Jen wrapped her arms around her best friend. “You don’t have to tell me a thing until you’re ready, but when you are, I want full details. Not just ‘he’s nice and sweet and opens doors’ but ‘he rips my clothes off and we make loud and raucous love all night long.’” Jen kissed Fallyn’s temple. “I’m so happy for you! Is it James? The guy with the gooey eyes for you who served coffee here our first week?”
“Please don’t say anything. You know how my brothers can get. Please, Jen. I don’t even know if it’s going anywhere, but I’ll never find out if my family knows a thing about it.”
Jen mimed zipping her lips shut. “I know, and I didn’t tell them a thing. Next time you need me to cover for you, let me know where you are so I can make up a convincing lie.” She squeezed her friend. “Good for you for going out. James is all kinds of hot.” She restocked the to-go bags as she talked. “Danny was sweet. He stayed for two hours with me on the couch last night in case you woke up and needed anything. He’ll probably be in today to check on you. And Carrigan brought you soup that I put in the fridge. He was so worried.”
“The bullet barely grazed me. Everyone’s overreacting.”
Jen paused her bustle and narrowed her eyes at Fallyn. “You remember when I broke my arm last year? I went home for Thanksgiving and no one even asked about it. It’s a friggin’ cast, and no one cared. I know your family can be overwhelming, but the other side of it isn’t pretty either. Danny loves you. And Carrigan? Well, you’re closest with him and Killian. Might want to call them today to let them know you got a good night of sleep.”
“I know. You’re right. Thanks for covering for me. The whole thing’s a little tense right now. When I turned my phone back on, the mailbox was full.” She dripped a few drops of purple dye in the bowl of icing and started mixing with her good arm. “Vince is sending some guys over this morning to do the pastry trade. So if you want to hide, I understand.”
Jen stiffened. “Vince, or his men?”
“I think just the delivery guys. Vince doesn’t do much of the grunt work.”
“Good. Vince scares me. So does Angelo. The whole lot of them, really. Every time he looks in my direction, I feel like I’m one breath away from getting my neck snapped.”
“He’s not so bad. The trade’s going to happen at the bakery from now on, given the mess that happened yesterday.”
“I guess that’s better than you getting shot, sure. I was worried about you, Fal. You could’ve told me. I wouldn’t have flown off the handle.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I got into it with my dad, and then my brothers are… I should’ve told you. You’re the one person who would’ve been cool.”
Jen bumped her hip to Fallyn’s. “I’m all kinds of cool. Hannah’s here,” she said, pointing to the blonde standing outside the front door. “She’s starting to get the hang of this place.”
The four women worked without incident until Danny showed up at six-thirty in the morning with Declan and Killian, all carrying guns that were tucked just barely out of sight. Danny and Killian milled around the kitchen while Declan sat in the window looking out onto the street as he ignored the bustle of customers coming in and out for their morning coffee.
When Seamus appeared at six-forty-five with Finn, Fallyn’s nerves turned into frustration. “Look, it’s a small storefront. Could you all please be less conspicuous? If the delivery truck sees you all, they’ll just keep on driving. Is that what you want? This is my business, and I say some of you need to go home.”
Killian considered his sister and consented begrudgingly. “Fally’s right. We don’t want to look like we’re itching for a fight. Seamus, go on to work. Danny, head on out. Finn and Declan can stay. That’s plenty of backup in case anything goes south.”
Seamus’ stubborn streak rose up. “I want every detail of what goes down here today. I don’t like that you’re benching me for this.”
“Yesterday you almost got yourself thrown in lockup when you wouldn’t calm yourself down. That can’t happen today. Go on.”
Seamus rested his chin on the top of his sister’s head and put his heavy hand on Killian’s shoulder. “If anything happens to her…”
“I know. It’s on me. I’ll watch her.” Killian opened the door for Danny and Seamus, who each glared at their eldest brother. When the men left, Killian’s shoulders loosened with the release of a little of the tension they’d been holding onto.
