“Chase?” Mil came up behind him. “Did you save the shrimp?”
“I hate shrimp,” he muttered. “Yeah I saved them after the butter freaking sprayed all over my apron and—” He stopped talking when his eyes scanned me from head to toe. “Tex is going to shit a brick.”
“Tex?” Nixon walked into the room and glanced at me, did a double take, then stalked towards me. “No, turn around, change.”
“I’m not a kid.” I crossed my arms making my boobs look bigger in the strapless sweetheart dress. I knew they looked bigger because the dress was so low it was entirely possible they were going to fall out at any minute.
“Damn it, Mo!” Nixon smacked Chase, probably because he was convenient, and reached for the wine bottle. “This isn’t open for argument, you will change. Now.”
“No she won’t,” Trace challenged. “Because that’s my dress, and I believe you told me that if I didn’t buy it, you’d just go back to the store and get it.”
Nixon’s eyes flashed. “For you.”
“So why can’t Mo borrow my clothes?”
“Yeah,” Chase piped up, his smile wide. “Why can’t Mo wear your wife’s clothes?”
Nixon closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Mo…” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “Please? Tex is going to lose it, I can’t… he can’t lose it in this type of environment.”
“Tex is a big boy.” I uncrossed my arms. “A very big boy.”
“Didn’t need to know that.” Nixon coughed behind his hand and looked helplessly at Chase, who offered him a wine glass and a pat on the back.
“It will be fine,” I lied, knowing full well it wasn’t going to be fine when Tex saw me, his reaction would probably be worse than Nixon’s was, and Nixon was currently finishing off half a bottle and staring at me like lightning was going to strike any minute.
“Nixon.” Sergio walked into the room, texting on his phone. “Nicolasi clan just pulled up—they’re going to want wine.” He glanced up in my direction and swore his entire jaw going slack. “Damn it, Nixon, do something!”
“About what?” I sauntered by him and snagged a glass of wine off the table. “World hunger?”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about.” Sergio’s nostrils flared.
“She’s an adult.” Nixon croaked, right my bet was that he almost choked on the word adult. “She can wear what she wants.”
Sergio shook his head a few times before muttering more curses under his breath and walking out of the kitchen.
The girls and I helped Chase get the appetizers out along with the wine, men poured into the house, some our age, but most of them three times our age and watching us with the type of curiosity I wasn’t comfortable with. It had been years since the Nicolasi family had decided to visit and we weren’t exactly on great terms after my father all but kicked them out of the country.
One of the elders walked by and spat on the ground. Right, my point exactly. I quickly stepped over the spit, offered the grumpy man some wine and continued my search for Tex.
It wasn’t until an hour into the guests arriving that I knew Tex had walked in the room.
All talking ceased.
All eyes were behind me. Slowly I turned to see Tex in gray slacks and a tight white button up. He looked good enough to eat with his stormy blue eyes taking in every single inch of the room.
I waited for those eyes to fall on me.
And when they did, I took a step back, as the blue raged from storm to hurricane within a second.
“Campisi.” The man who had spit on our floor nodded his head. “It is good to see you, yes?”
“That depends.” Tex took a step towards the crowd and tilted his head. “Are we going to have trouble this evening?”
Holy crap. I quickly looked at Nixon, but he was watching with mild amusement. What the heck! Sweating, I nervously licked my lips and waited for someone to say something.
The man chuckled. “Ah, to be young again.”
“That’s what I always say.” Luca stepped up and joined in laughter then turned briefly to Tex, giving him the coldest look I’d ever seen in my entire life.
Frank, Trace’s Grandpa nodded once then went to Tex and led him into the room. “A few men you should meet… trustworthy men who despised your father.”
“A friend of my father is my enemy.” Tex snorted. “An enemy of my father is my friend.” He held out his hand and began conversing, and I watched in horror as every single man in that room straightened their ties and focused in on Tex as if he was the Cappo already.
He walked into the room and demanded their allegiance.
And they freely gave it.
Because of blood.
A choking sensation washed over me as I looked down at my dress. What was I trying to prove? My fighting for Tex wouldn’t save us.
Not when he’d already jumped in with both feet.
“Mo?” Sergio said from behind me. I jumped a foot and turned.
“Hmm?”
“You okay?” His eyebrows drew together in concern as he looked from Tex to me.
“Fine.” I waved him off. “Just a bit stressed, lots of guns in the room and all that.”
“Guns are tools, try not to think of them as weapons. After all, people kill people, guns are merely the object they use in order to carry out the sentence.”