobody would miss our house. Bright pink and silver balloons tug at their strings out in the open air and I worry each time a gust of wind blows down from the mountain that they’re going to break free from their strings and disappear.
But before I can worry too much about that, the stream of people arrive, all of them bearing gifts for my birthday. I don’t recognize most of the people, but there are some kids my age and we all peel off from the crowd to run outside. I kick off my shoes and run barefoot through the grass, leading the pack to my hidey-hole in the azalea bushes.
We crouch back there, the hem of my dress dragging in the mud, and watch as adults stand around drinking wine and eating fancy little appetizers from passed plates.
“Today’s your big day,” a boy with a bright blue bow tie tucked under his chin tells me. “I heard that you’re getting married today.”
“I’m eight,” I tell him, scoffing. “There’s no way that I’m getting married. You can’t get married at eight.”
“Maybe most people can’t, but you can,” he insists, and I roll my eyes at him. “That’s what my dad says.”
His dad is talking to my dad. I watch them through the leaves in the bushes, squinting to see if I can manage to read their lips. They both look serious and I feel my stomach drop a little.
There’s no way that I’m getting married today, right?
You can’t marry when you’re this young. Besides, who would I marry?
The boy with the bow tie elbows me hard in the side. “You’ll see. You’re getting married!”
He takes off from behind the bushes with a yell and the other kids all run with him. They scream and carry on like they’re being chased by something terrible, but our parents hardly look up at us. They all know that we’re safe.
I start to sweat and smack away a mosquito trying to land on my arm. My dad does look more serious than usual. He’s gotten incredibly thin and has lost most of his hair, which my mother says is thanks to the medicine that he’s on.
She appears at his side and takes his elbow, tugging him towards the house. For a moment I pause, wondering if I should just stay where I am. They don’t know that I’m watching them and if the boy with a bow tie was right and I am to get married today then I don’t really want to go to my house.
No, I decide, that boy has no idea what he’s talking about. If my parents wanted me to get married then they’d tell me. I stand up, my dress catching on a briar and tearing a little bit, and push my way out from behind the azalea bushes. They’re in full bloom and loaded with blood red flowers. Absentmindedly, I pick one and tuck it behind my ear before walking up to the house.
My friends have all disappeared, probably to eat some cake, but I’m much more interested in what’s going on with my parents, so I turn away from the living room. Shrieks of laughter pour out of the doors and I pause for a moment, wanting to join them.
But, no, this is more important.
My bare feet are silent on the wood floor as I walk to my dad’s office. None of the adults still standing around pay me any attention. They’ve all had at least three glasses of wine by now and don’t really care about a little kid walking around her house.
My dad’s office door is shut and I lean up against it, carefully pushing my ear as hard against the thick wood as possible so I don’t miss anything being said. At first, all I hear is my heartbeat, then I hear the low rumble of voices.
I recognize my dad’s. Even though he’s sick, he still has a low voice that makes people stop talking and pay attention to what he’s saying. Just hearing him talk even though I can’t make out the words gives me a sense of calm.
He wouldn’t make me get married to someone I didn’t know. Not at eight. Not ever.
My daddy loves me.
Carefully I turn the door knob. I’m going too far and I know it, but I want to see what’s happening inside. The door swings open silently and I pause right inside it, watching the scene play out in front of me.
My parents are bent over his desk taking turns signing something. When my dad finishes, he hands his pen to a strange man who clicks it once and then slips it into his breast pocket. He looks huge next to my father, his shoulders broad and his face strong and tan. My dad used to be that big but has gotten so small recently.
The bigger man turns and sees me standing in the door.
“There she is,” he says, and everyone in the room stops to look at me.
I don’t know the strange man and I don’t know the boy standing next to him. He’s much older, with thick arms crossed on his chest and a scowl that makes me swallow hard and want to take a step back to get away from him.
The air in my dad’s office suddenly feels hot and stifling and I reach up to the collar on my dress to tug it down to get some air on my skin. Nobody moves for a moment, but even if they did, I don’t think that I’d see them.
I can’t take my eyes away from the tall boy. His dark gaze locks onto mine, his eyes boring into me.
They’re cruel.
“Amber, what in the world did you do to your dress?” My mother breaks the spell, hurrying towards me like I’m a speck of dirt that she needs to hide from view before anyone else happens to see it. “You look a mess, and on such an important day.”
Like a mother hen, she spreads her arms out wide and starts to usher me from the room. I step backwards, trying to get out of her way, but I keep looking around her at the boy.
I’ve never seen him before and I hate the way he’s looking at me. He watches me like a hawk, like I’m some little plaything that he’s going to see later.
Surely the boy with the bow tie was wrong. Even if my parents were going to make me get married today, there’s just no way that they’d make me marry someone who had eyes that cruel.
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