Kon (Trassato Crime Family Book 2)(46)

“You didn’t think I’d blow off a home cooked meal, did you?”

“I sent you through quite the obstacle course to get here. Sorry about that. Gian’s been crazier than usual this week. I think he suspects something and he’s pissed off he can’t come right out and accuse me of anything unless he catches me in the act.”

We had to be careful every time we met up, which meant both of us would take multiple forms of transportation, go in the front door and out the rear or side door of retail establishments, and generally waste an hour or so going somewhere that took twenty minutes. Without question, seeing her qualified as a huge pain in the ass, but she was worth it, one hundred times over.

Tonight she had a friend open up the kitchen of her family’s restaurant so she could cook me dinner. I hesitated to go along with her plan until she assured me the owner didn’t have any connection to her family. She’d met the owner’s daughter in design school, and they closed the restaurant every Monday so it worked out.

I pulled her into my arms and planted a kiss on her ruby red lips. She tasted like wine. “What’d you tell your family this time?”

“That I was cooking for my friend at her family’s restaurant.”

“Don’t you think he’ll see through your story?”

“Nope.” She waved the spatula at me. “That’s the best part. Bethany picked me up, and I did actually cook for her. She’s been begging me to give her my family’s meatball recipe. I told her I’d clean up and lock the door when I left.”

“You’re sneaky. I need to remember that.”

“Not sneaky. Inventive. Now sit.” She swept her arm toward a wood plank bistro table with two folding chairs. Two place settings decorated the table, complete with flickering white candles. “I know it’s not fancy, but I didn’t want to open up the dining room, and I found this table by the back door. I think the employees sit at it to take smoke breaks.”

“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, Carmela. I would’ve been happy with a sandwich.”

I’d take Carmela anyway I could get her these days, which scared the shit out of me. I promised myself after the Laney debacle I wouldn’t get sucked into a relationship that had the potential to turn my life inside out again.

For the first time in over three years, I’d stopped checking out other women in bars or on the street. Last night, I purged my phone of random hookups in my life. I liked seeing Carmela and talking to her. She was easy to be around, unlike Laney. I had to walk on eggshells to avoid any topic that would send her into an inconsolable rage.

“That’s good because we’re having meatball subs.” She pulled two foil covered plates from a warming drawer and placed them on the table. “I know I promised some elaborate dinner, but Bethany kept asking question after question so I didn’t have time to prepare everything. But I promise you, when our lives aren’t so crazy, I will go all out and show off my skills.”

Silence wrapped around us like a sheet of ice, freezing our lighthearted conversation in its tracks. I should have changed the subject, but my mind was stuck on repeat. Her words had gutted me from the inside out. There never would be a time when our relationship would be more than forbidden, stolen moments. I could never take her out on a date or a weekend getaway. This right here was as good as it would ever get.

“Yeah, of course.”

She grabbed the open bottle of wine from the counter, filled our glasses, and settled into the seat across from me. She twisted the stem of her wine glass between her thumb and index finger, the welcoming expression on her face absent.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“What are we doing here, Kon?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, knowing damn well what she meant.

“Us. What is this? I mean, at first, we were working together to get your dad what he wanted so we didn’t have to fulfill that stupid bargain we made. Now we’re meeting in secret. We’re hiding this from my family, from Nico. That was kind of the point of spending time together in the first place. They would find out about us, and your dad could do whatever he does.”

Carmela hopped out of her seat. “God, Kon, don’t answer that question. Holy shit, I admitted I put together some trap to screw over my family.” She started pacing. “I’m a traitor. My family is going to disown me. I can’t believe I didn’t put the pieces together before. I was so focused on finding a way for Gian to be happy that I didn’t realize the magnitude of what I was doing.”

“Carmela—”