Mafiosa (Blood for Blood #3)(47)

‘I do like to swish,’ I said.

‘Don’t we all?’ said Millie, wistfully. ‘Those Falcone boys are going to drool when they see you.’

All the little butterflies inside me seized up. ‘That reminds me,’ I said, leaving the dress down again, smoothing out the bodice with my fingers, like I was lovingly petting a dog. ‘Luca says I can’t go to the dance.’

‘Huh,’ said Millie, screwing up her nose. ‘I didn’t realize Luca Falcone was your evil stepmother.’

‘What?’ I feigned surprise. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Pretty sure,’ she said, stroking her chin. ‘So, what gives? Do I need to get you a pumpkin? Some helpful kitchen mice? A fairy godmother, perhaps?’

I was wondering how I could conjure a lie that would aptly cover up the fact that I was in the middle of a giant blood war with another Mafia family, reignited by the fact that they all thought I had just murdered a Marino soldato who I was also, conveniently, related to. ‘Luca’s just being protective.’

‘Buy him a kitten and let him protect that. He’s not your guardian.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ I said slowly. ‘I just don’t think he’s going to be pleased about me going. I’m not saying I’m not going to go, I’m just saying he’ll probably try and stop me, that’s all.’

‘Sophie.’ Millie levelled me with a dark look. ‘Luca Falcone does not want to get in the way of me and my dance. He’ll regret it.’

A laugh bubbled out of me. ‘Oh, yeah?’

She nodded, eyes wide. ‘Nobody messes with my plans. I don’t care how murdery they are. He’d better step back. Now.’

‘He’s a formidable foe,’ I said. ‘Trust me.’

‘Wait,’ she said, her eyes lighting up. ‘Why don’t you just invite him?’

I threw my head back and laughed. The idea was so ludicrous, so improbable … so pathetic. Pathetic that the only boy I was interested in would rather gouge his eyes out than accompany me on an actual date to a high school dance. I stopped laughing. It really wasn’t that funny.

‘No,’ I said, composing myself. ‘That’s not the solution, trust me. We haven’t really been getting on lately.’

‘Why? Are you flirting with Nic?’

‘I do not flirt with Nic! Why does a girl being nice to a boy always have to be construed as flirting? I am capable of having more than one agenda in my head at any given time.’

‘OK, OK, relax, I was just asking …’

‘And Luca doesn’t see me like that any more, anyway,’ I added.

‘OK, fine, no Luca. I get it,’ Millie conceded. ‘That’s probably a good thing. I really don’t want to scare Cris away.’ She smiled involuntarily at the mention of Cris, who had made the transition from casual hook-up to bona fide boyfriend in a matter of weeks. He was nice: normal, kind, and most importantly, safe. I liked Crispin. Even despite the hideous name. He couldn’t help that.

‘Don’t worry, for the sake of your burgeoning relationship I’ll keep my assassins as far away from your boyfriend as I can. But I can’t imagine anything would put Crispin off you,’ I added. ‘You are, after all, utter perfection.’

‘You can just call him Cris, you know.’

I smiled sweetly at her. ‘I actually really enjoy saying the full version, so you’ll just have to indulge me.’

I was rooting for Cripsin. I was rooting for anyone that didn’t live in my world. I think deep down, I knew that I would have to leave Millie some day, in one way or another, and when I did, I didn’t want to leave her on her own.

‘How’s it going with good old Crispin anyway?’ I had been spending so much time worrying about myself that I hadn’t given her half enough opportunity to talk about herself – or let her gush about her love life.

Millie beamed at me. ‘I’m pretty sure he’s in love with me.’

‘No way,’ I said, stifling a squeal, the inner romantic in me alive and well. ‘How do you know? What did he say? When did he say it? Start from the beginning. Leave nothing out.’

She glanced away, as if checking for possible eavesdroppers. There was a thirty-yard radius around us, care of my infamy. ‘OK, so basically, the other night, we were watching Ghost at my house, you know that movie with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore when they were both at peak hotness?’

‘Of course.’

‘So, we were on the couch and Cris had his arm around me and I was lying back against his chest, and we were watching that scene where they get all sultry with the clay while ‘Unchained Melody’ plays in the background, and I was saying how Ghost did for pottery what Benedict Cumberbatch did for Sherlock Holmes. Made it sexy, you know? Anyways, next thing I know, he’s stroking my hair, right … and then … he kissed me on the head! Like he just leant down and kissed the top of my head.’

She was practically jumping up and down in her seat.

‘Um … what?’ I said.

She pointed to the crown of her head, where her parting split her long hair evenly. ‘He kissed me here. On the head.’

‘He kissed you the way a parent kisses a newborn baby? He kissed you … like, paternally?’