Footsteps
Page 38
She’d worn a sleeveless lace dress in a color like vanilla, hemmed above her knees, with a neckline so deep he’d had to wonder if she was commando again, because he couldn’t figure out where a bra could be hiding. The woman knew how to dress. Though his father had offered, she’d chosen to walk down the aisle on her own, behind Andi, Rosa, and Carmen, her bridesmaids. His brothers had stood with him.
Trey, too, had stood at his side, and he had walked back up the aisle between them, the three of them hand in hand.
Family.
“You are a man without a beer. I come to remedy that problem.” Carlo turned to see Luca at his side, holding out a beer. He grinned and took it.
“Thanks.”
“You know, you don’t have to stare longingly. You could actually go and talk to her. Touch her, even. I think that’s one of the few perks of marriage. I’m not an expert or anything, but I’ve heard it said.”
Carlo chortled. “If I touch her right now, we could end up putting on a show. Plus, I like watching.” He opened his beer and took a long drink. “She looks happy, huh?”
“Big brother, that one’s got it bad for you. And this time, I think that’s a good thing. She is way out of your league.”
“I know.” He looked around. “Where’s Joe?”
“Inside. Watching Carmen’s television. Walking around on the sand out here was wearing him out, I think.”
“Damn. I really thought he’d be doing better than this by now.” Joey’s recovery had been slow. Almost glacial. He was a belligerent, unwilling patient. He’d tried to fire Louisa, his nurse, just about once a week, and then Carlo had had to scramble to smooth things over between them. A couple of months ago, she’d suggested that it was time to be fired, that she could be more productive with somebody who wanted to be well.
Now Joey spent his days watching television.
Luca shrugged. “He’s not really trying, though, is he?”
“He thinks he’s as good as he can get. Bina thinks we’re too easy on him.” She’d been right about Rosa; he’d had no idea how disconnected his baby sister had felt from the family until he’d sat her down and talked to her about it. But he didn’t think Bina was right about Joey.
“What are we gonna do? Kick his ass? He’s an invalid.”
“That’s what I say. And maybe he is as good as he can get.”
“He should work or something, though. Just to get out of the house. Maybe Pop and I can put him back on a crew.”
The one bright spot in Joey’s predicament was that his mobster days were brief and over. Carlo was glad for that, even though his own business, and Luca’s, with the Uncles remained unresolved. Someday, they would have to pay for helping Joey out of a jam. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to pay too dearly.
He was glad those days were behind Joey. But Carlo didn’t see him returning to the other family business, either.
“Luc, he can’t walk across the beach without passing out, and he’s still carting that tank around. What’s he gonna do on a construction site?
“I know. Fuck. Seems like there’s gotta be something, though.” Luca drained his beer. “We shouldn’t be talking about this shit now. This is your day, big man.” He slapped Carlo on his bare back. “Got your mulligan. Make it count.”
“Um, hey—excuse me?”
Both brothers turned to find a tiny, black-haired girl behind them. Dressed in a miniscule black skirt and fishnets with big, clompy boots and some kind of corset thing with a striped shirt under it—not remotely appropriate for the beach—she shoved a hand onto her hip and scowled up at them. “Some asshole with a tiny dick parked his big black Hummer right in front of the access to the beach. I’ve got a gig to set up, and he’s in my way. Do you know where I can find…um…Carlo somebody or other?
Carlo and Luca turned to each other and grinned. They turned back to the little midget bitch, and Luca said, “Well, this here is Carlo somebody or other, and I’d say it was my Hummer parked over there, but you must mean somebody else. Cuz my dick ain’t tiny, sugar.”
Instead of being abashed, she smirked and looked him over. “Well, you’re obviously compensating for something. Could you move your giant phallus? Please?” She turned to Carlo. “You hired a band, playing seven to ten?”
“I did. You’re it?”
“I’m their manager. Where d’you want us?” She shoved her Day-Glo orange Ray-Bans up on her head, revealing shockingly blue eyes rimmed with heavy black liner. “Please don’t expect us to just camp in the sand.”
“No, no. We built a stage—it’s over there, near some power. C’mon…what’s your name?”
“Manny.”
He raised an eyebrow at that and looked at Luca, who was enjoying the fuck out of this acerbic little shit. “Okay, Manny. Luca will move his giant phallus, and I’ll show you where to set up.”
~oOo~
The band was good—loud and raucous, a punk/grunge/metal thing. Carlo loved it. Hardly dinner music, and it had surprised Bina, whose musical tastes and interests were…stunted, in Carlo’s opinion. But the band was perfect for their wedding reception, which had, as they’d expected, become a whole-town affair. His father was still throwing his usual Memorial weekend bash in a couple of weeks, but Quiet Cove was getting a bonus Pagano party this year. It was difficult to dance in sand, especially at the end of a party with a lot of booze, but people were managing it. Mostly.
When the sun went down, the air got a distinct chill, and Bina had pulled on jeans and one of his hoodies. But he’d made sure she still had that ‘bride-kini’ on underneath. They were sitting together at the bonfire, Bina on his lap. He had his hand under the hoodie, rubbing soft swirls on her belly. Every now and then, he moved up and over her breast. Every time, she made a small, sweet noise in the back of her throat.
Trey was asleep in Carmen’s house; he was staying with her tonight. They weren’t going on a honeymoon, at least not for the foreseeable future. He had the Connelly project, and neither of them wanted to leave Trey for any length of time. Even though it had been nine months since Jenny had taken him, and even though she could not ever do it again, both Carlo and Bina felt protective and watchful of his son.
Their son.
They didn’t want to take Trey on some expensive vacation, either. He was too young to appreciate it, and he had everything he wanted right here in the Cove. Anyway, what was a honeymoon if you couldn’t have sex any time, anywhere? So they’d decided to wait. What they had was a night in the Captain’s Suite at the Quiet Cove Inn.
She tipped her head on his shoulder and kissed his throat, letting her tongue flick lightly over his skin. His balls tightened, and his hand squeezed her breast.
“Can we go soon?” Her voice was like a purr. “I would like to be in bed with my husband.” Her hand moved under his shirt and made his belly twitch.
“We can go right now, baby. This party’s not about us anymore.”
She sat up. The firelight behind her and the moonlight above her made her glow as if she were enchanted. She had certainly enchanted him. From the night he’d walked her up the beach, he thought, he’d known that she was special. Her strength and wisdom, fire and beauty had blazed from her even while she’d been trapped under James Auberon’s twisted thumb.
Everyone thought she’d been a damsel in distress, and she had been in dire straits. She had needed his help, and the help of others. But she’d needed to lean only until she’d had room to stand. Even on that first night, when he’d walked her home through the sand and over rocks, she had not taken his offered hand. She had walked on her own, allowing him only to walk beside her, not to carry her.
But since she had been with him, she had carried him time and time again.
“I love you, Sabina Pagano. Thank you.”
She smiled, cocking her head a little. “For what do you thank me?”
“For saving me.”
THE END
~oOo~
COMING SOON
&
nbsp; Touch: The Pagano Family, Book Two
Luca likes his uncomplicated life. Manny is nothing if not a complicated girl.
She’s untouchable. But unforgettable.
RELEASE DATE: 27 September 2014
Find more information at the Freak Circle Press blog:
tfcpress.wordpress.com