"Phoenix-"

"I'm asking permission."

"Bring her." He snapped. "And Phoenix, if you need to talk to someone or-"

"I'm straight," I fired back and grabbed the handle to the door. "See you tonight."

"Be safe." He called.

"I'll try." I lied. Because safe wasn't a word I would use to describe what I was around Bee. Try... tortured.

And now that I'd slipped information to Tex, now that I was playing both sides hoping that the end result would be worth it, my entire life depended on the trust of Tex and his sister as well as Nixon.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I looked down at the screen.

T: She's all yours. b.i.t.c.h bit me.

h.e.l.l, it was going to be a long a.s.s night.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX.

Sicilian Mafia Rule #5: Never look at the wives of friends. Ever.

Mo TEX DISAPPEARED FOR MOST of the morning and afternoon. By the time the scents of dinner started floating through the house I was ready to lock the door to my room and stay there.

My plan had been simple; cause him to react in any way possible. He'd reacted all right, just not the way I suspected. He almost ripped the table apart with his bare hands and I'm pretty sure at one point contemplated stabbing Sergio with a b.u.t.ter knife. But that was it.

I let out a breath and slouched in my big chair, staring at myself in the mirror.

It was time for plan two.

Make him want.

Wearing that white bikini was out of the question, but maybe wearing a short dress wasn't? I knew we'd said our goodbyes but part of me wondered what would happen if I just fought for him? What if I fought for us? I had to try right? Isn't that what wives do for their husbands? They fight until they have nothing left. And I was going to do the same thing. If only I could convince him that I'd follow him anywhere, do anything to be with him. Even if it meant moving back to Sicily, even if it meant leaving my blood.

A loud knock interrupted my thoughts as two heads poked around the door. Trace and Mil.

They both wore wide grins.

"What?" My eyes narrowed as I crossed my arms. "You guys look suspicious."

Laughing they tumbled into my room. Not a care in the world those girls, either that or they hid their fear well. The dinner wasn't going to be pleasant.

"So." Mil fluffed her hair in the mirror while Trace walked over to the bed and sat. "We're going to make you look amazing."

"You mean I don't look amazing now?" I gasped pulling at my New York Giants t-shirt.

"Tex hates the Giants." Mil laughed.

"I know." Grinning I looked down.

"Thought he might enjoy a little teasing this morning."

"Yeah, and that ended well." Trace said from the bed.

"Hey!" I threw a pillow at her.

"When Nixon was mean to you, who helped you?"

"Um, not you?" She caught the pillow. "On account that you had five billion secrets and refused to tell me any of them."

I waved her off. "Excuses."

"He's an a.s.s." Mil pointed out.

"You still want him?"

I licked my lips and looked down at my clenched hands. "He gave me one hour..." My shoulders tensed. "Then another two to say goodbye... we slept together and that was it."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d,"

Mil hissed, while Trace's eyes watered with tears on my behalf.

"It's fine." I lied. "He's only doing what he thinks is right."

"Which is probably wrong." Mil's eyebrows arched. "You know, since he's male and all."

"So very, very, true," Trace agreed.

"So." Mil rubbed her hands together. "We're going to put you in a s.e.xy black dress, stiletto heels, and bust out the bright red stripper lipstick that Chase never lets me wear on account that I remind him of strippers."

"Takes one to know one." Trace held up her hand for a high five.

"I'll take that." Mil slapped it.

I rolled my eyes and stayed put. "I don't really feel like getting all dressed up only to get rejected in front of my family."

"Chin up." Mil smiled. "Chase does it every day."

As both girls started walking toward me I knew I had no option but to concede and let them help.

Maybe, just maybe it would work.

An hour later, and I was pretty sure Mil was under the impression that hair spray was used to keep everything in place, not just hair. I was like a walking dome of aerosol as I straightened my dress in the mirror and looked at my kohl-lined eyes.

They'd given me bright red lipstick, a smoky eye, and teased my hair until it begged for mercy. Yeah strippers had nothing on me right now.

My dress was officially so short I was afraid to pick up something off the floor lest I give one of the older a.s.sociates a stroke, and my Michael Kors heels made me almost six feet tall, a relative giant.

A knock.

It was the girls. They said they'd come back for me, more like threatened that if I tried to sneak through the window they'd just track me down and bring me back. I knew they would too. It was Mil and Trace.

"Ready?" Mil peeked around the door and grinned saucily. "d.a.m.n girl, you clean up well."

