“The build is progressing nicely,” Caleb says, arriving outside my house with his son Niccolo in his arms.
“It is. At this rate, we might be in by early summer.” I lift my arms, and little Nico comes to me. “How’s it going, rascal?”
“Elo!” Nico wriggles in my arms, trying to jump down when he sees my son, but I hold him tight.
“This is my bestest friend Nico,” Elio tells Sloane as they approach hand in hand. “He can’t say my name, so he calls me Elo. I like it. It’s like a superhero name.”
“Totally,” Sloane agrees. Her eyes widen when she gets a look at Caleb, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it one little bit.
Caleb chuckles. “Partner in crime.” He leans down to my son, holding his hand out for a high five. “Been up to any mischief lately?”
“Team Rudolph beat Daddy and Umberto yesterday, Uncle Caleb.” Elio is quick to rat me out as he slaps his hand against Caleb’s.
“And Team Rudolph would be?” Caleb asks, straightening up and flashing Sloane the kind of smile that has all the ladies swooning.
I’m suddenly visualizing strangling my best friend with my bare hands.
“Sloane and me.” Elio beams up at her. “She’s my nanny now, and she’s the new basketball champ.”
“That is something I wish I’d seen.” Caleb grins at Sloane as he extends his arm. “It’s great to meet you, Sloane. We’ve all been dying for you to visit after everything Cristian has told us about you.”
The insinuation is blatant, and I glare at his irritating head, close to swinging my fists in his face.
“That doesn’t sound ominous or anything.” Sloane grins, and is she flirting with him?
“Trust me, you have nothing to worry about,” Caleb adds, nudging me in the ribs. “Cristian had nothing but the very best things to say about you, and I can see why.”
Oh my god. I’m going to kill him before this weekend is over, I just know it. “Don’t mind Caleb. He loves sticking his nose into things that are none of his business.”
Caleb chuckles, and my hands curl into fists at my side. “Nice deflection. Good luck keeping that up all weekend,” he says in a hushed voice so only I can hear.
“Knock it off, asshole,” I quietly say. “I told you the score. Quit stirring shit.”
“Not a chance in hell, man.” Caleb smirks before redirecting his attention toward Sloane. “Come over to the house and meet my wife, Elisa. My Lili is the sweetest human on the planet, and she’s excited to meet you.”
“Daddy, I wanna go to the playground,” Elio pleads as Caleb lifts Nico into his arms.
“Me too, Papa!” Nico shrieks.
“We’ll drop off our bags and head to the playground for a little while before dinner,” I tell my son, and it thankfully appeases him.
Caleb, Nico, and Elio head to the house on foot while Sloane and I drive alongside them.
Elisa, Joshua, Gia, and their little girl Chiara are all waiting for us when we arrive, alongside a surprise guest. “Hey, man.” Walking up to Giulio Accardi, I drop our bags on the ground and drag him into a hug. “Long time no see. I didn’t know you were visiting this weekend.” Giulio is part of our crew, and he’s Joshua and Caleb’s older cousin, as well as being the official Accardi famiglia consigliere.
“It was a last-minute thing. We thought we’d play a four-ball tomorrow if you’re interested.”
I shuck out of his embrace. “I’m game as long as Sloane is okay to look after Elio.”
“We’re dropping by Nat and Leo’s tomorrow. They want to see the kids,” Gia explains. “We can take Elio with us.” She steps toward Sloane. “You can join us too, if you like.” She thrusts out her hand. “I’m Gia. We’re glad you could visit this weekend.”
“Thanks for having me. It’s good to meet you, and that sounds great.” Sloane lifts her eyes to mine. “I’m happy to watch Elio while you go out. It’s no biggie.”
“Thanks. I haven’t played golf in ages.”
Elisa brushes past Gia, pulling Sloane into a warm hug. “I’m Elisa, and you’re so pretty. We’re going to be the best of friends.”
“Um, thanks.” Sloane looks a little overwhelmed at Elisa’s obvious enthusiasm, though not unhappy about it. The girls separate, and Sloane smiles at Caleb’s wife. “Your husband said the sweetest things about you, and I can see he wasn’t wrong.”
“He’s the love of my life, and he treats me like a princess.” Elisa leans into Caleb’s side, swooning at him in a way that’s completely normal for her. The way those two love one another is something else. “I’ve worshipped the ground he walks on since I was a little girl.”
“True story.” Giulio steps in front of Sloane. “I’m Giulio. Cousin to these two idiots.” He gestures toward the twins. “Pleased to meet you, Sloane.” Clasping her hand, he raises it to his lips, where he slowly plants a kiss on her soft skin. “I’m single by the way,” he adds, waggling his brows and clearly flirting with her.
