Smoked and Smitten (The Titans of South Side Book 1)

by Carson Mackenzie

“Keaton is a lieutenant at Engine House 103,” Milana said and all I could do was nod.

  What the fuck?

  “Milana, this has already been discussed,” Selena said and glared across the table and Milana glared back. I fed Lily from my plate and noticed that the women acting strangely didn’t faze the men, they ate as if this was an everyday occurrence. Hell, maybe it was. The other brothers and cousins at the other end ate and talked amongst themselves and I looked across at Fiona and she was leaning toward Kian whispering something.

  “You are just trying to compete with Sonia,” Milana said and looked at her husband. “Isn’t she, Sal?”

  “Does it matter who goes down first, Milana?”

  “Can we eat one meal without showing the crazy, please? We have company for Christ’s sake,” Kian said, garnering himself glares from both sets of parents.

  “Please, son. This is the best dinner I’ve been to in quite a while,” my dad said to Kian and then turned to Mr. O’Malley. “Ronan, we really need to get together more often.” Kian’s dad looked at mine and winked.

  “That could be changing soon, Brady,” Ronan said and he and my dad both laughed out loud. It seemed they were all nuts or maybe alcohol was involved. My mom seemed to be the only one acting remotely normal until she smacked my dad’s arm.

  “What? You’re just mad it’s a fireman,” my dad said, and laughed harder while my mother glared at him.

  Just when I thought nothing could get any stranger, Kian stood and threw his napkin on the table. “I’m going out back. I need some damn air.” He walked toward the doorway that led out of the dining room and when he passed his brothers and cousins at the end of the table, they started to laugh and he stopped and turned around. “Get a clue fuckers,” he said and then turned and walked out. I heard a door slam and frowned. The laughter stopped and the brothers and cousins now glared at their parents. I looked toward Fiona, and she looked back at me.

  “They always have to go overboard,” she said and shook her head.

  “Really, Ma?” was said by both Keaton and Brodie. And when I looked at the women all they did was smile sheepishly back at their sons. The quiet didn’t last long.

  “Is that why you made us sit and go through all the photos from our cousins’ wedding,” Lanz asked.

  “Then when we didn’t bite you started in on Aunt Sonia and Aunt Olivia getting grandchildren,” Sully said.

  “Oh and don’t think you get left out of this, Dad and Uncle Ronan. The not so subtle questions on if we were seeing anyone interesting,” Zan said and raised a brow.

  “Hell, is that why you called me over here last week to look at a toilet for Mrs. Carrelli down the street that wouldn’t stop running, because her niece was visiting?” Sully asked.

  When I looked at the men’s fathers they looked no more ashamed than the mothers. Then I stood and looked at Keaton and Brodie, “I’m so sorry. Believe me when I say I didn’t know,” I said and walked around and handed Lily to my mother. Lily, thank God, was too young to know what was taken place. She sat in her nana’s lap and continued to watch the people as if they were the most fascinating she had ever met, which shit, they were for me too.

  “Oh, Ana, we know you had no part of this. They acted alone or mostly. Because I am going to say that my sister being so quiet right now, means she got something for taking part in this lunatic plan,” Brodie said and looked at Fiona.

  “So what if I did,” Fiona said and pursed her lips.

  “Oh you did, I’m going with you cut a deal to leave you out,” Fergus said and looked pointedly at his twin sister who glared at him but didn’t say a word.

  “I’m going to see if Kian is okay,” I said and walked toward the door.

  “Probably went out on the back deck,” Santo said as I walked passed.

  I nodded in acknowledgement and went through the doorway and headed to the kitchen where I had seen through the glass of the French doors the deck he spoke of. When I reached them, I looked out to see Kian leaning on the railing looking out into the backyard. I couldn’t see his face so I had no way of judging if he was still mad.

  Guess I would find out as I grabbed the handle, opened the door, and stepped out.

  Chapter Six

  Kian

  Months.

