With This Bling by L.B. Gregg

Author:L.B. Gregg [Gregg, L.B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Published: 2015-12-01T16:00:00+00:00

I took a steadying breath and tasted the pungent reminder of kimchi. A taco may have been a tactical error when I had a catering gig this evening, but food lent me fuel to brave my waiting, waving family. They called, “Ciao! Hey, Caesar!” as if I couldn’t see or hear them.

The second my foot touched the opposite curb, my father yanked me into a one-armed hug, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Caesar. You didn’t tell me.”

“I . . . uh . . . I didn’t tell anyone.” Guilt underscored my words. He shoved me an arm’s-length away, and cupped my injured cheek with his callused palm. He squinted thoughtfully, and I resolved not to flinch.

“What’s going on? You got something you want to tell me? Who’s that guy?”

How did parents always know? “I have a lot of things I want to tell you, Pop, but I’m sworn to secrecy.”

He tsked. “You’re hanging me out to dry with your mother, you know that?”

“I don’t mean to.”

My uncles flanked us, Vito’s attention snared by the retreating figure of Lutz. “That guy bothering you?”

What could I say but the truth? “I’m not sure—but he’s persistent.”

Lutz disappeared around the corner, and once Vito lost sight of him, he pinned me with his too sharp gaze. “What’d you mean not sure? This have something to do with your cop? Because if he—”

I whipped the Tom Fords off, flashing the elder Romano brothers my eye in a last-ditch effort to silence the inquisition. My plan worked beautifully, although now I had a new problem to contend with. Uncle Tino grimaced. “Holy smokes, kid. And you looked so nice on the TV too.” He shook his head. “That’s a shame.”

“Well. Thanks. I haven’t seen the clip yet.” Or my eye.

“You may want to hold off,” he added tactfully. Uncle Tino was the largest of the three, and the oldest. He’d always been the most successful too, with his multitude of business interests. Sunlight gleamed off his domed head, and twinkled from the family ring hugging his sausage-shaped pinkie. A big slab of a man, when Tino spoke, people listened. Sometimes they ran. “You should maybe see a doctor.”

“Doctor?” Vito asked in a voice that sounded remarkably like Joey’s. “We should get some pictures, first. You could sue.”

“Funny. Your son said the same thing.”

Vito nodded. “He’s a smart boy. He knows how to get results.” He added, “Except with getting Poppy down the aisle.”

We were on the sidewalk, baking, but no one moved to go inside. My father’s pinched silence grew, and I gingerly shoved my sunglasses back in place. The shade relieved some of the strain on my vision, a tidbit I didn’t care to share with my frowning relatives. “I’m fine, Pop. Promise. It’s nothing.”

Vito whistled. “That’s what you think. Maybe Poppy has some kind of salve or Avon or something she can slap—er, dab over that. Or maybe you need a good steak.”

A steak did sound good, but only after the kimchi settled.

Tino derailed my lunch plans.

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