Page 62 of Pay the Piper

Mila shrugs and goes back to scratching Thatcher’s scalp.

“It’s fucking hot.”

“Hmm, who’s fucking hot?” Thatcher’s sleepy mumble as he raises his head out of Mila’s lap interrupts us, but I can tell from her gaze that we’ll be revisiting this conversation later.

“Therapy,” Mila mouths at me as Thatcher sits up fully, blanket falling to the floor once again.

When he sees me, he squeaks and pops up, reaching me in two strides and sitting in my lap to hug me. Within seconds, his breathing slows again, and Mila comes to wrap a blanket around us both.

“He’s touch starved. I told you he would need cuddles!”

“Can I carry him to your bed so he can cuddle you?”

With a soft smile, she picks him up, blanket and all, and moves toward her bed.

“I can handle him, thank you. Just think about what I said, okay, moya sila? You’re thinking so much, it might as well be about more positive things.”

She’s right. I know she’s right.

“I’ll try, moya tsaritsa. You know how stubborn I am.”

“Will I see you for coffee and a sunrise?”

For a moment, I consider telling her how soundly I’ve been sleeping. How late I’ve been sleeping. That the demons that always woke me before the day could catch me unprepared have quieted in the past few weeks. But some things never change.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Chapter 24

“Are you sure you aren’t just a little sad to be missing their first game together?”

For a split second, I panic, thinking that Ellie’s found out about my relationship with Misha. Not that it’s a secret, but…shit. At some point, I have to tell her that I am not interested in her brother. When I explain myself and beg for their help to escape Conor. It’s not that I’m not trying to figure things out…it’s just that I’m stuck in a place where I’m terrified to reveal myself to the people I’ve grown to care for. If I ask for help and they turn me away, angry that I came into their lives just to deceive them.

It would be their right. And Misha…I should have told Misha before he left for New York. Now, I’m stuck here at Santori girls’ night, pretending that I’m not a wannabe snake in the grass turned house cat. What the fuck am I even supposed to tell them?

“Hi, I came here undercover to spy on you and help my violent husband take down your Mafia, but instead of seducing an actual Santori, I fell in love with your acquaintance, and now I’m turning to the good side?”

That shit sounds unbelievable even to my own ears. And who’s to say they won’t think I’m double-crossing them? I guess at that point, it would be a triple-cross?

“Ach, it’s just a preseason game.” Ellie’s nonna answers, saving me from my spiral and handing me a tray of finger foods to carry into the den. “Besides, it’s been too long since we’ve had someone new to indoctrinate into our Sparkle Society.”

When Ellie invited me over for their girls’ night, I wasn’t exactly sure what sort of activities the multigenerational women of the Santori clan would get up to. Between Nonna’s antics and Ellie’s volunteering, I was ready for anything from knitting hats for the babies at the hospital to going to a strip club. Movie night sounded tame, but it’s a big deal. The Sparkle Society, as Giulia explained earlier while we were in the kitchen prepping our snacks, was founded by Nonna when Ellie was a young girl to foster her interest in old Hollywood films.

“It was completely over the top, and also turned out to be unnecessary. Elia was hooked from the beginning. She would have loved Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn with or without silk gloves and sparkling cider in champagne glasses. Although I do think all the pomp and circumstance helped.”

When Ellie found out that I had only ever seen White Christmas, she immediately planned my initiation. Tonight, we don’t have gloves, but we do have sparkling cider in solidarity with Ellie and enough food to feed a hockey team. Piling my plate high with petit fours and pizza rolls, a fitting dichotomy for the Santori family, I enjoy the show as Nonna and Ellie fuss about which movie is going to be our matinee this afternoon. Finally, after a closely contested best-out-of-three rock-paper-scissors match, Nonna pumps her fist in victory as Ellie plops down beside me on the couch.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll love them both.”

“It does matter!” pipes up Nonna. “You get one shot to hook someone. That’s it. Only one first impression, and if she’s bored, she’ll never want to watch more movies with us!”

“There’s no way she would’ve been bored with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.”

“And she won’t be bored with Funny Face. There’s plenty of time for Marilyn later. For now, she needs to meet Audrey.”

While Nonna and Giulia gather a few extra blankets for our movie nest, I let myself sink into the comfort of the afternoon. There’s no reason to worry about anything for now. This is my first real female friendship in a decade, and even if I’m going to spoil it eventually by outing myself as a liar, I can bask in it a while longer.

“So is Marilyn your favorite old actress? You seemed pretty intent on her movie being the one that pops my old movie cherry.”