Bellissimo Fortuna (Beautiful Fortune) (6 page)

“Well, I want it to.”

“Liar. If you wished that then we would never move forward from yesterday afternoon. You wouldn’t have had your first kiss, you wouldn’t be Bronson’s girl, you wouldn’t get to experience all life is going to give you, but most of all you wouldn’t feel love. Sure, you can have unrequited love, but real love is a two-way street, to fully understand it you both have to be in it.”

“I hate when you are right.” I pout at her.

“You should be used to it by now. Get your tiny ass up and let’s go get pretty.” I follow behind her without as much enthusiasm as she is showing, mulling over all these changes in my mind. I allow her to curl my hair. It takes forever because it’s halfway down my back. She does my make-up, and I draw the line at letting her pick out my outfit. She has the worst fashion sense and the motto ‘less is more’ fits her perfectly. The shirt she is wearing could pass for my bathing suit top.

“Do you want your brother to have a heart attack before he takes my virginity?”

“No! Just no. You did not just say that to me.”

“He will freak out when he sees you dressed like that, and you won’t get any time alone with Dakota. In fact, you won’t be leaving this house.” My eyes are about to bug out of my head, as her tits are about to pop out. “Nip slips aren’t attractive, Bianca. And we aren’t in the business to have wardrobe malfunctions overlooked.”

Rolling her eyes, she grabs a cropped jacket and places it over top. “We’re almost seventeen, you have to dress like it. Besides, see, problem fixed. Bronson will never know, and Dakota won’t know what hit him.” I’m slightly scared by her conniving plan and in awe of her confidence.

“Bianca, how are we best friends?”

“You need me. It’s that simple.” I hear Bronson holler for us, and I feel self-conscious next to her in my plain shorts and top. All that fades away when I see the look of appreciation on his face.

“You look beautiful, Callie.” He pulls me against his side, not even a sheet of paper could fit between us. He winks at his sister, studying her outfit, and he deems it acceptable and leads us out to his car. If he only knew what she was sporting under that coat . . .

We all squeeze into the only booth left at the deli around the corner. Dakota and Bronson talk about guy things, droning on about sports and cars. When Bianca gets up to go to the bathroom, Dakota follows her a few minutes later.

The quiet that surrounds us is uncomfortable. For as well as we know each other, we really don’t. I know his favorite color is green, but not his favorite sports team. I know his favorite meal, but not what he is doing when he graduates after his senior year, which starts just a few short months from now.

“Bronson, are you going away to school?” The other two join us, and Bianca scoffs at my question.

“What?’

“Callie, you know what he is doing . . . what he will be groomed to do.” I’m taken aback. I know he doesn’t want to be part of our fathers’ world, and I know it won’t be forced on him.

Dakota interjects, “No way. He isn’t doing that shit. We have our plans already mapped out. College, parties, apartments, and then DEA force.”

Bianca just laughs, Bronson looks uncomfortable, and I’m still processing. “Dakota, some things may have to change.” I see him cock his head towards me, and immediately I squash that.

“No way. You aren’t giving up your dream to be here with me.”

“Excuse us,” Bronson tells them and pulls me out of the booth.

“We will just meet y’all here after the movie,” Bianca calls. She caught Bronson distracted, so he just nodded. I see the smile cross her face before she sets her sights on Dakota.

He pulls me towards the car and once he opens the door and gets me settled in, he walks around the front and gets in the driver’s side. “Bronson, I’m serious. I won’t be the cause of you giving up your dreams.”

“You’re not the sole reason. We’ll talk when we get to the dock.”

The dock. No-man’s land. The warehouse district where it all goes down. I’ve never been allowed to go there, but he’s been many times. Females in our world are more seen and not heard in business matters, and it affords all of us some sort of safeguards. If we don’t know we can’t talk, and believe me there are many woman scorned that would love to rat . . . they don’t have the chance because they don’t know and if they did, they wouldn’t live to tell.

He greets the guard at the warehouse and is allowed access. It is eerie being here; quiet and I thought it would be a lot busier. “Do you come here often?”

“When I need to think. It’s quiet here.”

“It’s creepy here. I figured there would be a lot of activity.”

“Nah, if they’re getting ready for a shipment or meeting, I’m not allowed here. I wouldn’t put you in danger, Callie.”

“I know that.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Then why do you wonder why I’m rethinking my dreams?”

“Not a clue. I just don’t want to be the cause of it.”

“There are so many reasons. You being one of them.”

“Bronson, it seemed like it was set in stone until tonight.”

“It was in Dakota’s mind. I’ve struggled with it for a while.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Callie, look at our father’s business. Being a DEA agent is a direct contradiction to that. I don’t want to hurt my dad; no matter what he does for a living, he’s my hero. He’s a good father, always been there, always supported my dreams.”

“And now?”

“Surprisingly, he was okay with it. Told me no matter what I did he would be proud of me and he meant it.”

“Of course he did. What’s not to be proud of?”

“I told him my concerns. I’m afraid once I finish my degree, and if I even get accepted to the agency, that I will be used against him, and I don’t know if I could do that. He does illegal things, I know this, but I won’t be the one to bring my own father down.”

“What are your other options?”

“Get a degree, try to find another job . . . or go into the family business.”

“What did your dad say?”

“Again, he encouraged me. Told me I could only catch him if he made a mistake, and then he reminded me he doesn’t make those.” A small grin escapes, and I can almost laugh because I can picture that conversation in my head.

“What’s holding you back?”