Fallyn watched her eldest brother and saw the weight that he carried. This had been her decision, but so far it was only affecting the family negatively, which hadn’t been the point. She dropped the spatula back in the mixing bowl and closed the distance between them, burying her face in Killian’s shirt. “I’m so sorry I’m making things complicated for you. I really thought this would help ease the tension between the families. I didn’t know it would come to gunfire and having to get everyone involved. I’m sorry.”
Killian relaxed in her arms as he always did. “It’s okay, hun. It was a good idea. I wouldn’t have let you go through with it if it wasn’t.” He rubbed her back as Declan gave her scalp a healthy scratch when he walked past to check the back entrance for danger. “You’re hugging me lopsided. I can tell your arm’s still hurting. You sure you don’t want to press charges?”
“I’m sure. Carri left me a message that they were releasing Angelo this morning. I want you and the boys to leave him alone. He saved my life. If you see him, tell him thank you.”
Killian hesitated, but nodded into her hair. “Okay.”
Fallyn pulled away and slapped her hands together with renewed focus. “Three O’Keefe boys with nothing to do on a Sunday morning? The shame of it. Declan, could you start in on the dishes? Kill, you can help unload the stock in the fridge. Finn, could you go bus some tables out front and see if the girls need any help restocking the case?”
Finn tugged on a lock of her hair with a frown. “I came for backup, not to be your shopgirl.”
Fallyn reached up and pinched his cheeks. “Oh, but you have the prettiest smile. Go flash it at a lonely heart or two. Your handsome face will up my female patronage easy. Maybe you could just stand in the window and flex for the passersby,” she teased.
Finn flexed once for show, earning a hoot from Loretta, who fanned herself. He grinned at his sister as he set about helping in the storefront. Declan made himself useful by plowing through the dishes, the sleeves on his blue striped dress shirt rolled. Fallyn always got a kick out of making her big, scary brothers do menial chores. They always amused her doing normal things with guns tucked into their belts.
Ten minutes later, Declan whooshed into the backroom with his hand on his belt, should he need to draw his weapon. “Delivery truck’s here.”
Killian put his hand on Loretta’s shoulder. “Go take a break, Loretta. Give us the kitchen for half an hour, okay? And make sure the girls stay away, too.”
“Stay away? Boy, I’d like to know when you thought it was a good idea to take over this kitchen.” Her head swivel was in full swing as she brushed flour from her hands.
“The D’Amatos are on their way.” He took his gun out and laid it on the counter to show her just how bad it might get. “I don’t think you want to be here for that.”
Loretta grumbled, but saw the merit in being nowhere near the men with too many guns. “Alright, alright. But don’t you fire those things near my pastry dough. It’s still rising.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Killian smirked, bowing his head slightly to her as she instructed the storefront workers to stay out of the kitchen, and then left for a much needed break. He kept his hand on the backdoor and tucked Fallyn behind him, posturing when her dainty hand rested on his back. “Stay back until I know it’s safe,” he cautioned her.
19
Denial and Dishes
For six boxes filled with crème puffs, Neapolitans and assorted pastries, the four men required to deliver them seemed excessive. When Killian went to the front of the truck to greet
the driver, Declan took the place of being Fallyn’s guard, shielding his sister from the men who unloaded the boxes and picked up the ones from her bakery marked for delivery to them. “Hello, Tony,” she greeted as he passed her.
“Fallyn,” he nodded, setting the box down on the counter.
“How’s Angelo? Did he have any trouble with the cops?”
“He got released this morning.”
When Vince’s deeper cadence reached her, Fallyn’s heart stuttered and her cheeks heated. “Yes, thank you for not pressing charges. I trust you’re healing well?” Vince strolled into the kitchen with his shoulders back, as if there was not the possibility of war he was walking right into. He played the game well, diffusing the tension by setting an example of ease. It had been Fallyn’s strategy all along, but her brothers had ignored it and fussed over every little sniffle or gunshot wound.
