Page 131 of Marcus

Marcus nodded at Cella’s father. “Yeah, before Cella gets here, if you wouldn’t mind. And of course, if you have a minute to spare for me.”

“I was taught never to shun a boss, Marcus, even if that boss isn’t mine and he’s decades younger than me. A boss is a boss …”

Ah.

Yeah.

“Is a boss,” Marcus finished for the man.

Cosa Nostra rules never changed. It didn’t matter if a man was no longer active in the life—like Lucian because as far as Marcus knew, the man had stepped out of his active role in the family years ago—he was still expected to follow the rules.

“You know, I’ve never publicly confirmed that,” Marcus said, twisting the ring around his index finger that his father had worn for years. The Guzzi ring—the one that signified the boss. Men had kissed that ring for years. Wished they could be the ones wearing it. Now, it belonged to him and surprise, it was a perfect fit. Not that he expected anything less. “The fact I took over the Guzzi family, I mean.”

Lucian smirked from the side as he turned in the hallway with a wave. “Ah, but you don’t have to. The Marcellos hear everything.”

Right.

Marcus wouldn’t forget it.

On the way past the kitchen, Marcus peeked in to find Tiffany was telling her grandmother all about the friends she had made in Toronto over the summer during their many outings and trips to parks near his home. She seemed content, so he didn’t bother her. A quick smile from Jordyn, Cella’s mother, had him nodding hello back before he continued following Lucian to the upstairs where the man’s office waited for them.

Once behind the closed doors, Lucian took a seat behind his large desk dominating the far end of the room. Marcus stayed standing, if only because life had taught that when inside another man’s office, he didn’t prefer to sit. Lucian didn’t say anything about his choice to stand, so he didn’t think the man was too offended.

“You know,” Lucian said, “the last time Tiffany was here, we were having Jordyn’s birthday party. She called you her dad to one of her cousins.”

He spun fast on his heels, eyeing the man from where he currently stood near the windows. “Did she?”

“I take it that’s not a regular thing, then?”

“I think she’s feeling out the idea … testing it,” Marcus said, shrugging. “Seeing how it sounds, and if she likes it. How other people react when she says it. She’s a smart girl, and she acts like it, too. If people pay attention, they would notice it more often. Instead, people tend to overlook children because they are children.”

“Smart like her mother.”

“Exactly.”

“But how do you feel about it?” Lucian asked.

Marcus smiled faintly. “Well, that’s not really about me, is it?”

He didn’t get a say.

That was all on Tiff.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t feel a certain way about it.”

“You’re right, and I do feel …”

Happy.

Proud.

Pleased.

Honored.

“Well, I’ll keep that for me,” Marcus finished quieter.

Lucian nodded. “I get it. So, that chat you wanted to have—what was it?”