  Months of running into her and each time I saw her it would take me days until the damn dreams of all that blond hair and those green eyes would stay away. I shifted my stance because the thought of her made me hard. I’d dreamed of taking her in the shower, taking her in my bed, fuck, even in my office at the station. Then Lily would pop in my mind and I would feel like a degenerate for having those thoughts about Ana.

  Ana needed a husband and a father for her child, not a man who couldn’t stick. That wouldn’t be fair to Lily. I smiled at the thought of her kissing me or more like bathing me in spit. She was a beautiful little girl and she would turn into a beautiful woman just like her mother. The man they needed should be someone other than me, whose longest relationship lasted a whole thirty-three days.

  There was the reason I was pissed at myself, I wanted to be that man. Being pissed at the parents was convenient, then my brothers or cousins who were no better than me when it came to relationships sure weren’t going to have what should be mine.

  Fuck that.

  I heard the door open as someone stepped out of the house. Great. If I had to say what was the worst part of being from a big family? It would be getting five minutes by yourself.

  The footsteps were soft as they approached me. I didn’t turn around to look because I was still a little pissed off about the whole thing. And mostly with myself, which sat even worse with me. As the footsteps stopped behind me and the smell of vanilla and something else I couldn’t quite place reached me. I knew exactly who was behind me.

  Ana.

  “Kian, I’m sorry. I hope you know I had no part in any of this. And please, the flirting and stuff with you, well, you’re good looking and nice, I would hate to think you thought I was out looking to snag a husband or a father for Lily. And oh my God, all the times we ran into each other, I swear it was accidental,” Ana never stepped to the side of me. She stayed where she was. I didn’t know why she was apologizing to me, hell, it was my family that was completely off to crazy town and especially my mother for her harebrained idea of setting Ana up with Brodie.

  When I sat across the table and watched her sitting there between my cousin and brother, I got pissed. She was supposed to be sitting by me, not them. They hadn’t seen her standing watching her apartment burn, or saw her moving around her store with a look of accomplishment on her face. Not one of them got to witness the lost look in her eyes or saw how tight she held her daughter in the safety of her arms on the side of the road. And not one of them got to experience the warmth I felt when Lily trusted me enough to reach for me.

  “Sorry to bother you. We won’t be here much longer. I’ll get my parents and Lily and leave you to your family. You shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable in your parents’ house.” I heard her footsteps moving away after she finished talking. I didn’t like the feeling I was experiencing from it one bit.

  “I wasn’t looking for a woman to spend my life with. I had no desire whatsoever to settle down. I sure didn’t see a kid anytime soon in my future.” I pushed off from the banister and turned toward her.

  “Good to know. Like I said, we will be leaving. And I will try to keep from running into you if I see you, don’t worry I won’t stop or even acknowledge you.” I watched her hands open and close into fists as she spoke. “Oh and no worries, I definitely won’t ever subject you to Lily again.” Ana started to turn around toward the door.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Excuse me. Giving you what you want. I only came out to check on you and to tell you I didn’t know they were trying to set me up. Or give one of you an instant family. Shit, you don’t even want a kid!”

  “Set you up? Oh they wanted to set yo
u up alright, with Brodie, then Aunt Milana and her idea of throwing Keaton into the mix to give you a choice. God, I’m surprised you didn’t grab Lily and run out of the damn house. Don’t get me wrong, the parents are great, but ever since we came back from our cousins’ wedding, they’ve been a little crazy about all of us still being single.”

  “Brodie? Keaton? I don’t even know them. Hell, other than running into you a few times, I don’t really know anything about you, other than you don’t want a family. So thanks for being up front with me.”

  “That’s it, I didn’t, then you came along and fuck, I wanted you the first time I saw you. Then every time I would run into you, I wanted you more. Ana, you aren’t the type of woman that a man just dates, you have a kid for God’s sake. You’re the type of woman men see as their future. And you want honest? Fuck, I fought that feeling with you, that is why I never asked you out. But seeing you between my brother and cousin gave me a helluva kick.” I started toward her and I was going to go for it or get kicked in the balls one. “You can be pissed but we are going to give us a shot.” I put my hands on each side of her face and then slid them into her hair and tilted her head up while I leaned down. My mouth took hers and at first she didn’t respond.