I add him to my kill list as I fix him with a lethal look he’s pretending not to see.
“Dude, don’t.” Caleb shakes his head at Giulio. “If you value breathing, do not hit on Sloane. Cristian is uber protective to the point it might warrant further probing.”
I want to tell them all to fuck off, but there are innocent little ears present. “Knock it off. You’re being rude.” I face Sloane. “I apologize for my friends. None of them have grown up yet.”
Gia snorts. “Hey, leave my husband out of that assessment.”
“Cristian isn’t wrong,” Joshua says, smiling politely at Sloane. “They’re really just big kids. Shocking considering one of them is a father.” He smirks at his twin. “I’m Joshua, by the way.”
Sloane smiles. “Good to meet you.” She peers down at the little girl playing peek-a-boo behind her dad’s legs. “Nice to meet you too.” She wiggles her fingers at Chiara, who shyly wiggles them back.
“You two seriously need to get laid,” Caleb says, whispering the last two words as his gaze bounces between Giulio and me.
“Thanks for the concern, but I have no trouble in that department, and Cristian does all right too,” Giulio says. “Been darkening the doors of Club H quite regularly from what I’ve heard.” Giulio smirks, and I’m seriously regretting taking Sloane to meet my friends.
“It’s a private club for a reason,” I say through gritted teeth, mouthing “jerk” at one of my oldest friends.
“What’s Club H?” Elio asks. “Why don’t you take me there?” He pouts.
“Fuck.” Caleb’s lips twitch, and I’m tempted to flip him the bird.
“You said a bad word, Papa.” Nico holds out his tiny hand. “A dollar for the cuss jar.”
“This is only going to get more ridiculous,” Gia says, looping her arm through Sloane’s. “Let’s get you settled into your rooms. Cristian, you’re all staying with us. Giulio is staying with Lise and the manchild.”
“I heard that, Gigi.” Caleb pouts, and it’s an almost carbon-copy look of the expression on his son’s cute little face.
“I wanna go playground, Papa!” Nico screeches.
“Me too!” Chiara pipes up in her soft little voice, emerging from the shelter of her father’s legs.
“Me three!” Elio adds.
“We’ll take the kids to the playground, and you can follow us,” Elisa says, holding her hand out to Elio.
“Sounds like a plan.” I pat the top of Elio’s head. “Be a good boy, and do what your aunt and uncles tell you.”
“Scout’s honor.” He salutes me, and Giulio chuckles.
The others walk off with the kids while I trail behind Gia and Sloane, carrying our three bags.
“You have a beautiful home,” Sloane tells Gia as she leads us through the large open-plan layout on the ground floor.
“Thank you. I still have to pinch myself every time I step inside. Some days, I can’t believe I live here. I grew up a lot more humbly.”
“Same. This is all like something from a fairy tale.” Sloane’s eyes are out on stalks as she drinks in her surroundings.
Gia and Joshua’s place is incredibly sophisticated with luxury furniture and fittings. Though it’s minimalist in style, it’s homey too.
“It truly is. I’m living a life I never imagined I could have, and I never take it for granted. Every day, I say thanks for Joshua and Chiara, and getting to share it with my best friend is the icing on the cake.”
“Cristian told me you and Elisa have been friends for years.” Before Sloane fell asleep in the car, I filled her in briefly on the friends she’d be meeting.
“Since we were little kids. Our moms are friends, and they’re both super close with Natalia— Joshua and Caleb’s mom.”
“You’re all so tight-knit. That must be nice.”
“It is.” Gia squeezes her arm. “You’re part of it now too,” she adds, leading us up the stairs to the bedrooms. “Cristian told us about your mom,” she lies, and I wonder if she can feel the daggers embedding in her back.
The last thing I want is Sloane believing I’ve told everyone everything about her. That would be a massive invasion of her privacy. Gia only knows this intel because she personally conducted the second background check. Not that she can explain it, considering Sloane doesn’t know anything about La Cosa Nostra or our involvement in it. At some point, I’ll have to tell her because it’s not something I can hide forever. It’s why we usually hire from within la famiglia and avoid having to explain who we are and what we do. While we aren’t like the mafia of the past, we still get our hands dirty as needed.
I wonder what Sloane would think if she knew how many men I’ve killed.
For some inexplicable reason, the thought troubles me.
Gia shows us to our rooms, which are all situated beside one another, and we deposit our bags before heading out to the playground to meet up with the others.
We spend an hour outside chatting while pushing the kids on the swings and supervising them as they move around the other parts of the playground. Gia and Elisa are engaged in conversation with Sloane while I catch up with my buddies.
“How are things going with Sloane?” Joshua asks.
“It was a bit of a shit show at the start until I told Isa to leave. The girls don’t get on, but all is good now.”
