Page 24 of Mafia Handbook

“You keep forgetting about my sobriety. I’m almost to my one-hundred-day mark.” Tossing out the borrowed lie from his last mission, Bash added a challenging brow for emphasis. He dared Gretchen to call him on it.

“I, uh…” At a loss for words, Gretchen tossed on a nervous smile, darting her attention between Sebastian and Oakley. “How about brunch?” Grasping for a subject change, “Morelli’s? My treat.”

Moving around the edge of the island. “You go ahead,” Bash reached for his cup of coffee, allowing the side of his little finger to drift along Milena’s hand. “I have a pile of work to do.”

Checking the clock on the oven, Milena tried to ignore the warm sensation Bash’s touch left behind. “I need to get moving as well.” Keeping her focus on Oakley so she wouldn’t have yet another thing to apologize to Gretchen for.

“Can’t you call out of work, Sissy? You never go out with me anymore and Morelli’s has the best brunch in the city.”

“Don’t worry about me, Oakley. I’ll catch a taxi so you can have breakfast with your friend.”

“I’ll take you.” The words were out of Bash’s mouth before he could contemplate them. “Besides, I need to—”

“Finish setting up the security camera.” Milena interrupted, sending Bash a pleading look. She’d gladly confess the truth once they were away from here.

Suspecting there was a story behind Milena’s lie to her sister, Bash reached behind him, turning off the coffee maker and grabbing his cellphone. “Yes, I found the part I was missing. So, any time you’re ready, we can go.”

* * *

Silence hungheavy inside the car as Bash drove toward the garage where Milena parked her car last night. He wanted to demand Milena tell him why she’d lied to her sister, but something told him the lie was more of a defense mechanism, than a cruel act.

“Do you have any siblings, Bash?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

Keeping her focus to the passing city, Milena nodded her head in understanding. “I was an only child too, until Gilbert and Oakley bounced through my Nona’s front door one Sunday afternoon.” Allowing the memory of the day she’d first laid eyes on Oakley to fill her mind. “Oakley and I couldn’t have been more different. She was dressed from head to toe in lace and ruffles, where I was covered in dirt from spending the morning in the garden picking tomatoes for dinner.”

Shifting her gaze to Bash, “My Nona once said I was born a forty-year-old woman and have remained there ever since. As much as I love Oakley, I will never enjoy the party scene she craves. I have no desire to have my photo splashed all over the city. I want quiet nights at home, a table full of...” Milena trailed off, refusing to confess her deepest desire. Turning her head back toward the window, “That is why I lied to her about meeting you last night.”

Shifting his car into park, Bash rested his left wrist on the steering wheel, drifting his eyes to his right where Milena sat staring at the concrete wall beside them.

“We’re not so different, you and I.”

Giving his admission time to gain curiosity, Bash remained silent until Milena turned her face toward him.

“How so?”

“We’re both technically only children. We both have mothers who died and fathers who wanted nothing to do with us. Most importantly, we both hate telling a lie, even when it’s warranted.”

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