  “Kiss me back, baby,” I whispered against her lips. I ran my tongue over her bottom lip and she opened, letting me in.

  When my tongue touched hers, she moaned and wrapped her arms around my waist. And as I tasted every crevice of her mouth, she melted into me. I deepened the kiss and asked for more and she gave it. What the hell had I been thinking? Months I could have been holding her, kissing her. Wasted time I couldn’t get back.

  I broke the kiss and looked down at her swollen lips and flushed face. “Ana, I won’t hurt you or Lily if you will give me a chance. Can you do that?” She smiled and I let out the breath I held.

  “Yes, on one condition.”

  “What?”

  “That when it’s just you and I, don’t treat me like a mother. I mean I am a mother, but I am also a woman with needs, Kian.” Ana blushed and I couldn’t help but tease her.

  “You saying you like getting dirty, baby?”

  “Kian, I’m saying I like sex and if we are being honest, well... I’ve been going without except for my vibrator, which only takes the edge off. Nothing replaces the real thing and a man that knows how to use it. Think you can do that?” If I said Ana hadn’t shocked me, I’d be lying. I smirked.

  “I can do that,” I answered and then took her mouth again.

  “Oh! Well that will work too!” was heard, followed by the slamming of the door.

  Ana’s body began to shake with laughter and she broke the kiss and looked up at me.

  “You know they are going to take credit, don’t you?” And she giggled and laid her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.

  “Let ‘em.”

  Chapter Seven

  Ana

  Dammit, you would think I had never been on a date before, but shit, this was a first date, every woman knew a first date was important. You could meet and see each other as much as you want, but when it came to first dates, it was crash and burn or bonding and sex. I wasn’t going to think about the crash and burn part, hell, I had done enough of the burn part to last a lifetime.

  Lily was sitting on the floor playing with her toys as I ran around looking like a chicken with my head cut off. My parents weren’t home yet, but they would be soon, and I didn’t want to appear even slightly nervous, I would never hear the end of it. Finally, I stopped and then bit my lip and picked up the phone. God, this was going to be embarrassing. I dialed my sister’s number and waited. She was going to give me shit, but I needed help.

  It seemed to take forever and finally I heard her answer the phone, she sounded like she had been asleep, what the heck it was only five o’clock.

  “What?” my sister, Gabby, mumbled.

  “Sorry, Gab, did I wake you?” I asked hesitantly, my sister could sometimes be a little grumpy when she was woken up, hell, who was I kidding, she was scary if she got woken up. I quickly thought about what the job assignment was right now, she usually told me when she was on a case.

  “Yeah,” Gabby groaned and I heard shuffling in the background. “I had an emergency request, so I have been working odd hours again.”

  My sister had an awesome job, when she was young, my father and mother had repeatedly said she was either going to be a cat burglar or a cop, she was neither. Gabby danced to a beat of her own drum, she worked in security of sorts, she broke into company’s buildings in order to determine if their security worked. She was one of the best in her field because she was so good at getting in places she wasn’t supposed to.

  “Shit, sorry,” I said quickly, getting ready to tell her to go back to sleep and we could talk later.

  “Nah, s’okay. Just let me get up and grab a Pepsi, I need some caffeine and it is too late for coffee,” Gabby said and I sighed and waited. It only took a few seconds and she was back. “What up, sis?” I heard her opening a soda and I smiled. I loved my sister.

  “Okay, I am in a panic. I need to figure out what to wear for a first date,” I said quickly.

  Gabby was drinking and I heard her swallow and then she said, “Date? No shit? Who, please tell me it is not that creepy neighbor of Mom and Dad’s, I swear he is on a registry somewhere, why Mom can’t see that, I have no idea. But she already tried to set me up, and I told her hell no.”

  “Nope,” I smiled into the phone and turned and watched Lily as she moved her toys around playing. “His name is Kian O’Malley, and he is a firefighter.”

