Filed to story: Falling for My Ex's Mafia Dad Novel Free PDF (Fay Alden & Kent Lippert)
“Seriously,” Janeen says, surprising him so that he snaps his eyes up to hers. “Cut it with the word shit, okay?”
They’re all still laughing when the glass door slides open.
“Hey,” Fay says, stepping outside and pushing it closed behind her. “What’s so funny?”
“We’re deciding what to name the baby,” Janeen says, patting the chair next to her and smoothly changing the subject. “Come help.”
“Um,” Fay says, frowning at her, “don’t I get the majority say in this decision?”
“We’re thinking Jerome the Second,” Jerome says, ignoring her and making Daniel laugh. “Very royal, very elegant.”
Fay wrinkles her nose at him and laughs, sitting back against the cushions, clearly enjoying the ease of the group. Janeen still sees a tension in Fay’s shoulders but…she smiles, knowing that Fay is doing far, far better than she was yesterday. With all of her family around her now even in the absence of the man she loves, who apparently loves her back she’s finally starting to feel safe.
Which, really, is all Janeen wants for her little sister right now.
Fay sighs and looks askance at the three beers sitting mostly-empty on the table. “I’d kill for one of those right now,” she murmurs, rubbing a hand absently across her belly.
Smirking, Jerome pushes his beer bottle towards her, and she glares at him. “What?” he says, grinning. “It’s not like you didn’t pickle the baby in tequila for the first month of your pregnancy.”
With a little growl, Fay leans forward and smacks him on the arm, glaring. “I didn’t know, Jerome!”
“Eh, a little more won’t hurt,” he replies, laughing and nudging the bottle closer, but Fay just closes her eyes and tilts her head back, resting it against the cushion on the back of her chair, relaxing and catching up on her thoughts.
They all sit quietly for a long moment, doing the same as Fay and sorting through their thoughts, their priorities, their suddenly-changed lives. Because as much as they all know they’re dedicated to the same cause, they’re also aware that they have very different roles within it.
After a long moment of staring out at the dark night settling over the sea, searching for the place where the sky meets the waves, Daniel turns his attention back to Fay.
“So, Donna Lippert,” he says with a sigh. “What’s next?”
Fay sits silently for a moment longer before lifting her head back up and opening her eyes, looking straight at him. “Well,” she says slowly, and then she sighs. “I think it’s time you called your uncle,”
Daniel blinks rapidly in surprise while Jerome’s eyes go wide. “What?”
“And Natalia too,” she says, sighing again, harder this time, “much as I am loathe to bring her back.”
“That fucking vocab again,” Janeen mutters, shaking her head. Fay ignores her.
“Wha why on earth do you want them back?” Daniel asks, shocked. “Plus, I don’t even know if they will dad’s been all tied up in the justice system now, they will not want to get their hands dirty trying to get him out.”
“I don’t want them to try to help your dad,” Fay says, frowning at him. She waves a dismissive hand. “That’s I mean, don’t we think that’s a lost cause? Isn’t that what the lawyers say that Kent’s probably going away for life, with all they’ve got him on now?”
Daniel nods slowly. “Yeah,” he says, his eyebrows going up. “So…why are you looking to get Natalia and Alessi back?”
“For the wedding,” she says simply, her eyes wide as if she doesn’t understand why he doesn’t get it. Her hand still wearing its engagement ring still continues to rub back and forth across her lower stomach. “After all, Alessi will want to be one of the first to know about his great-nephew. And I’m sure Don Bianci will be interested to hear about what I assume is his first great-grandchild?”
Daniel’s jaw drops open and so does Jerome’s as they figure out what she’s saying.
“Plus,” Fay says with a little sigh, looking down at the table. “My father will be interested to discuss the new family ties and their implications for future business.”
“What?” Janeen asks, her face twisted with confusion. “Dad wants to ”
“Not dad,” Fay snaps, flicking her eyes to Janeen and holding her gaze. “My father.”
“Oh,” Janeen says, understanding, her own eyes going wide now to match the boys.
“Fay,” Daniel breathes, his shoulders suddenly tense. “Are you…are you serious? We’re…going forward with this?”
“Would you like to back out of the engagement, Daniel?” Fay asks, her voice cold. “Abandon me when I’m pregnant?”
“I mean…no,” he says, hesitating. “If that’s…if that’s what you want, I’ll marry you, Fay. I’ll marry you tomorrow, if you want.”
“Probably next week is better,” she murmurs, looking out over the sea, making Janeen’s mouth drop open and Jerome laugh a dry little laugh.
Daniel turns to stare at his boyfriend, wondering what the hell is so funny about this. “Nothing,” Jerome replies to the unasked question, just shrugging. “Donna Lippert just doesn’t take long to act, does she?”
“There’s no time to waste,” Fay murmurs, still not looking at them. “There’s…way too much to do. We’ve got to get started right now.”
“Fay,” Daniel whispers, staring at his beautiful redhaired fiancé, who in turn is staring into the night as if she could take on the darkness itself. “What the hell do you have planned?
But Fay doesn’t answer.
She, like Kent, has learned to keep her secrets to herself.
She’ll tell them what they need to know when they need to know it.
The luncheon we have a week later is…awkward, to say the least. I say a little prayer of thanks about every ten seconds that Daniel hasn’t left my side for a moment, charmingly fending off questions and making small talk with both the Biancis and the Aldens while I stay quiet, smiling prettily.
I look up at my handsome fiancé and I shake my head a little at the laugh that bubbles out of his throat at something my father just said something decidedly unfunny. But the way Daniel reacts? You’d think my father was a damn comedian.
Daniel glances down at me and sends me a little wink that makes me burst into a smile.
See? I think. He’s got me charmed too. These damn Lippert men.
I look around the room, taking it all in. Janeen, of course, stayed home with dad no one here wants to acknowledge my adoptive family as anything but a footnote in my life but everyone else of note is here. Even Jerome stands by the door in a black suit and sunglasses, playing the role of our personal body guard.
My eyes flick to Natalia and Alessi, who did indeed fly in from Italy the moment Daniel called them and asked them to come back. Alessi was characteristically thrilled when we told him about my pregnancy. He kissed me four times twice on both cheeks and told me I was a wonder and a Madonna. Natalia, also characteristically, had been more reserved, offering her congratulations with narrowed eyes.
As I watch them now, delicately selecting their lunch from the buffet table my father generously provided, I can see in the stern set of her features that this is not a celebration lunch for her. No, she’s got something up her sleeve. And I, particularly, would like to know what it is.
“Isn’t that right, Fay?” Daniel asks, and I turn my face up to him. And then I do my best to blush and pretend to be embarrassed for being distracted.
“What?” I ask, turning to one of his Bianci cousins and smiling even though I honestly don’t care what he said.
“Anthony was just asking if we have plans to honeymoon,” Daniel says smoothly. “But I told him…probably not until the baby comes. Right?”
“Yeah,” I say, grimacing and leaning into Daniel’s side as if I’m the most infatuated girl on earth. “As much as I’d love to run away to Paris with this guy tomorrow, I think it’s probably better to go when I can enjoy the wine and the unpasteurized cheese, right?”
Daniel and his cousin laugh politely, but they’re cut a little short as Natalia’s voice cuts smoothly in, a barb on her tongue as usual.
“That’s our Fay,” she says, smiling around at us as she joins the conversation. “Always worried about where the next drink is coming from.” She gives me a simpering little wink and I work hard really hard to keep the smile on my face. “There is more to life than that, girl! But,” she shrugs, “you will see.”