“Bullet barely grazed me,” Fallyn lied, raising her chin to defy the reality that her arm was in worse shape than she was willing to let her brothers realize. “Hardly left a scratch. How’s Angelo?”
“Grateful he hit his target. There won’t be any more unpleasantness if you come out again. Though, I do think this is a better arrangement until things calm down.” Vince met her gaze, saying things through his cool blue eyes that she could not ignore. She felt naked under his scrutiny, but refused to squirm.
Nothing happened. We didn’t kiss. It was a crazy dream. Never happened in real life.
Killian held the door open for the last man as he walked out. “I think that’s everything. Same time tomorrow?”
Vince nodded. “I’ve got some questions and numbers to go over with whoever’s running the bakery. Is that you, Kill?”
Fallyn’s voice turned sharp. “It’s me. I’m the owner.” She held up her finger to Killian, who looked like he wanted to slip in an addendum that might undercut her authority. “Don’t you dare, Kill.” Killian backed down, but Fallyn could tell he was on the verge of speaking his mind. “We can talk in my office, Vince.”
Vince called over his shoulder, “Tony, take the boys and the truck back home. I’ll catch a cab after I settle things with Fallyn.”
It looked like Tony wanted to argue, but he obeyed, taking Vince’s backup with him and leaving. Killian saw Vince sending away his men and nodded in appreciation at the gesture. “Declan, Finn, I think you can head out, too. I can watch the place while Vince settles up with Fally.” Declan and Finn exchanged firm handshakes with Vince that held a thinly veiled threat before they exited. Killian sat in the chair by the backdoor with his arms crossed. “I’ll be right here if you need anything.”
Fallyn pointed to the dishes that had not all been washed. “When I come back out, some handsome leprechaun better have made decent progress on those dishes. Declan barely got halfway through.”
“Alright, alright.” Killian rolled up his sleeves and started to work, ensuring there was adequate noise to cover any conversation Fallyn and Vince would share.
20
More
Fallyn ushered Vince into her small office and shut the door, locking it behind her and then taking the seat across from Vince behind her mildly disorderly desk. “How did my things sell at your restaurant yesterday? We only had one Neapolitan left, so I think we can up the order by twenty percent tomorrow, if you’re game.”
Vince crossed his ankle over his right knee, leaning back in his chair to size her up. He spoke slowly, his voice low with a note of playfulness to it Fallyn didn’t often witness. “Is that what you want to talk about? Food orders?”
Fallyn cleared her throat and started sifting through the papers on her desk to put them in a more manageable order, keeping her eyes down so as not to give away her nerves. “Of course. That’s why you came here, I imagine.”
“Do you think I need to go out on deliveries?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you think I have nothing better to do than unload a truck of desserts?”
“I assume you came to make sure things were square with Killian. A show of peace.”
“Look at me.” Vince’s velvety cadence cut through her dodging with a sharpened silk she did not expect.
“No,” Fallyn whispered, her face firmly pointed toward her desk. “How did my things sell at your place?”
“We sold out. Twenty percent increase works for me.” He waited a few beats and then beckoned her again with a note of seduction in his voice. “Fallyn.”
“Don’t say my name like that,” she warned, pursing her lips together, her head still bent over her work.
“That you can’t look at me shows me you can’t shake what happened either. How was your date? Did he show?”
“Yes, he did. It was nice.”
“Are you seeing him again?”
Her voice came out in a guilty whisper. “Yes.”
Vince’s face broke out in a sly smile. “You don’t want to see him. You’re still trying to figure out why you can’t have with him what we have without even trying.”
“It’s because you spooked me, calling me like that just before the date started.”
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. That kiss… Bella, look at me.”
Her cheeks were hot and try as she might, she couldn’t keep a stoic expression when her eyes finally met his. “You’re a D’Amato. I’m an O’Keefe. It didn’t happen.”
