“Ma, he’s bossy,” I whined, grabbing the bowl of pasta off the counter.
“Bossy or doesn’t put up with your bullshit?” she asked, following me into the dining room.
“We’ll talk about it later.” I sighed as I placed the pasta in the middle of the table.
“Fine, but I won’t forget.” She turned on her heels and walked back into the kitchen.
“Dinner!” I yelled toward the family room, and joined my mother in the kitchen.
We filled our arms with her chicken parmigiana, an enormous salad, homemade garlic bread, and a dish piled high with meatballs and sausage.
“You cooked for an army,” I said, trying to balance the dishes in my arms.
“I wanted to make sure no one left here hungry.” Her feet clattered behind me into the dining room.
Everyone had found their seat around the table, James sitting in the chair next to mine. He rose to his feet, moving toward me quickly, and grabbed two dishes from my arms.
“Thanks,” I whispered, placing the other bowl on the table.
“Everyone have everything before I sit down?” Ma asked, standing near her chair.
“We’re good, darling,” Pop said as he patted her hand.
“Guests first,” she said, passing the bowl of pasta to James.
A collective groan filled the room as James had first dibs on each dish. My father went next before the rest of us were able to fill our plates.
“James here said Thomas is doing great and hopes to be home soon,” Pop said as he filled half of his plate with pasta.
James nodded, grabbing my leg under the table as he waited for the next dish to be passed his way. “He’s an amazing agent.”
“How about our Izzy? She’s pretty special, isn’t she?” Ma remarked as I tried to swallow a sip of water but ended up choking on it.
James patted me on the back as I tried to catch my breath while coughing up the water that had gone down wrong. “There’s no one like her,” he replied, smiling at me.
I held up my hand, trying to set shit straight, but I couldn’t stop choking. God was playing a wicked trick on me. Everyone was in James’s corner and no one had my back. What the fuck?
“You okay?” Mike asked with a grin on his face.
I glared at him as I tried to clear my throat and rid it of the invasion. “I’m ooo—” I croaked out before choking again.
“So are you two seeing each other?” Suzy asked, biting her lip as she stared at James and tried to ignore me.
“I guess you could say that,” he replied, squeezing my knee.
“Wait,” I whispered, my throat finally clear enough to speak. “We are not.”
“You have a habit of kissing just anyone, baby girl?” Pop asked with his fork in midair.
Goddamn it. I closed my eyes, wiping away a tear that had formed while I’d been choking. “No, Daddy. I just don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea, is all.” I smiled halfheartedly, hoping that it was enough to stop his line of questioning.
“No one is thinking anything. That’s why Suzy asked. We’re curious. You’ve never brought anyone to Sunday dinner before.” He stuffed the pasta in his mouth and began to chew.
I shook my head and sighed. “I didn’t invite James. The guys did.” I motioned toward my three jerkoff brothers around the table.
James leaned in to my ear and whispered, “Way to make me feel welcome, doll.”
I glared at him before turning my venom toward my brothers. “You know I feel this is family time.”
“James is the closest thing we have to Thomas right now, and for that, I’m grateful that he’s here. He’s welcome any Sunday he’d like to join us for a nice home-cooked meal,” Ma insisted.
“Thank you, Mrs. Gallo. Your cooking is superb. Better than any Italian restaurant I’ve ever been to, and the closest to my grandmother’s cooking I’ve ever found.” He smiled, turning toward me and winking.
I was in a losing battle. I was sinking fast, making a total asshole out of myself, and no one would throw me a fucking life vest. James had turned into the golden boy, and I felt like a major cunt for saying that I hadn’t invited him, because in all honesty, I liked having him around and I knew my family did too.
“We mean it, son. You’re welcome here any time,” Pop reiterated between forkfuls of pasta.
I hung my head, playing with the food on my plate as I wallowed in my asshole behavior. James pushed the hair away from my face and moved into my personal space.
“You and I will work this out later. Eat,” he whispered, reaching down and stroking my leg. “You’re going to need your energy.”