Filed to story: Falling for My Ex's Mafia Dad Novel Free PDF (Fay Alden & Kent Lippert)
I shake my head, defensive because it was so much more complicated than that
“I’m not insulting you,” he says softly. “It was brilliant, and maybe without recognizing it, Fay, you played to your strengths. You are good at putting together the complicated plan, but you didn’t put yourself on the front line for a reason. You don’t want to have to make snap decisions, you don’t want to be the one pulling triggers.”
“Even if you say it’s not, this sounds like an insult, Kent,” I say, hating him a little bit for just this moment. “These all sound like very admirable traits that you have.”
He shakes his head slowly. “Any idiot can be on the front lines muscling their way through,” he says quietly. “A very rare few stay in the background and pull the strings. That’s what Bianci does. That’s what you do.”
“And you?” I ask, raising a single eyebrow at him. “Sounds like you flatter yourself as both.”
He shakes his head at me. “You’re better at this than me, Fay,” he says quietly. “I just have more experience.”
“Flattery,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“It’s not,” he insists, tightening his fingers on my chin and making me look at him. “I built industries in America and ran a gang for a long time, but it landed me in jail. I got outwitted by Alden and Ivan of all people. Bianci would have seen that from miles away. You would have seen that from miles away.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t see it ”
“Because I didn’t let you,” he snaps before sighing and dropping his hand now, looking out at the sea and looking, of all things, ashamed of himself. “I treated you like a pet and a mistress for months, even when I knew what you were. And you told me over and over again that Ivan was telling you that something was going down. And I didn’t listen. If I had treated you like an equal, explained things, let you turn your mind to it?” He shakes his head. “It would have all turned out different.”
“Well, then why won’t you do that now?”
“I am letting you do that now,” he says, turning to look at me again. “Fay, if you weren’t pregnant when this is slated to go down, I’d have you in Monaco by my side. But that’s not our reality right now.”
“Convenient,” I say, my tone dry. “Considering that you picked the timeline.”
“You want to move it back?” he asks, looking at me with genuine interest. “Because Bianci said eight months if you want to do this when we have a four-month-old at home ”
“No,” I sigh, shaking my head and pulling my blanket tighter around myself, gritting my teeth. “You’re right. I want it done before the baby comes. Can we make it even sooner?”
“We can try,” he says, reaching out a hand for me. “If there’s a way to get it done sooner…we can think about that. But planning something like this takes time, Fay,” he shakes his head. “You know that. We have a lot to learn.”
“I’m aware,” I say, my voice dry as I slip a hand into his. I pull Kent closer to me and he willingly moves to my side as I look up at him. “I’m not agreeing to this, Kent. I’m still going to fight you on it if there’s a way for me to be helpful there and not a hindrance, I’m going.”
“Okay,” he says quietly, nodding to me, though I see him fighting a smile. Because he knows he’s won.
“Stupid baby,” I sigh, looking down at my stomach and running a hand over it. “Getting in the way of all my plans.”
“Don’t call the baby stupid, love,” Kent murmurs, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pressing a kiss to my head. “Remember, we like the baby.”
“Well, this baby had better be cute,” I mutter, frustrated.
“We’ll like this baby even if it’s really ugly,” Kent sighs, his voice happy. “Because then it will develop a great personality to compensate.”
“What would you know about that,” I snap, turning my face up to glare at him. “You’ve been gorgeous your whole life.”
“I know,” he says with a grin, tugging me back towards the house. “It’s great. I’m boring as hell, and people still want to hang out with me.”
“You can hang out with me, baby,” I whisper falsely towards my stomach. “Not with this boring, arrogant idiot who calls himself your dad ”
Kent bursts into laughter and I can’t help smiling a little myself, even if I am still disappointed.
Because, well, even if being pregnant does get in the way?
I’ve still got a heist to plan with Kent at my side this time. And I’m going to enjoy the hell out of that. Quietly I take his hand and squeeze it, and he squeezes it right back. Because this time, finally, we’re in it together.
The next few months pass more quickly than I thought they would.