Vince’s eyes steeled, the warm pools of blue mutating to ice at her words. “That’s all I am to you? I thought for sure you would’ve had a more open mind. I expect that kind of talk from your father or some of your brothers. I expected more from you.”
His shaming struck a chord. “You’re asking me to pretend the situation our families are in doesn’t exist, but it does. It doesn’t matter if I do or don’t care about the feud; it’s still there.” She lowered her voice and double-checked that the door was bolted shut. “It was a good kiss, Vince. But that’s all it can be. No matter what it felt like, we don’t have those kinds of choices.”
“You’re young yet. You think things like that happen every day – that passion’s easy to find. I’ve got news for you: it isn’t.”
“Please! I’ve seen you be all kinds of passionate with Maria. You don’t have to hide under a desk to kiss her.” It wasn’t a statement of jealousy, but a reminder of the situation. Dread swept over her at the admission she made aloud for the first time. “Oh! We kissed under your desk on the floor like animals!” She covered her face with her hands and groaned.
Vince stood, resting his fists on her desk and leaning over to close some of the gap between them. “I’ve had Maria every way you could imagine, but she’s never come apart in my arms the way you did. That was intimate. That was naked. I haven’t been that naked in a long time.”
Fallyn scowled and removed her hands to glare at him, reclaiming a bit of her personality. “Well, that’s the thing about virgins with zip experience. I would’ve fallen apart in anyone’s arms. It’s all hot and heavy for me because I’ve got hardly anything to compare it to! You don’t want me, Vince. Stop pretending you do!”
“Stop pretending you don’t!” he challenged, angry at her denial. “I meant what I said. I don’t regret what happened.”
“Then you’re a fool!” They glared at each other with their frustration and bottled up attraction. There was animosity, confusion and too much emotion to properly put into words.
And then there was kissing. Vince leaned over her desk from his towering stance and pressed a kiss to her scowl, melting it like chocolate that puddled in his hands. The moment her lips returned the affection, he brought his knees up to rest on her desk, afraid to break the kiss in case she decided to run further from it. From his kneeling perch atop the desk, he cupped her face, bringing her to stand from her chair to get closer, to feel more of whatever it was that made her body beg like it never had before.
Before she knew it, Vince climbed clear over the desk and set his feet down on her side, his strong hands reaching down and gripping
the undersides of her thighs to lift her. It was on instinct that her legs knew the dance, wrapping around Vince’s waist as he took a few steps forward and pressed her back to the wall. The cold of the concrete added to the sensory overload and scrambled her brains. Her hand was in his hair, yanking the follicles and digging into his scalp to devour more, to be even closer. “Vince, we can’t!” she protested, but his lips were insistent that they could and they must.
So they did.
Vince pinched his way up the underside of her left thigh, using her gasps as a barometer of how far he was allowed to venture. When her whimpers were tainted with a note of panic, he stayed below that line, knowing she was not a thing to be taken and broken. “Attraente. You’re all I can think about. Tell me you feel it!”
“No!” she cried, sucking on his lower lip. “We can’t feel this.” The kisses were hard and bordered on messy with the frustration they hurled at each other in the middle of their passion.
“But you do feel it, giovane tesoro. Tell me you think of me.” He took his hand from her thigh and stuck his finger in her mouth again, groaning a deep, guttural sound as she sucked, her blue orbs locking in on his with need that betrayed her innocence. He reached down and traced a wet line from the underside of her knee up the back of her thigh, and swirled a pattern that inched dangerously closer to the swell he’d longed for. He anticipated her gasp and whimper, which he devoured with a kiss that took her breath away. “No one can make you feel like this, Bella. Only me. Only me.”
“Only you,” she murmured, wanton and greedy, panting as she turned her head to the side to breathe and clear away the dizziness that was clouding the protests she couldn’t hold onto anymore. All her reasons for pushing him away slipped through her fingers like water. “I lied,” she finally admitted. “I have a hard time thinking about anything else. I want you.”
Exploding: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection #1) Page 12