“You.” I go to argue, and he doesn’t let me get a word out. “Hush. You’re taking it the wrong way. First, with all that’s happening, I don’t want to be away from you, leaving you alone for four years. With dual enrollment, I could finish in one for my bachelor’s degree, but I’d have a better shot at getting in with a masters. Second, your dad is already pissed about us, and he really wants to take over the family when my dad retires, but if I step into the mix or follow my dream, his plans are derailed, and I’m afraid he will take it out on you. I won’t be responsible for my actions. There are too many variables, and I don’t work like that.”

“Yes. Everything in your life has a place, a reason, and sometimes you have to realize things are just the way they are, and it’s out of your control. You can’t control my dad and his reactions, only he can. You can’t control if you become an agent and they want you to work against your dad, you can only control if you decide to do it. Every action has a reaction, and you can only manage yours.”

“I’m not wired like that. I have to have a contingency plan. I have to know what’s going to happen.”

“You can’t plan for everything. You’ll occasionally get thrown a curve ball and have to adapt.”

“I never have before.” He’s right. He’s always made a plan and followed through with it, almost like he bends the will of the God and guarantees it to turn out in his favor.

“Well, why not finish your senior year and see where things stand with my dad. Regardless, go to college, you will need a degree one way or another.” The last thing I want him to be is in the family business. I shudder thinking of it. He won’t deal well, the uncertainty, the risks, the split-second decisions.

“Let’s just table this until Christmas break.”

“Deal, but you make me a promise?”

“What?”

“Follow your heart. Chase your dreams.”

“I have. You’re now mine. You are my heart and dreams.”

“You know you already have me; you don’t have to keep trying to charm me.”

He laughs. “I’ve never had to charm you, you were mine from day one.”

“True.” I can’t deny that.

“You staying at our house tonight?”

“He didn’t tell me to come home, he hasn’t called me all day, so I guess it’s business as usual.”

“A simple yes would suffice.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Before I can laugh, he grabs me and pulls me on his lap, once again adjusting me so I’m not straddling him, no chance of us bumping uglies, let alone touching uglies through the barrier of our clothes. “When are you going to stop treating me like I’m going to break? It’s okay to touch me.”

“Callie,” he groans. “In time. This is new, you’re young, and I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable.”

“You are making me uncomfortable. You make me feel less than.”

“Less than what?”

“Less than all the other girls you’ve been with.”

“Let’s get something straight, there are no other girls. You are it for me. Get your head out of that place you go to. As for being less than, Callie, you’re wrong. You’re so much more. More than anyone else before you, and there won’t be anyone after you because you are my end game.” Sometimes the simplest words are the most profound. He knows how to weave a fairytale around me and make me believe we will live it out. But with him I’m secure in the knowledge it isn’t just pretty words. He has always backed them up with actions, and he truly believes what he’s promising me. Therefore, I believe it, too.

Chapter 6

Bronson

Curiosity kills the cat, and this girl is so damn curious. I have her sitting across my lap; she shifts so she’s straddling me. Exactly what I have been trying to avoid. Add her
naivety
to the situation, and she doesn’t realize planting her pussy right against my hardening dick is not helping my self-control. Bringing her lips to mine, I grab hold of her hips to try and shift her back, in turn, she pushes against me, creating friction. I know the moment she realizes because her gasp is audible.

“Exactly, Callie. This is what I was trying to avoid. Too much too soon.” I reluctantly finish lifting her off my lap and sit her next to me. Here at the warehouses, surrounded by the water of the Gulf of Mexico, it’s a beautiful setting . . . a sharp contrast to the dirty work that goes on here. It’s become my escape the last few months, and having her here brings me another sense of serenity. The businesses are located about thirty minutes from where we live in Indian Shores, Florida, so we’re actually looking over Clearwater Beach when we’re here. Our parents tried to keep us separate from the businesses, but everyone knows, so it didn’t do a lot of good. I hate the respect that comes with our name because it’s a respect out of fear, not because of the type of people we are. I want to be respected on my merit, for my work, for doing good . . . not because people are afraid of my family.

“Sorry,” her soft voice flows between us.

“Don’t be sorry. I get your curious, but I can only handle so much, and we have so much time ahead of us. Don’t doubt I enjoy touching you, but there’s a time for everything.”

“And we have all the time in the world?” That should have been a statement. A confirmation of our future, but instead it is a question.

“Yes, I promise.” We sit in silence, both lost in our own thoughts until the roar of the boat startles us. Glancing up as it docks, I realize it’s my dad’s. I get a sick feeling in my gut. It is always kept at home; we take it out as a family or with our friends. It’s our personal boat, and there are many others used for business. Marco and another man step off and come to a halt when they see us.

I stand but place my hand on her shoulder, silently instructing her to stay put. I make the dozen or more steps to reach the men. “What are you doing with that boat? Others are at your discretion to use.”

Marco sneers at me, but when the other man next to him uses my name, he clears all hostility from his face and tries to show some decorum. “Mr. Agosto, we had a job to handle, the guy lives on his boat. We had to use the water to contact him.”

“Why my father’s personal one?”

The cugine
looks to Marco for an answer. “The usual one was out for repairs. This job was of utmost importance, so we were given your father’s to use.” Something doesn’t feel right, so I take out my phone and call my godfather, my mom’s brother Luis, who happens to be the Consigliere of our family. “Luis, Marco, and another associate took Papa’s boat out for a job. Can you handle this?” I listen to him agree and hang up.

I stand there in front of them, showing no weakness, and I notice Marco’s gaze keeps returning to Callie. It’s pissing me off, and when Luis gets there he has a few of our men with him. “Make sure it’s clean,” he orders and turns to me. I follow him a few feet away to have a conversation. “Bronson, bring it down a notch with them. I’ve called your dad, he said it was a misunderstanding, but don’t throw your muscle around with those two. They aren’t part of the
familia
yet, and it can get dangerous. I was at the meeting yesterday, I get there are underlying reasons, but let us handle it, Figlio.”