“Are you nervous?” I asked Nic as we drove up his parents’ driveway.
He nodded, downshifting. “Of course.”
Two weeks had passed since that night in my apartment. We’d spent almost every day together since, rebuilding the trust between us, talking through all the things we’d left unsaid, splitting our time between my place and setting up his new one just a block away from Velvet. Almost no one knew about his acquisition, because he’d threatened McKinney to keep his mouth shut and everyone else in on it knew not to talk. Secrecy was the bedrock of Nic’s plan tonight. If his father had time with the news, he’d have time to scheme, time to figure out some way to trap Nic into staying.
“Are you nervous?” Nic asked.
I laughed, stiffly, a ha ha ha that sounded as off as I felt. “Not nervous. Terrified.”
“You’ll be okay,” he said.
Yeah, but would he?
We rounded the circular drive in front of his parents’ house—more like mansion—and parked next to Aly’s car. She and Josh got out as Nic cut the engine. Clearly, they’d been waiting for us. I was grateful for that, that we’d walk in together. Nic seemed unflappable, but I knew there were deeper emotions brewing beneath the surface. His father had manipulated, controlled, and emotionally abused him his entire life, and breaking away from that was a big deal.
Josh and Nic greeted each other as I rounded the trunk of the car. Aly was coming around hers, too, and she smiled when she caught sight of me, pulling me in for a hug.
“How you doing?” she asked as we released each other.
“Full panic,” I said.
She nodded. “We’ll sit you in between Josh and Nic. They’ll keep you safe.”
Josh step-slid next to her, both of his arms raised as he flexed. “I’m very intimidating.”
Nic backhanded him in the stomach, and Josh wheezed and dropped his arms. I shook my head, wondering why no one else looked as worried as I was.
“Is the party out here tonight?” a lilting voice asked.
I jumped, so on edge I’d turned skittish, and turned to see Moira standing right behind us. I hadn’t even heard her walk up. From the way she smiled at our surprise, I had a feeling that was intentional.
“Just saying hi to my favorite cousin,” Nic said.
Aly rolled her eyes. “Only cousin.”
Josh put his arm around her. “Which means you win by default, baby. Soak it up.”
“Lauren,” Moira said, and I braced myself and turned back to her. Her smile was warm, welcoming. “It’s nice to see you.”
“You, too,” I said, grateful that Nic chose that moment to slide his arm around my waist and pull me close.
Moira’s gaze shifted between us, smile widening, like she was actually happy about this development. “It took you two fecking long enough.”
I blinked, caught off guard, but Nic only shrugged.
“Yeah, well,” he said. “Better late than never.”
Moira’s smile slipped as she took in our little group. “Are we ready to go face him down?”
Nods all around, and I realized then that I wasn’t the only one who was nervous, just the only one doing a shitty job of hiding it.
“Then I think we’re going to need something stronger than the wine I uncorked,” she said, turning.
Nic snagged her wrist.
She paused and turned back to him.
“I love you,” Nic said. “And no matter what happens tonight, I don’t want to lose you.”
Her expression softened, eyes creasing at the corners as she lifted a hand to cup his cheek. “You’ll never lose me.”
Nic let her go, and she headed back toward the house.
I glanced up at him. “Did you tell her your plan?”
He shook his head. “No, but she’s the real brains of this family. I’m sure she took one look at you and realized a confrontation was coming. And I told her about Dad threatening you, back then.”
“He threatened Lauren?” Josh asked, his voice eerily calm.
Aly put a steadying hand on his arm. “Babe.”
“I just want to know,” he said, but the grin spreading over his face was unholy. “A grown man, making threats against a teenage girl? I feel like that’s something we should discuss.”
Aly grabbed his hand and dragged him away from us, calling, “One second,” over her shoulder.
I turned to Nic, brows raised.
“He has a thing about men targeting women,” Nic said.
“Shouldn’t everyone?”
He nodded, glancing past me at the couple. “Yeah, but he’s kind of next-level about it. I’ll explain later.”
I followed his gaze and saw Aly tug Josh down so their foreheads touched. She said something to him, too low to hear, hands running up and down his arms like she was trying to soothe him. If this was how the night was starting, I could only imagine how much worse it might get.
“Sorry,” Aly said a minute later, towing Josh behind her as she made her way back to us. “We’re ready to go play nice.” She threw a glance at her fiancé. “Right?”
“Right,” Josh grumbled, looking mutinous.
Nic used his grip on my waist to turn us toward the front door. “Let’s get this over with, then.”
Moira greeted us just inside, a martini in hand. “Greg’s making a whole tray of them, if anyone wants one.” Her eyes went to Nic. “I told your father Lauren was with you.”
“Thank you,” Nic said.
Moira nodded, expression grim, and I wondered how bad it had been. That she’d broken the news and dealt with the fallout herself, and was obviously on Nic’s side through whatever was about to come, made me look at her with newfound respect.
“Hey, you made it,” Nico said, sweeping into the entryway. His arms were spread wide and his smile was charming, and if I hadn’t known better, I might have bought the welcoming host act.
“Dad,” Nic said, “you remember Lauren.”
His gaze swung to me, and suddenly, I’d never felt more like a bug under a microscope. “Of course.” His smile fell. “Shame about Tommy going missing. Any updates on his whereabouts?”
