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Sadie Sorento and Brandon Avenetti were destined to be together. Their families were already planning the wedding of the Italian mafia prince and princess long before the pair had even star...
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The bar is pretty much dead by the time I get there, but there are still a few cars in the lot when I pull in. A local band is on stage playing and a few of our regulars sit at the bar. Ro waves me over as I walk in and has a hefty glass of champagne waiting for me when I get over there.
"I hear we're celebrating." He chuckles, sliding it towards me.
"Good news travels fast around here." Champagne isn't exactly my cup of tea but I need something to take the edge off quickly, so I slug the bubbly liquid back. "How about a whiskey this time?" I push the empty glass back across the bar, ready for more.
Ro arches his eyebrow at me with a smug smirk. "Going hard tonight, I see." He refills it with some of our top shelf whiskey. "Where is the blushing bride? I expected you to bring her with you."
"Sadie is at home." I say. "We had an eventful evening with my parents and she's still not feeling 100%. The guy really did a number on her."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Ro frowns. He and Sadie have gotten close over the last few weeks and I know he is just as charmed by her as everyone else. Sadie never meets a stranger, that's for sure. Everyone adores her, just not quite as much as I do. "I'd like a few minutes alone with the son of a bitch when you find him."
"Yeah, me too." I sip the whiskey a little slower than the champagne. I'm not here to get drunk. I'm here to work and then go home to my wife. Jesus, that still sounds so weird to me. Sadie is my wife. I'm married.
"Alex said your mom sure had a lot to say." He pours himself a drink and leans against the bar across from me.
"You could say that." I smirk, rubbing at the faint sting in my cheek. I still can't believe my mother slapped me. I was raised by two old school Italians who are mafia royals, so I definitely had my fair share of corporal punishment growing up. I was born pushing limits and testing boundaries, and my brothers and I ran absolutely wild as kids. It was always a last resort for my parents, so when it happened, I knew I pushed them to their absolute breaking point. I remember always feeling so disappointed in myself, and as an adult, it feels the same. I know my mom will eventually come around but right now, she's pissed, and there is nothing scarier than a pissed off Italian mother.
"Where are we with the charges against Sadie?" I ask, changing the subject. I explained myself enough over the last few days, and all I want to do is focus on work. That's something I can grasp, something I'm good at, and something to take my mind off of the shit storm my personal life is at the moment.
Ro glances at the patrons in the bar and nods towards the stairs. "Alex is upstairs, let's go talk."
I stand up as he yells over his shoulder. "Dante, cover the bar for a few minutes, will you?"
Dante grunts, eyeing us carefully as we went upstairs. "Guess I misjudged our pal, Dante..."
"I'm not so sure." Ro eyes him carefully. "He's been weird the last few weeks."
