Page 1 of Keeping Katie
1
GRADY
“What are you watching?”
It was only a matter of time before she showed up.
Turning to the large archway that leads into the room, I raise an eyebrow. “What are you doing up, Little girl? You’re supposed to be in bed.”
Cali’s lips curve into a mischievous smile. “Grady, we both know when Daddy’s away, I’m going to come down and make you switch from the boring news toFriends. It’s a tradition. I don’t know why you’re surprised. It’s just silly.”
My chest warms, and it’s not from the whiskey. This sassy Little girl is a handful, but God, I love her. She came into this family like a little ray of sassy sunshine and made all of us fall in love with her. The sister some of us never had.
“Cali Ann, you really need your butt spanked more.” I wink and point to the other end of the couch. “Come lie down.”
She bounces on her toes as she makes her way into the room, her messy hair swaying with her movements, then lowers herself and her stuffed wolf to the cushions. I grab one of the blankets we always have draped over the back for nights like this and tossit over her. Then I findFriendson the TV and relax against the cushions with a sigh. She may be married to my boss, but this companionship between us fills my cup in a way I need more than I’d like to admit.
“Why couldn’t you sleep?” I watch as she fidgets to get comfortable.
“I never sleep when Daddy’s gone. I worry about him. Why are you up still?” She shifts her brown eyes toward me, searching my face.
That’s the million-dollar question I wish I had the answer to. Sleep has been hard to come by lately. It’s aggravating.
“Probably because I knew there would be a Little troublemaker coming down here at some point.”
She nudges my thigh with her toe, her face red as she laughs. “You love it. Don’t even try to deny it. Our quality time together is special.”
Sneaking my hand under the blanket, I run the tips of my fingers along the sole of her foot. As soon as I do, she squeals and twists, kicking at my hand to get away from the tickles.
“Grady! That’s not nice.” She mock-glares at me, but the grin she’s trying to conceal gives her away. “You’re never gonna find a girl of your own if you’re mean all the time. Tickling is basically torture, and nobody wants to be tortured.”
Tilting my head to the side, I narrow my gaze. “Says the Little girl who talked about cutting off fingers and feeding people to the fishes when she moved in.”
“Well, it was really disappointing to find out that a bunch of badass mafia guys don’t resort to old-school techniques like they did in the good ol’ days.”
My chest shakes as I try to control my laughter. “Good ol’ days? You were part of a lot of those, huh, lass?”
She lets out a deep, dramatic sigh and rolls her eyes. “You’re changing the subject. We were talking about how you need tofind a woman. Do you want my help? I can set up a dating profile or something. Maybe take some pictures of you looking,” she motions to my suit, “less murder-y and more normal.”
“Murder-y?” I’m barely keeping myself together. Cali has become so full of life since she married Declan. I love that she feels safe around all of us. Cali, Scarlet, Chloe, and Paisley—they all do. These women have somehow wormed their way into our cold, black hearts and turned all of Declan’s men into putty for them.
“Okay, you know what? You’re obviously not taking this conversation seriously, so I’ll set up a profile for you tomorrow on mafiamatch.com.”
The smile disappears from my face, quickly replaced with a scowl. “Cali Ann, if you even think of making me a profile on mafiamatch or any fucking dating site, app, or swiping program, I will spank your bare ass myself. Are we clear?”
Her mouth falls open, and she stares at me in silence for several seconds. Probably trying to figure out if I’m being serious or not. Most of the time, I’m pretty easygoing with the girls, but if she sets up a dating profile for me, I’ll follow through on that threat. As long as my boss approves, of course. Which, considering he’s a jealous bastard, he won’t. But he’d probably do it for me, so that’s good enough.
“Sheesh! Okay, Mr. Grumpypants, I won’t make you a dating profile… yet. But I think you should consider it. You need to find someone before you get old and wrinkly and your balls fall off.”
Lord, this one is trying my nerves tonight. “My balls won’t ever fall off. And stop worrying about my dating life. Do I look like I need help finding someone?”
She gives me a once over, and I can’t help the flicker of insecurity I feel. I’m not sure why. I could have my pick of women. The problem is, so far, I haven’t been able to find awoman I’ve wanted to pick. I guess the second issue is that, I haven’t even been looking.
“I suppose not, but I’ve never seen you date anyone.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out a long, controlled breath. “Just because you’ve never seen it doesn’t mean I haven’t.”
I might be blowing smoke, but it’s better than admitting that the only thing tending to my needs lately has been my right hand.