Page 69 of Devil's Deal

Omar nodded, then stood. “I’m going to check on them and make sure they’re not pestering Oz too much.”

As he turned, I finally found my voice. “Omar, you can call me Romeo.”

He huffed. “Well, that’s a relief anyway. Every time I said Bosley, it made me think of that guy from Charlie’s Angels. So weird.” He shook his head and walked away.

After taking a sip of water, I met Ollie’s gaze. “I’m assuming we’re not done.”

He held his hand out across the table. Unsure what was happening, I returned his handshake. “Thank you.”

“For what? Not being exactly who I pretended to be?”

He dropped my hand and smirked. “Even though we chased Dr. douche canoe out of town, I kept an eye on him. The guy was always online. It’s funny, though. He ended up being murdered in what they’re calling a home invasion. Although, they didn’t find anything missing.”

Picking up my water, I took a long sip. “You don’t say.”

He nodded. “It’s funny all the things you can find on the Internet these days, Romeo Caputo.”

“How…”

“I’m an upstanding citizen. Have been for years. But this town, when you’re in dire straits, it’ll give you what you need if you know where to look. Someone took care of the person who hurt Chip in a way that I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing, but that doesn’t mean I’m not glad it got done.” He stood up. “I’m going to hit the restroom, but don’t you forget, if you ever need something, like say, an alibi, you’ve got a friend in me.”

Left alone at the table, my mind spun. What was happening? Omar was just forgiving me for the deceit? Like it was no big deal. Hey, yeah, no problem. Didn’t like the name Bosley anyway. Seriously? But I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Ollie knew what I had done, and finally, I felt peace for not keeping Chip all those years ago. His Daddy, the true Daddy he’d always been meant to have, appreciated that I’d eliminated that sludge from the planet. For the first time ever, I felt redeemed. Maybe I never had to be Bosley Taylor again. Maybe, just maybe, being Romeo Caputo was enough.

“Daddy, Oz is so fun. I need a bartender in Discreet Delights like him,” Cory said as he sat back down at the table.

As Ollie held his boy’s chair out for him, Chip practically messed his seat as he asked, “Oh, what’s Discreet Delights?”

“It’s the name of the speakeasy at my hotel.” Then the boys were off, chatting about all the different names Cory had given the places in The Gin Mill.

“It looks like we’ll be making it over there to see you guys sooner than later,” Omar said with a chuckle.

I sat back, watching Cory, loving how happy he looked. I wanted this for him. When I decided to stay in town, I’d only been expecting to have him, and after the life I lived, he was enough. Taking his staff under my wing came naturally with keeping him, but the idea of us having outside friends was a revelation. Sitting here, I was getting glimpses of a life I’d never expected to have.

“Daddy, I’m zozzeled,” Cory said to me as he staggered out of The Tap two hours later.

Clutching him firmly, I steered him toward the car. “Yeah, you are. Did you have fun?”

He held up a finger. “Zozzeled means drunk. Did you know that?”

“I did. I found out when I checked into the hotel the first time, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” His head lulled against my shoulder, and I chuckled. He’d deserved to have a good time.

I’d gotten him into the vehicle and belted in when I heard someone calling my name. Kissing Cory on the tip of his nose, I said, “I’ll be right back.”

Chip came skipping toward me and threw his arms around my neck again. “Thank you for coming.”

I hugged him back. “I’m glad I did. I’m so happy for you.”

He stepped back, staggering a little, and giggled. “I’m a little drunk.”

“I see that,” I said with amusement. Over his shoulder, I saw Ollie striding briskly toward us. “Your Daddy’s coming.”

Without turning around, he said, “Of course he is. He’ll always come for me. Isn’t that awesome?”

It was, but even better were the stars in Chip’s eyes as he said it. I wondered if Cory looked that enamored when he spoke about me. Like he read my thoughts, Chip patted my chest. “You’ll always be there for Cory, too. We did good. We both found who we needed and ended up exactly where we were supposed to be.” His smile widened to take over his whole face. “Isn’t that just awesome?”

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