Page 27 of Daddy's Little Mafia Princess
Her concern for me chases away the last lingering unpleasantness from my altercation with her father. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I draw her close enough to kiss her forehead.
“No need to be afraid. I meant it when I said I’ll always protect you.”
I stroke her arm as she twists far enough to peek over the back of the booth toward the door.
“What if he comes back?” she whispers. “What if he’s waiting for us to leave so he can get us?”
“He won’t.”
A slow excitement builds inside me. I wonder when he’ll get that first phone call, alerting him to the fact I’ve betrayed him to his partners? He’s about to have far more important matters to deal with than us, but I’m not about to tell her that. She doesn’t need to be burdened with guilt she hasn’t earned.
I rub her shoulders and change the subject. “What did you think about the wedding?”
It worked. The worry haunting her eyes vanishes behind a wince of dismay. I love how relaxed I’ve made her. She doesn’t even try to hide her emotions.
“It was… interesting.”
The ceremony had not been her dream wedding. It wasn’t mine, either. I have no fondness for Elvis impersonators, and a little dinosaur jumper can’t compare with a long white gown. She didn’t even get a real bouquet of flowers to toss or friends sitting in the pews cheering her on.
“If after a year, you decide to stay with Daddy, we’ll do it right,” I promise. “A real church, a real wedding dress, flowers,bridesmaids of your choosing, the whole shebang. Would you like that?”
She picks at her napkin, averting her eyes as she shrugs. “I don’t know anyone who’d want to be my bridesmaid.”
“Between now and then, you’ll get to know a lot of people. Particularly those people you’ll be working with as you learn how to run your casino.”
Her eyes widened, and her mouth drops in surprise.
“He gave you what you wanted?”
Well, I hadn’t planned to do it now, but… Pulling the contract from my pocket, I lay it on the table between us. “Yes, he did.”
I pat it twice, but she shies away from it, already shaking her head.
“I-I don’t want to. I don’t want to see him.”
“You won’t,” I promise.
“He lives there, in the hotel! I’ll see him all the time! Every month. Every day.” She looks horrified. “I’ll have to collect rent from him.”
“What did Daddy tell you, Princess?” I cut in, my tone just stern enough to stop her mid-protest. She’s breathing faster than normal, and her fingers are picking and twisting at one another. She doesn’t answer, but I can tell she doesn’t believe I can protect her from the monster who raised her. She ducks her head when I ask, “Do I need to take you into the nearest Daddy bathroom before you listen to what I’m telling you?”
She squirms in the booth, her wiggles doing more to give away what she’s wearing under her short jumper skirt than the clothes. She shakes her head no.
“It’s just…” she finally says. “He’ll never leave me alone. And now that we got his casino… He’s horrible. He’ll blame us both, and he won’t stop until he punishes us.”
I like that she’s thinking of us together, but this habit she has of thinking her father more dangerous than I am needs to end.
Covering her fidgeting hands with my own, I softly but sternly say, “Alviero has walked out of both our lives tonight. I am certain you’ll never see him again.”
She looks up from our clasped hands in surprise. “You didn’t call it off?”
“After what he’s done?” I shook my head. “No. I didn’t.”
I brace myself for her to burst into tears. This was her father, after all. The heart’s a funny thing. No matter how a parent fucks up, children love them anyway. Will she be angry with me, or will she be relieved? One look at her face shows she might not know either. Her eyes are scared but hopeful, sad, and nervous all at once.
“Will…” She hesitated. “Will you tell me when it happens? So, I don’t have to think about it anymore?”
In a heartbeat.