“No,” I told him. “The reigning theory is that he has a secret family out West somewhere.” My tone was casual, dismissive, filled with the very real disdain I had for my father.
Nic had warned me how manipulative his dad was, how he never did or said anything without having some sort of ulterior motive, and we’d suspected he might try to find out how much his son had told me. He would already have enough reason (real or imagined) to want to get rid of me by the end of the night; I didn’t need to add more fuel to the fire by telling the truth.
Nico eyed me for a moment, dark eyes boring into mine, as if looking for any tell that I was lying. I held perfectly still, refusing to give him any more ammo to use against his son.
“The cops are on it,” Nic said with a shrug. “They’ll figure it out.”
Nico looked at him before turning toward Aly, the smile spreading back over his face. I let out a shaky breath as soon as the coast was clear. It felt like I’d dodged a bullet.
“There she is,” Nico said, arms rising as he stepped toward his niece.
She lifted a hand in a halting gesture. “Still a no from me. Especially after how you behaved last month.”
He chuckled. “One of these days, you’ll come around.”
Her smile was strained. “Unlikely.”
Oof. Awkward. But good for her for standing her ground.
Nico just shook his head, unperturbed, like this was a game they played, and stepped back. “The rest of the boys are in the sitting room. Drinks and apps are in there, too.”
Moira, who’d been silently watching the whole exchange, motioned us forward, and Nic and I preceded everyone down the hallway. I could tell from how tightly he held my hand that he was uneasy, and I tried not to let it spike my own runaway anxiety. Between the immediate barbed question, that terse exchange with Aly, and the fact that Nico hadn’t even acknowledged Josh’s presence, the undercurrents of dysfunction were strong enough to carry us out to sea. Were all their family dinners this uncomfortable?
“Lauren?!” Alec said when we walked into the sitting room. He glared at his older brother, tone mocking. “Ohhhhh, I see how it is. ‘It’s not anything serious.’ ‘Don’t worry about it.’ ‘Mind your business, you nosy asshole.’”
Greg, whom I hadn’t seen in years, snorted. “You are a nosy asshole.”
Beside him, Stefan nodded in agreement.
Alec glared at them. “Fuck you both.”
Josh brushed past me, voice low. “Booze?”
I nodded emphatically. I was going to need all the alcohol to get through this.
The Trocci brothers continued to rib one another for a few minutes before their parents finally joined us. I tried to tamp down my curiosity about what had held them back. I didn’t take it as a good sign that Moira’s martini glass was empty and the first thing she did was beeline toward the drink cart.
“How’s work been?” Nico asked Aly.
“Fine,” she said.
“Any standouts?” Alec asked.
“I got to assist in a finger reattachment a few weeks ago. Those are always fun.”
Nic went completely still at my side, and I nearly fumbled the drink Josh handed me.
Alec grimaced. “How does something like that even happen?”
His cousin shrugged. “Saw blades, kitchen accidents. This one happened to a semipro basketball player during practice. He went up to dunk, and his wedding ring caught on the net. The weight of his body falling just, shwoop, popped the finger right off.”
Gross, but I still exhaled in relief. For a second there, I was worried she’d treated McKinney, but I should have known better. This city was huge, with several ERs, and while Nic had told me he had shitty luck, I knew no one’s could be that bad.
“What about you, Lauren?” Nico Senior said. “How was your work week?”
“Good,” I told him. If he was hoping to shame me or put me in my place by bringing up my job, he was sorely mistaken. Everyone here knew what I did, and I wasn’t about to tiptoe around it. “I gained twenty new subs, got ahead of my filming schedule so Nic and I could spend the rest of the weekend together, and heard back from another city councilmember willing to back the Expanded Safeties for Sex Workers Act. How was your week, Mr. Trocci?” I smiled and took a sip of my martini, and I swore I heard a low ooh from Josh.
“It was fine,” Nico said, sliding one hand inside his pocket. “Would have gone a lot easier if someone wasn’t slacking off.” A pointed look at his eldest told us exactly whom he was speaking about.
Moira shook her head. “No shoptalk until after dinner.”
Nico’s expression shifted into remorse, and he tipped his head toward his wife. “Apologies.” Somehow, he looked like he actually meant it, eyes soft, smile just for her.
The sight was unsettling. I wanted him to just be an asshole, all the time, like my father was. This turning on and off the charm was confusing as hell, kept lulling me into a false sense of calm before my brain kicked back on and reminded me that this was the same man who had threatened my safety as a teenager and was hell-bent on turning his sons into soulless mobsters.
“Mrs. Trocci?” a heavily accented voice said.
I turned to see a middle-aged woman standing in the doorway.
“Are we ready?” Moira asked.
“Sì,” she said, before continuing in Italian. I only caught every other word. I spoke what I liked to call restaurant Italian, meaning I could order off a menu and hold the most basic of conversations. Anything deeper than that, and I was lost, and lord help me if someone started speaking fast.
I caught just enough to figure out that dinner had been served, and thinking ahead, I downed the rest of my martini and scooped one of the last two off the drink cart. Aly grabbed the other one, and we shared a conspiratorial glance before turning and following our significant others into the dining room, where the real show began.
