Page 49 of Better Left Unsaid

Vito ran his hand over a new model that was on display. “I need to get a new ride for Lisa Marie,” he said as if that was explanation enough.

Not so much, big bro.That seemed like it had nothing to do with me or Carmine.

Carmine opened the door to get a better look at the interior. “Why isn’t your wife here with you then?” he questioned. “Aren’t married couples supposed to do shit like this together?”

Vito gave him a you’re-an-idiot look. “Yeah, but this time I couldn’t seem to squeeze it in between playing board games and rubbing each other’s backs,” he answered, every word dripping with sarcasm.

I stifled a laugh while I looked at the new model Vito was still checking out.

“Jesus, married couples are boring,” Carmine said, muttering something else under his breath I didn’t quite catch. “What kind of a fool gets married? Having sex with one woman for the rest of your days sounds like a life sentence.”

“It sort of is for life,” Vito replied, tapping his thumb to his ring finger. “Why am I even discussing marriage with you? It’s a lost cause. You’ll never settle down.”

I clapped Vito’s back as I walked past him. “Sure he will,” I remarked. “Only, because Carmine’s so hell-bent against it it’s going to be that much funnier when a woman comes along and his one-night rule flies right out the window.”

Carmine snickered. “Fuck you, Dom. That’s never going to happen.”

Vito groaned. “I don’t know why I thought bringing you two here would be a good idea.”

“We still don’t know why we’re here instead of Lisa Marie,” I pointed out.

“It’s going to be a surprise for her,” Vito explained.

Carmine and I glanced at each other, and then we both broke out into laughter. “What’d you do now?” I asked, holding a hand to my chest as I tried to stop laughing. “Because if you’re getting her a new car, then you must’ve screwed up big time.” It’d have been nothing new, honestly. It was rockier than the Alps where those two were concerned—and that was on a good day.

Coming around behind me, Vito wrapped his arm around my neck, putting me in a chokehold like we used to do when we were kids. “Funny. Just help me, okay? I know the manager here, and he said I could scope things out for a while. If I find something, all I have to do is let him know.”

“Hey, get over here and check this one out,” Carmine called to us from where he was sitting inside one of the cars.

“Nah, not that one,” Vito yelled back. “I like this one.” He pointed to another.

Carmine got out and had another snide remark to make. “You know, depending on how big of a fuckup you made, you might need to move from looking at cars to SUVs.”

“Good point,” I agreed, which rarely ever happened where Carmine was concerned. I tapped my knuckles on the window of an SUV. “This one’s nice.”

“He should knownice. He has been in a long-term relationship with Spitfire,” Carmine teased. “I swear, you’re in way too many relationships. How do you keep track of them all?”

I rolled my eyes because I already knew what he was getting at. It was the same thing everyone in this family was getting at—Maria.

We were not in a relationship. Besides friendship. Well, that was wrong because we were in a relationship of sorts, but not like they thought.

My phone buzzed, and I looked down at it.

Maria:Forget I said anything. I think I’m just going to stay in and work, try to forget about this whole Jade thing. Perla can bite me.

I huffed, slightly frustrated with Maria digging her feet in.

Dominic:Not happening. Be ready when I come to pick you up.

“Whatcha doing over there, Dommy boy?” Carmine asked, nudging his chin toward me as I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

“Just texting Maria.” As I looked at my brothers, an alarm sounded in my head—revert, revert, revert. Too bad I couldn’t take the words back. Why did I have to say anything? “Anyway, which car you going with, Vito?” I asked, trying to get their attention off me.

Waving his finger in the air, Carmine clacked his tongue. Jackass that he was, he wasn’t going to let this go.“Uh-uh. You know as well as I do that Vito has yet to make a decision, so tell us what Maria wants.”

I shook my head. “Get a life.”

“Will she be at Mom’s birthday party?” Vito asked and looked at Carmine. “We could bust his balls then and ask her ourselves.”

---