Page 23 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

“No, don’t do that.”

Andino put a hand up. “All right.”

There was something Andino was especially good at that John didn’t mind letting his cousin do without looking over his shoulder the entire time.

“I filled the fridge and cupboards yesterday.”

Andino smirked. “Still can’t cook worth shit, can you?”

“I’m learning.”

John tried not to sound defensive, and failed like a fucker. With a laugh and a clap to John’s shoulder, Andino headed for the open concept kitchen. He still talked as he began pulling dishes from the cupboard, and then moved to another one where the food was.

“Right, right.” Andino sighed loudly. “What is with all this organic shit, John? Haven’t you heard of proper butter or sugar?”

“Every little thing helps to keep me at stable levels—diet, exercise, the money manager … all of it.”

“Ah.”

John opted to change the topic. “How was Atlantic City?”

Andino kept his back turned to John. “Interesting. A nice break, anyway.”

“Kind of surprised the boss let you head out for a couple of weeks when you had business here.”

Andino stayed silent.

John didn’t miss it.

“Something up?” John asked.

Slowly, Andino turned around at the island so that John could see his face. Like with so many other things that were affected by his disorder, eye contact was a big thing. For those he trusted, he preferred to see their face and look in their eyes when they delivered him any kind of news that he might perceive as bad.

It just helped.

John braced for the impact.

“Dante didn’t have a choice but to let me take a break,” Andino said.

“Shit, rub some of that magic on me because that man keeps riding my ass about everything.”

“Don’t you want to know why he didn’t have a choice?”

“There’s a reason?” John asked back, joking.

Andino laughed quietly. “Yeah, uh … they want to move me up in la famiglia, John. The end goal is for me to take control after Dante is done.”

Like a boss.

The boss.

A Cosa Nostra Don.

John took in the news, and let it process before he spoke. Not because he felt bad about it, or wondered why. He knew that was the best choice for the Marcello organization. Andino was the best choice, for more reasons than John could name.

Seems John would now have something to discuss with his father when he went to have dinner with his parents tomorrow. Their dinners were already stilted because John didn’t have a lot to say.

“Okay,” John said. “I don’t understand what the problem is.”