Page 32 of Dark Consequences
“Oh please, there’s no need to be so formal. You may call me Alice.”
I’ve got to hand it to my mother—she’s the queen of passive aggression and no fucks given. She once stormed in during an important meeting of Dad’s, pregnant with Gabriella, demanding to know why he missed their ultrasound appointment. When he blamed his mistake on his phone, she took the device and threw it against a wall, missing his head by mere inches. Mom also refused to prepare the wedding bouquet for Sophia when we got married. An Italian tradition she claimed wasn’t necessary since the bride was Russian.
“Okay…Alice, thank you for having us,” Lily says gratefully.
“Of course. Your daughter is the most adorable little girl.”
“Hey Raphael, are you still in here?”
Michael walks into the already crowded office. Dad drops his head and sighs, mumbling something about the damn holidays and needing a larger house.
Mom kisses her eldest son’s cheek before turning to her husband. “I’ll get the girls out of your hair, darling.”
“Much appreciated, dear.”
Alice ushers a simmering angry Emilia out. Lily looks back at me over her shoulder and smiles softly before following.
“Was that Emilia?” Michael asks as soon as the office door shuts.
“Yes,” Dad answers.
“She’s early.”
“She is,” I answer this time.
Michael raises a brow at me. “You want to talk about it?”
“No,” I bite out.
Michael chuckles, apparently amused by my predicament. Bastard. “Well, maybe what I have to share will cheer you up. Dominic’s at Sinners with the doctor.”
“What are you getting Lily and Mei?” Michael asks as he navigates the car through the city streets toward Sinners.
After the shit show in Dad’s office, I’m itching to get my hands on the man and shed some blood.
“I don’t know yet.” I haven’t given it much thought until last night when I sent the list we made to Mom. “What are you getting Rose and Liam?”
Michael groans and runs a hand through his hair. “It’s not just our first Christmas, it’s the one Rose will always remember. If I fuck this up, I’ll never live it down.”
I stare at my brother in wonder. He’s actually freaking out about this. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. You could give the woman a brown potato sac and she’d be happy.”
“What do you think about a pair of emerald earrings? They’ll bring out her green eyes. No. I can’t do earrings. Liam will just grab them. He’s already pulled a pair off the other day. What about a new ring? I could do Liam’s birthstone,” Michael rambles. “What’s the birthstone for September, anyway?”
“Emerald,” Enzo supplies from the back seat. “Evie was born in September too.”
Michael peers at Enzo in the rearview mirror. “What are you getting Evie?”
Enzo pushes harder into his seat, rotating his sore shoulder to ease the discomfort. Poor guy, just as he was recovering from the bullet wound he suffered while shielding Rose, he gets into a car accident. He’s lucky all he ended up with was a dislocated shoulder and a bullet graze.
Frowning, Enzo stares out the window. “No idea. If the woman wants something, she just goes out and buys the damn thing. Can’t surprise her with anything.”
Sounds like there’s more to unpack there, but we pull up to Sinners before Enzo can elaborate.
Dom looks up from his phone when I walk into the white room downstairs. He holds the device up with a quizzical look. “Why did Michael create a group chat freaking out about Christmas?”
Jesus. I left the man alone for less than a minute. “Don’t ask. How’s our friend?”
Dom waves his hand toward the doctor tied up in a chair while his eyes remain glued to his phone. “He passed out somewhere around the fifth toenail being pulled off.”