Trace winked and pushed the door open wider. Both of them had tight c.o.c.ktail dresses on that weren't nearly as short as mine. Mil's was a strapless plain dress in navy blue, paired with taupe heels and Trace wore a white halter dress with red heels.

Apparently I was the only Vegas stripper in the group. Fantastic.

"Come on." Mil held out her hand.

"Family's already starting to arrive, and Chase is in the kitchen freaking out over the shrimp."

"Of course he is." I gripped her hand and followed both girls down the hall towards the laughter and smells.

Chase was in the kitchen, chugging wine from one hand and stirring something with the other. His ap.r.o.n was splattered with something yellow and he looked a little drunk.

"Chase?" Mil came up behind him.

"Did you save the shrimp?"

"I hate shrimp," he muttered. "Yeah I saved them after the b.u.t.ter freaking sprayed all over my ap.r.o.n and-" He stopped talking when his eyes scanned me from head to toe. "Tex is going to s.h.i.t a brick."

"Tex?" Nixon walked into the room and glanced at me, did a double take, then stalked towards me. "No, turn around, change."

"I'm not a kid." I crossed my arms making my b.o.o.bs look bigger in the strapless sweetheart dress. I knew they looked bigger because the dress was so low it was entirely possible they were going to fall out at any minute.

"d.a.m.n it, Mo!" Nixon smacked Chase, probably because he was convenient, and reached for the wine bottle. "This isn't open for argument, you will change. Now."

"No she won't," Trace challenged.

"Because that's my dress, and I believe you told me that if I didn't buy it, you'd just go back to the store and get it."

Nixon's eyes flashed. "For you."

"So why can't Mo borrow my clothes?"

"Yeah," Chase piped up, his smile wide. "Why can't Mo wear your wife's clothes?"

Nixon closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mo..." He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Please? Tex is going to lose it, I can't... he can't lose it in this type of environment."

"Tex is a big boy." I uncrossed my arms. "A very big boy."

"Didn't need to know that." Nixon coughed behind his hand and looked helplessly at Chase, who offered him a wine gla.s.s and a pat on the back.

"It will be fine," I lied, knowing full well it wasn't going to be fine when Tex saw me, his reaction would probably be worse than Nixon's was, and Nixon was currently finishing off half a bottle and staring at me like lightning was going to strike any minute.

"Nixon." Sergio walked into the room, texting on his phone. "Nicolasi clan just pulled up-they're going to want wine." He glanced up in my direction and swore his entire jaw going slack. "d.a.m.n it, Nixon, do something!"

"About what?" I sauntered by him and snagged a gla.s.s of wine off the table. "World hunger?"

"You know d.a.m.n well what I'm talking about." Sergio's nostrils flared.

"She's an adult." Nixon croaked, right my bet was that he almost choked on the word adult. "She can wear what she wants."

Sergio shook his head a few times before muttering more curses under his breath and walking out of the kitchen.

The girls and I helped Chase get the appetizers out along with the wine, men poured into the house, some our age, but most of them three times our age and watching us with the type of curiosity I wasn't comfortable with. It had been years since the Nicolasi family had decided to visit and we weren't exactly on great terms after my father all but kicked them out of the country.

One of the elders walked by and spat on the ground. Right, my point exactly. I quickly stepped over the spit, offered the grumpy man some wine and continued my search for Tex.

It wasn't until an hour into the guests arriving that I knew Tex had walked in the room.

All talking ceased.

All eyes were behind me. Slowly I turned to see Tex in gray slacks and a tight white b.u.t.ton up. He looked good enough to eat with his stormy blue eyes taking in every single inch of the room.

I waited for those eyes to fall on me.

And when they did, I took a step back, as the blue raged from storm to hurricane within a second.

"Campisi." The man who had spit on our floor nodded his head. "It is good to see you, yes?"

"That depends." Tex took a step towards the crowd and tilted his head.

"Are we going to have trouble this evening?"

Holy c.r.a.p. I quickly looked at Nixon, but he was watching with mild amus.e.m.e.nt. What the heck! Sweating, I nervously licked my lips and waited for someone to say something.

The man chuckled. "Ah, to be young again."

"That's what I always say." Luca stepped up and joined in laughter then turned briefly to Tex, giving him the coldest look I'd ever seen in my entire life.

Frank, Trace's Grandpa nodded once then went to Tex and led him into the room. "A few men you should meet... trustworthy men who despised your father."

"A friend of my father is my enemy." Tex snorted. "An enemy of my father is my friend." He held out his hand and began conversing, and I watched in horror as every single man in that room straightened their ties and focused in on Tex as if he was the Cappo already.

He walked into the room and demanded their allegiance.