  My sister began to laugh. “No shit, a firefighter, Dad must be over the moon, and Mom is probably cussing you out. How in the heck have you had time to meet a firefighter? Wait, is he the one you were talking about after the fire at your apartment? The hot dude who walked you to your car?”

  “Yep, that is him,” I said and smiled big. “And Lily lets him hold her.”

  “Well now,” Gabby said with a chuckled. “He must be okay then. Okay, what are we looking at? A nice restaurant? The movies? What?”

  “Oh my God, I didn’t ask!” I yelled and Lily jerked in surprise and Gabby made a noise that I assumed meant I blew her ears out when I yelled.

  “It’s okay!” Gabby said smoothly. “So, go with a slightly casual dress that will look like you are trying to look good, but not too good in case he doesn’t take you to an expensive place, but one more relaxed, he will appreciate your legs and you will be comfortable. Look in your closet, you have that one dress you wore with me when we went to the concert last year. That would be perfect.”

  I stopped and then tilted my head and thought, shit, she was right, I moved to the closet and dug into the back, where in the heck did I put it? Finally, after what seemed like forever, I pulled out the slightly rumpled black dress. Perfect.

  “Okay, got it, has a few wrinkles, I will throw it in the dryer for a few minutes. I swear, I feel like a teenager again. I am nervous and everything,” I said in a rush and bent and picked up Lily and took her into the back room with me. She yelled loudly and began to hit the phone.

  “Aww, that’s my girl!” Gabby said. “Wait, who is babysitting?”

  “Mom and Dad said they will be home in an hour,” I said and smiled at Lily who was trying to pull the phone out of my hand.

  “Oh man, why didn’t you call me? I would have totally had a girls’ night in with Lily. I don’t get to see her enough.” Gabby whined and I laughed. Gabby was an awesome aunt, between her and my parents, I had barely needed daycare, of course, I insisted she go to daycare in order to learn socialization. Yeah, it had sounded like a reasonable statement, but my parents usually left her there for about two hours, and then one of them would pick her up and take her home. It was an ongoing battle.

  “Listen, I gotta go, I gotta get ready, why don’t you just break into Mom and Dad’s house, kidnap Lily, and leave them a note. You
know how they love to play that game with you,” I said and Gabby snorted.

  “Yeah okay, last time I did that, Dad called the cops and reported me. I’m not going to have Lily scarred for life seeing me handcuff by laughing police officers,” Gabby said dryly.

  “Well, then I would suggest you call Mom and Dad, invite yourself over for dinner, and then you can play with her all you want. But no more trying to teach her how to get out of zip ties,” I said warningly and then sighed. “Okay, I really gotta go.”

  “Fine, go, make yourself gorgeous, I’m gonna get a shower and beat feet over there. I wanna see you before you go! And underneath the dress, put on some of those items you sell at your store. If you get lucky, he will get a treat too,” Gabby laughed and I hung up the phone and looked at Lily and smiled.

  “Okay, baby girl, momma needs to go make herself beautiful!”

  I smiled when she yelled and slapped my cheeks with both of her hands. She was growing so fast. I walked back to the bedroom we were sharing and I put her in the playpen so I could shower. With one last kiss I took a deep breath to calm my nerves as I began to get ready.

  “You know, I’m gonna say this again, I’m so sorry about my parents. Really, you would never know I was a grow adult from the way they were acting,” I said with a frustrated tone.

  Kian had come to the house with everyone there, my sister, my parents, and they were all about interrogating him. Like my parents hadn’t sat at a table with them just two nights ago. I was finally able to push him out the door and I glared at my parents and sister who were all smiling.

  “Honey,” Kian said and picked up my hand and I shivered at his touch. It had been like this since he picked me up. I was wearing my little black dress, which I must say looked awesome on me still. Granted my boobs were bigger, but hey, I wasn’t arguing. Neither apparently was Kian because from the moment I opened the door he had looked at me with an intent gaze that told me how much he liked what I was wearing. Well, that and the fact he had found a way to touch me any chance he could get, which the chemistry between us had already been working on overload, but now, it was off the charts. “I would have faced Lucifer himself in order to take you out on this date.”