Kent and I spend pretty much every minute together, which I thought would get on my nerves but…
Well. We get along really well, especially when we’re working on a project together like this. I wake up every morning flooded with ideas, telling Kent all about them over coffee and breakfast while our family moves in and out of the room. Every day we spend some time outside going for a long walk or to see the horses before we move to the second guest room shortly after that, which we’ve commandeered as our planning space. I grin as I look around it now, half pleased and half disturbed by how closely it matches the plans of a serial killer.
But, well. At least it means we’re thorough.
“Did you hear from Janeen?” Kent asks, leaning over a printed set of the travel plans to ensure that the plane tickets match up with the false ID’s he’s acquired. “Did she settle in at the casino?”
“She didn’t text me back,” I say a little absently, groaning as I run a hand over my thirty-eight-week-pregnant belly, where the baby has just given my rib a sharp kick. “I’ll text her and tell her to get out of whoever’s bed she’s in.”
“You all right?” Kent asks, and I look up to see him looking me up and down, worried.
“I’m fine,” I reply, laughing a little concern and pressing a hand to my lower back. “Baby’s just feeling violent today. Wants to go to Monaco and kick ass with daddy.”
Kent smirks and shakes his head, looking back at the paperwork. “No babies in Monaco,” he sighs.
“Unless Janeen’s conceiving one right now,” I mutter. And then I sigh, because I feel a little bad for her. Over the past couple of months she’s fallen hard for Gio, but he has been freezing her out completely. He’s been a good friend to her to all of us but anything romantic she tries? He shuts it down in a second in the a very cool, very casual, very Italian way he has.
So when we sent her to Monaco a few days ago to start undercover as a cocktail waitress in the casino? Let’s just say that she’s been treating it half as work, half as spring break, working out her Gio frustrations with as many Monegasques as she can.
And I, for one, am glad she’s enjoying herself, even if it’s stressing Kent out that she doesn’t reply to our texts until 3 pm.
Gio, for his part, has been spending most of his time with me and Kent in this room planning, which has kept him away from Janeen’s pining. Sometimes I watch him, though, and wonder if he knows how much she likes him but he gives no hints. Janeen aside, though, it’s been very useful having a criminal mastermind who doubles as a doctor who can talk Kent down when he gets all worked up about me being in my third trimester.
Which he does…way too often.Kent and I both look up when hear a tap on the door and I smile when I see Daniel standing there. “Everything coming together?” he asks, strolling casually into the room and looking over our paperwork.
Daniel’s been amazing these past couple months, responding with alacrity whenever Kent or I ask him to do anything but mostly letting us take the reins. Honestly, I think that’s how he prefers it. He and Jerome spend the majority of their time keeping the house cozy for all of us while Kent and I devote our singular attention to the heist.
About two months ago, they threw us the most amazing Christmas I’ve ever seen, and they managed to keep it all a surprise, only bringing in the tree and the presents and the decorations at the last minute. I basically cried my eyes out the whole time I was so touched, which made Daniel roll his eyes at me a lot, but…well, what did he expect? He knows how sentimental I can be.
It’s been difficult, being so consumed by this plan and not being able to concentrate on the things I’d otherwise concentrate on like seeing Italy, or enjoying being pregnant. But…well, if this gets Kent out of his obligations to the Bianci’s? I guess I’ve got my whole life to do those things.
Except the pregnancy bit. That’s ending soon, thank god. I have not enjoyed my third trimester, and these past two weeks have been incredibly uncomfortable. The sooner this baby comes, the better.
Well. As long as it waits until after Kent and my family get safely back from Monaco. But they’re leaving in two days, and they’ll be back two days after that, so I think I’ll hold out.
Or at least, I hope I will.
“It’s all coming together on paper,” Kent says, sighing as he stands up straight and looks evenly at his son. “Which is all well and good until it all goes to shit day-of.”
“Stop cursing it, Kent,” I sigh, glaring at him a little. “It’s going to go beautifully. Don’t get your negative vibes all over the pretty plans,” I say, lovingly touching the papers so artfully pinned to the walls.
He mutters something but Daniel grins at me and I wrinkle my nose at him.