Page 29 of Mafia and Gold Digger

Shit, I should have worn my black hitman clothes. They make it much easier to hide in the shadows. Fuck, what in the hell is the world coming to when you need to wear your hitman clothes just to go shopping at the local store?

“It's him, sis, I'm telling you,” the squirrel squeaks.

Christ, the annoying little shit is her brother?

They both turn around slowly and meet my eyes. “Kid, you've got me mixed up with somebody else,” I say uneasily.

He juts his chin out. “No, I haven't.” He jabs a finger downward. “You've gotmyLucky Charms in your basket.”

“Why the hell are you looking at what's in my basket? My groceries areconfidential.”

Emerald narrows her eyes at me. “Since when have the contents of a grocery basket been confidential?” The tone of her voice makes it clear that she knows I’m lying.

“Look,” I say, rolling back my shoulders. “Hestole the cereal fromme. He’s obviously learned his light-fingered ways from his older sister.”

“I didn’t steal anything, Em, I swear. It was the last box on the shelf, and I took it down, and then this man tried to snatch the box out of my hands.”

A look of shock passes over her face. “He did?”

“Uh-huh. And when I wouldn’t give it to him, he growled at me.”

Emerald’s mouth falls open as she flicks her eyes toward me. “Yougrowled? At a kid? Over a box of freaking cereal?”

“Yeah, Em, he did. He’s a greedy-guts with no manners,” the stupid squirrel adds.

“You’re the one with no manners,” I bark at the kid.

“Says the man with zero manners himself,” Emerald interrupts.

Why on earth is she taking his goddamn side? And why the hell do I care so much? “I’ve got plenty of manners,” I say, unable to help my defensive tone.

“What, like the first time we met and you lied about who you were? Pretending I was in big trouble and that I had to answer all yourinvasivequestions—when all along, you could have just told me that the Imperiosi had sent you to get me.”

I open my mouth but then close it, not quite sure how to answer that.

“Don't worry, Jaspar, we’ll stop by Jacquetta’s house on the way home,” Emerald soothes. “She always has some Lucky Charms, and I'm sure she won't mind lending us a box.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder and turns back around to grab some focaccia.

And I find that her ignoring me like this is rubbing me up the wrong way. Plus, as soon as she’s not looking, the stupid squirrel thumbs his nose and wiggles his fingers at me.

I can feel my blood pressure rising. Trust Emerald Fiorelli to be involved in this whole incident. What the hell is it about this woman that causes my cool, calm, and collected exterior to feel like a bulldozer has just rammed into it?

I watch as they go pay for and pack their groceries, and at the end, Emerald gives a big smile to the cashier as she thanks her. And as I watch her smile, I can’t help wondering why I’m such a grumpy asshole at times and why my interactions with this girl always seem fraught with tension. And I start to wonder how it would feel to receive another one of those beaming smiles from Emerald Fiorelli. Because she does have a beautiful smile…

She’s like a puzzle I want to solve. She puts on these big, sparkling smiles to the world, but I get the feeling that inside there’s more going on, especially with her stealing habit and the family issues Christian mentioned.

Emerald and her brother then leave the store without another word. And I find myself wishing that I had longer to talk to the girl who loves to steal...

CHAPTERSEVEN

EMERALD

Ronnie took me to lunch earlier, and now he’s driving me to work. Arriving at Christian’s casino, we walk inside together, but our conversation is disturbed by a loud screech. Because as we turn the corner and enter the main floor, we’re assaulted by his ma’s voice shrieking that she wants a word with Ronnie.

“Okay, I’ll catch you later,” I mumble as I swiftly extricate myself from his hold and spin on my heel.

“Hang on, Em.” He catches my arm. “You’ve still got ten minutes until your shift starts. Come and say hi to my ma.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

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