Dante and I have been sitting in the back of one of his SUVs in the short-term pick-up lot for two hours waiting for Cole’s flight that was, of course, delayed. There’s a second SUV beside ours, just in case. If I had to bet, both vehicles are bulletproof. Only the best for the mafia king.
I’m not sure why I was in such a rush to get to the airport. Planes always arrive late. I just wanted to be in here in case, so Cole wouldn’t have to wait. And I was feeling a little out of sorts when Dante woke me up. I didn’t get enough sleep following a whole lot of weirdly intimate oral last night and this morning. While I know things didn’t magically heal between us overnight, I think we made good progress of getting back to where we were before Madison ran away.
“I’m sorry it’s taking so long,” I tell Dante who has been taking calls and answering messages and emails on his phone the entire time. “If you want to go back, I can get a cab or an Uber.”
“It’s fine. I can wait,” he says while staring at the screen.
“If you’re sure. Hopefully it won’t be much longer.”
A moment later, my phone dings with a text from Cole saying he’s here and grabbing his luggage. I give him the number on the column next to Dante’s SUVs, then climb out to keep an eye out for him.
Half an hour later, I finally see the blond hair of my tall, too skinny son.
Cole doesn’t come running toward me with arms wide open like when I used to pick him up from elementary school. He just casually strolls over with a smirk on his adorable face, rolling his suitcase behind him, backpack slung over one shoulder.
“You didn’t have to come pick me up,” is the first thing he says after not seeing him face-to-face for months.
“I wanted to see you as soon as your feet hit the ground,” I reply as I throw my arms around his neck to hug him. The distance I have to stretch on my toes to reach him seems even further than before. His father must have been that 6’5” basketball player since he obviously didn’t get his height from me. “How are you still growing? And you’re so thin. Are you eating enough?”
“Hello to you too, Mom.” Cole chuckles as he throws an arm around me. “Now let’s get inside. It’s hot as balls out here. Where’s your car?” He glances around the parking lot, green eyes skipping over the big, fancy SUVs.
“Ah, I got a ride. This is us, actually,” I tell him when I start toward the vehicles. The guard in the front passenger seat hops out to open the passenger door for me. Well, for Dante, who slides out adjusting the sleeves of his suit. Staring up at Cole who is maybe an inch or two taller, he says, “Jesus, he’s twice your size, butterfly.”
“He’s still my baby boy,” I assure him with a smile as I hug his arm.
“Butterfly?” Cole murmurs, brow furrowed as he stares down at me. I just shrug. I don’t think he really wants to criticize the mobster’s term of endearment for me in public.
“Dante, meet Cole. Cole, this is Dante Salvato.”
Dante holds out his massive hand toward my son who slowly takes it as he stares between the mobster and me as if wondering how the hell we fit together. I can’t help him there either.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Cole says. “I heard stories about you when I went to the local high school.”
“Oh, yeah?” Dante asks, his eyebrow arched. “Good ones I hope.”
Cole laughs and rubs his palm over the back of his neck nervously. “Ah, not really, but they were…entertaining.”
“Right. Well, shall we get back to the casino?” Dante asks me.
“Anywhere with air conditioning,” Cole agrees.
With a nod of Dante’s head, the guard takes Cole’s luggage and puts it in the back. Then, he removes his backpack to slide into the backseat first, followed by me, then Dante.
The ride to the casino is odd, sitting between my son and the most dangerous man in the city, possibly state. Maybe this was a bad idea, introducing the two of them. If Dante were to hurt Cole…
No, he wouldn’t hurt my son, no matter what happens between us. He won’t hurt him. Because if he does, well, I’ll have to make sure he knows I’ll kill him. It would be difficult, nearly impossible after being intimate with him, but I would do it.
Dante reaches for my fist resting on my thigh that I didn’t realize I had clenched. Lifting it he places it on his upper thigh, then he pries my fingers from my palm to clasp them. Holding hands with him in front of my son is more intimate than sleeping with his dick in my mouth.
“Relax, butterfly. You’re awfully tense all of a sudden. Do you need another spa day?”
“I’m fine,” I tell him.
“So, uh, what’s going on here?” Cole leans forward to ask us. “I thought you said that you two were ‘just friends’ when we talked last month.”
“Just friends?” Dante repeats. “Is that what you called us?”
Now I’m suddenly caught between a rock and a hard place. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated, she says,” Dante mutters, giving my hand a squeeze. “Didn’t seem so complicated last night. Or this morning.”
Since he won’t let my hand go, I jab my elbow into his side in warning.
Cole groans and pulls his headphones out of the backpack at his feet to slip them over his ears. “I take back the question. I don’t need or want any more details.”
Reaching up to pull the headphones down to his neck, I tell him, “That discussion is over, so let’s talk about you. When are your friends coming into town?”
“Later tonight,” he says. “We’re gonna meet up for dinner.”
“How many?” Dante chimes in.
“How many what?” I ask.
“How many friends? How many rooms does Cole need?”
“Oh, no. You don’t have to do that,” I assure him.
“If suites are available, I’ll book those for them. Just tell me how many.”
“There will be four of us,” Cole says, leaning in front of me to talk to Dante while I groan. “What? You may not like free shit, but I won’t turn it down. All we need is four beds, if possible?”
“That can be arranged. I’ll ask them to be adjoining.”
“No parties, Cole,” I warn him. “And you and your friends will pay for any damage.”
“Jeez, Mom. We’re not idiots. Who would be stupid enough to trash a free hotel room owned by a mob boss?”
“Cole!” I exclaim, covering my face with my free hand while Dante chuckles softly beside me.
“He’s a smart kid.”
Taking a deep breath, I tell my son, “If you’re going out tonight then maybe we can do something together tomorrow?”
“Sure. What do you want to do?”
“Since I’m…confined to the casino, we’ll have to find something to do there.”
“The penthouse pool is always available,” Dante suggests.
“Is it like a Scrooge McDuck pool filled with gold coins?” Cole teases with a grin.
Rolling my eyes, I tell him, “No, it’s filled with water.”
Dante lifts our joined hands to kiss my knuckles. “For your mother, I would build a Scrooge McDuck pool with enough gold coins to swim in them.”
“Of all the supermodels and shit you’ve been seen with, how is it possible you’ve been whipped by my mother?”
“That’s a good question,” Dante replies. I can feel his gaze on the side of my face as I stare out the front windshield. “I’ve never met anyone like her.”
“I’m the only woman to ever turn him down,” I tell my son truthfully with a sigh. “I’m nothing but a new challenge.”
“Not gonna lie, Mom. It sort of looks like he’s already won.”
“Not yet,” Dante says. “Your mother is an incredibly stubborn woman.”
“No kidding.”
Oh, it’s going to be a fun weekend with these two.
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