“You mean Isa doesn’t like Sloane,” Joshua surmises.
“Yep.” I lean back against the tree, watching Sloane laugh as she runs over to catch Elio at the bottom of the slide.
“Isa must hate her. Sloane’s the Margot Robbie to her Anna Kendrick,” Caleb says as we all watch my nanny scoop a laughing Elio into her arms.
“Brutal, man.” Giulio shakes his head, fighting a smile. “You shouldn’t insult Anna Kendrick by unfairly grouping her with Isotta Da Rosa. Anna’s a babe.”
Joshua scrubs a hand over his smooth chin. “I’d watch out for Isa if I were you. You know my thoughts on the Da Rosa women, and it’s not that I’m bitter. I put it all behind me when I fell in love with Gia. Isa is an even bigger snake than her sister, and I wouldn’t trust her.”
Joshua might think he’s not biased, but he always will be. “Isa was a great nanny to Elio, and he loves her. She’s his aunt, and I can’t stop him from seeing her. She has no access to Sloane, and that’s how it’ll stay.”
“No one who knows you could ever call you soft, Cristian, but you’ve definitely got a soft spot for Isa. We don’t want to see it coming back to bite you in the ass,” Caleb says.
“He’s definitely got a hard spot for this one though.” Giulio grins, tipping his head in Sloane’s direction. “Don’t try to deny it, man. You haven’t taken your eyes off her once.”
“Don’t pretend like you haven’t been watching her either,” I reply, working hard to keep things light.
“I’m not. She’s a smoke show, and if you weren’t already obsessed with her, I’d ask her out.”
“I’m not obsessed with her,” I blurt.
“Yeah?” Giulio shares a look with Caleb. “So, you won’t mind if I ask her out?”
“Fuck no. She’s my nanny. That means she’s off-limits to me and you.” And every other male in existence.
“Don’t see how my dating her would be an issue.”
“It’s a conflict of interest. If it ends badly, she could quit.”
Caleb snorts. “You’re stretching, buddy. Admit you’re hot for her. It’s just us here.”
“You’re a worse gossip than any woman, Accardi.”
“Not gonna deny it, but I’ve never betrayed your confidence, Cristian. I might tease, but it’s in your best interest. You’re getting in your own way, and I wouldn’t be a friend if I didn’t try to help you out.”
“I can’t get involved with her. She’s Elio’s nanny, and things need to be kept strictly professional.”
“So, I can date her?”
“No. Fuck off, Giulio. Touch her, and I’ll rip every last remaining hair from your head before I slit your throat and gut you from chest to cock.”
“Wow, very creative. I’ve really struck a nerve, huh?” Giulio grins, and I quickly look around before flipping him the bird.
“Stop winding me up. You want to hear the truth? Fine. She’s beautiful, and I’m insanely attracted to her. She’s also super sweet, a lot of fun, and very easy to live with. If the circumstances were different, I’d have asked her out a thousand times already. But they’re not. Stop busting my balls for prioritizing my kid over my needs. Elio comes first. Always. Period.”
“None of us ever doubts that,” Joshua says.
“You’re an amazing father,” Caleb adds. “And I get why you don’t want to complicate things, but don’t shut yourself off to the possibility. Look at what I did? I wasted years denying what I felt for a bunch of reasons that seemed valid at the time, but in reality, they were bullshit. I don’t want you to do the same.”
“Out of all of us, you were the one most suited to getting hitched and having a family. I hate what that bitch Aliya did to you, but not all women are like her,” Giulio adds. “I don’t regret my short-lived marriage. I’m upset it didn’t work out, but I don’t regret it, and I will remarry at some point. I hate seeing you so determined to abandon any hope of a relationship. You dated a few rotten eggs. Probably got them out of your system now. There are lots of good women out there who will love Elio like their own.”
Caleb gestures toward Sloane and Elio. She’s holding him up while he scales the monkey bars, laughing and cheering him on, and he’s grinning like it’s his birthday. “She adores him. It’s plain to see.”
“And he adores her right back,” Joshua says.
“I’ve seen the way she looks at you,” Giulio supplies. “The attraction is not one-sided.”
“It still can’t happen. I’m tempted. So fucking tempted, but I can’t risk it. If I went for it and it didn’t work out, she’d have to leave, and Elio would be devastated. He’s just lost one nanny. I don’t want him to lose another.”
“He might lose a nanny but gain a mother,” Joshua quietly says. “I understand your reservations, and it’s too early to know if it’s worth taking a risk, so I think you’re right to hold back for now. But if you develop feelings for her, don’t deny them, Cristian. If I’d done the same, I wouldn’t be married to the love of my life now. Don’t shut her out if there’s a possibility you two could have a future together. You’ll only regret it if you do.”
