Page 47 of Shades of Loyalty
Mafia boss. Cold. Dangerous. All perfect words to describe him. There’snothingfatherly about him.
My smile suddenly wipes from my face, and when I look back at Daniel, he looks right back at me, his own smile slowly fading.
It’s like we both realize how good this feels, how natural it feels, but we both know getting Mary used to him is the worst idea.
Daniel’s eyes darken, and although I know he’s trying not to get too attached, the second Mary hugs Daniel and lets go of the bunny, he smiles again softly.
He hugs her back, whispering something into her ear. I don’t know what he says. But I know it’s something good.
It doesn’t matter how much of an asshole he is towards his rivals.
He’d never hurt my girl.
When Mary lets go of him, she tries to carry the bunny with her, but she fails. I smile at her.
“Sweety, isn’t the bunny too heavy for you to carry, hm?” I ask her teasingly. She shakes her head with a huge grin. “I’m a big girl! I can carry Rosie!”
I nod understandingly. “Rosie, hm? I’m sure you could. But I’m also sure that Rosie doesn’t want to bother her new friend. Why don’t you let me carry Rosie?”
Mary looks at me for a faint moment, looking undecided, but once more, Daniel interrupts.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Rosie gets home safely.” He tells Mary before picking up the bunny. However, before he does, he quietly asks her once again if it’s fine. She immediately agrees.
Oh my god. I was sort of joking about the father role thing at first. But now? Now, I’m wondering if I’m falling way too deep into this rabbit hole, mixed with doubts and desires for a man I shouldn’t want.
We look at a few other toys and Mary chooses to take a doll with her, and I just agree without having to worry about the prices for the first time in our lives.
I love seeing her happy. I wish I could give her the world.
She has an absent father; a mother who couldn’t give her the attention she needed for years… And although I know buying her a bunny and a doll won’t fix anything; I still want her to get these things.
I want to see my baby happy.
“I’ll wait for you two at the checkout, alright? Rosie is getting a big heavy here,” he winks at Mary. She nods, giggling as he walks away.
I didn’t really believe him. His arms could probably carry me. A bunny and a doll won’t be too heavy for him. But maybe he has to make a call, and I don’t want to interrupt him working.
It bothers me, knowing he’s taking my daughter’s toys with him while probably making a call about drugs, or getting someone murdered. But I stay quiet. It’s none of my business, after all.
Mary and I walk off towards the other aisles, quickly finding Victoria and Enzo. Mary runs towards them and instantly tells Enzo that she got a huge bunny and a doll.
Enzo smiles at her. “Woah! That’s so nice! Look, my mommy is getting me a car! Just like Zio Daniel has one!”
Victoria and I just eye each other, smirking while we listen to our children talk. They walk a few meters in front of us, leading us towards the checkout.
Both her and I know they have no idea where the checkout is, but we don’t mind. All we want is for them to have a nice time.
“So, Jenny…” Vicky starts. It’s funny. I’ve started calling her Vicky instantly, and although Jenny isn’t my favorite nickname, I like it when she uses it.
In fact, I love it even more when Daniel uses it.
“What’s going on between you two?”, she asks, breaking me out of the thoughts about her brother.
“What do you mean?”, I laugh, trying not to act too suspiciously. “He’s nice, I guess.”
“Come on now!” She laughs. “Any sane person can see something going on between you two.”
“Is it that obvious?”, I wonder. She nods.
