Page 199 of Push

Liam’s eyes closed. That wasn’t a feeling he was ready to face, either. “That kind of pain would be unbearable.” He took a breath, collected himself, and then leveled his gaze on me. “You can’t make decisions when you feel like this. This is too new… Too raw… Acting now is when mistakes are made. You make errors of judgment…errors ofcharacter.”

“You won’t help me.” It wasn’t a question. I knew his answer.

Liam shook his head. “Exhaust every other option first—the ones you can live with when your son stands eye-to-eye in front of you. Let Gwen be your conscience. Ask her what she wants.” He smiled. “But perhaps leave out the murdering part.”

“We both know what the venerable champion of justice is going to say,” I grumbled.

“We do.” Liam’s hand briefly clasped my shoulder before he stood up to retreat to his brooding corner. “Toby, you’ve never been like your father. Don’t lose your way now because you’re afraid.”

60

She Defied the Mistress

Gwen

Marnie’s mouth dropped open.Eyes like saucers tracked me as I hobbled into the café and then turned into dinner plates when she noticed the swaggering Italian two steps behind me.

Together, Romeo and I were a disaster—bruised and beaten—and although the sleepy tourists of Mosman barely noticed me, my shadow attracted more than his fair share of fluttered eyelashes and smiles. I suppose his busted lip and shiner complemented his whole tattooed, tough-guy aesthetic.

“Oh!” Marnie leaped up, her hands pressed to her cheeks. “You guys look awful! Here!” She yanked out an empty chair. “Sit! Sit!”

Steadying my hand on the back of the chair, I gritted my teeth and sat down.

Marnie watched the entire production with an awkward smile stretched across her face. “You look, um…” She winced.“Goooood?”

“I’m fine.”

“You would say that,” she scoffed, the ruffled rainbows of her skirt puffing up as she collapsed into the chair across from me. “And you.” Her eyes lifted to Romeo. “Finally earned your paycheck, huh?”

A pang of guilt stabbed under my ribs. Toby-style, I snatched a menu. “That’s not from Ian,” I muttered, avoiding questioning eyes by scanning the daily specials.

I caught a glimpse of a tattooed hand snaking around the back of Marnie’s chair as Romeo leaned over. “I…fell,” he said.

“You fell?” I could hear the disbelief in Marnie’s voice. “Off what? A building?” She paused—probably to flutter her eyelashes at him. “Poor baby. Does it hurt?”

“Sí, Bellezza,”Romeo said, “but there is one place I ache most of all.”

Unamused, I glanced up in time to see Marnie’s eyes dart to the zipper of his pants. I whacked the menu against my forehead.Have some chill, Mar. Not that Romeo minded the direction of her lusty brain. He rumbled a laugh.

“My heart,Bellezza,” he corrected her gently. “Did you know you stole it?”

“Did I?” she breathed.

I groaned. My best friend had a serious weakness for crap murmured with an accent. I lowered the menu and shot a pointed look at Romeo. “Shouldn’t you be—I dunno—guarding me or something?”

“Always work and no play,” he grumbled. “You and my employer are far too alike.” I watched through slitted eyes as his hand slid along the top of Marnie’s chair. “I’ll make myself usefulto stay in his good graces. Coffees for you both, yes?” Dark eyes burned into mine. “But no wandering off this time,sorellina.”

I sank lower in my chair. Forcing a smile up at Romeo, I gave a shaky salute. Lesson learned. My butt would stay glued to the chair. That didn’t mean I appreciated the patronizing pat he dropped on my head, and I shoved him away with a glare.

Marnie’s chin fell into her hand as she watched Romeo saunter to the counter. “That man is absolutely going to break my heart.” She sighed.

I frowned. “Mar.”

Reluctantly, she dragged her eyes away from his butt. “Are you about to cockblock me with common sense?” she asked.

“He’sliterallythe son of a crime boss.”

“Details, shmetails.” She waved me off with a dismissive hand. “So, he’s a bit rough around the edges. What does it matter anyway? I’m a struggling artist—”

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