Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 188

When I take a deep breath and look over at my family, I burst into laughter because they're all watching me with wide, anxious eyes.

So, I hang up the phone and walk over to them, shaking my head and wiping at the slight dampness beneath my eyes.

"Well, that looked suitably intense," Daniel murmurs, opening his arm to me and inviting me to come in for a good cuddle, which I accept.

"You could have told me," I murmur, wanting to sound angry but feeling far too happy for that. "Then I could have had something to say. We talked about...bananas..." "What!?" Daniel exclaims, laughing. Fiona and Jerome join in.

"I don't know!" I reply, breaking into laughter myself. "It all happened really fast!"

"Aww, poor baby," Fiona murmurs, leaning across the bar and smiling at me as she wipes a thumb across my cheek, getting the last of my tears away. "You've got it bad, don't you?" "She suuuure does," Jerome says, grinning at me. "I just hope Kent knows how lucky he is."

"Well," Fiona says with a sigh, looking around at us. "I have a feeling he's going to find out in a few short days."

Before I can ask her if what she says means what I think it means - that she's going to agree to my plan and help us - Fiona's face breaks into a big grin and she waves at someone at the door.

"I want you guys to meet someone," she says, leaning eagerly forward.

We all turn to see who it is and my mouth drops open a little bit as I take in the man who comes forward and eagerly reaches for my cousin across the bar, instantly claiming her mouth with his own for a good long kiss. "Um," I say quietly, glancing over at Daniel and Jerome. "Am I imagining things here or..."

"Nope..." Jerome says, his face just as shocked. "Fiona...clearly has a type."

Fiona laughs when she hears this, pulling her face away from the man but keeping a hand on his arm as they both turn towards us. "Yeah," she agrees, wrinkling her nose. "Kinda. Everyone, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Donnie." And then she introduces the rest of us around to Donnie, but none of us can peel our eyes off him, except to look back and forth between him and Daniel.

Because this guy? With his dark hair, and his diamond-cut jaw, and his broad, muscled shoulders?

He's a dead ringer for a Lippert.

"This," I murmur, catching Jerome's eye, "...could come in useful."

"Oh, I can think of many uses for this one," he murmurs, grinning up into Donnie's confused face and reaching out a hand. "Hi, I'm Jerome. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you -"

But Daniel just scowls and swats Jerome's hand away before Donnie can take it. "Enough of that," he growls, "we're out of here." Everyone but Daniel bursts into laughter at his obvious jealousy, except for Donnie, of course, who looks around at us in confusion. "What did I miss?" Donnie asks, but Fiona just pats him on the arm and tells him not to worry about it.

To my surprise, Daniel sits in the back of the car with me on the way home, letting me rest my head on his shoulder as I close my eyes. He pretends that he's sitting back here so he can hold a barf bag for me if I need to throw up, but we all know that he's just being

sweet.

Because frankly, I need him close right now, and he's intuited that. As much as I'd never give up the short minutes I spent talking to Kent today, it certainly took its toll on me emotionally.

I've been so good at being focused these past few weeks, at being strict and disciplined and keeping all of my anxieties neatly tucked away. But, as I feared it would, even a short conversation with Kent has me feeling vulnerable, and missing him terribly, and just wanting to crawl into a little ball of fear and grief.

"It'll be all right, kid," Daniel murmurs, kissing me on the head.

"I know," I sigh. "Just a few more days."

"Just a few more days," he confirms.

We continue to sit in silence until I feel the car make the final turns which I know signal our approach to the beach house. I open my eyes and then moan a little when I see Ivan's car in the driveway.

"Do you want me to tell him to go?" Daniel asks, maybe a little too eager. This is an unscheduled visit, after all - or at least I think it is. I didn't bring my phone with me today, so I don't know if Ivan texted me earlier to ask if he could stop by, which he usually does. "No," I sigh, sitting up straight and patting at my dress and hair and turning my face up to Daniel's. "I can do it. Do I have mascara all under my eyes? Do I look like I've been crying?"

"Nope," he says, taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turning it a little in the light of the setting sun to make sure he gets a good look. "You look beautiful, as always." And then he leans in and gives me a little peck on the lips.

I glare at him as he pulls away, knowing that he waited to do that until we were close enough for Ivan to see.

"What," Daniel says, glancing out the window as Jerome pulls our car into the driveway and we can both see an angry Ivan waiting there for us. "You're my wife! I can kiss you if I want."

I roll my eyes at him. "Don't mess with the plan, Daniel," I murmur, reaching for my door. "Your job is to be jealous, not infatuated."

"They go hand in hand," he says, opening his door and stepping out to give Ivan a too-warm welcome, clapping him on the shoulder before heading to the house at Jerome's side.

I watch them go as I walk over to where Ivan is waiting for me, unmoving. "Was I expecting you?" I ask, unable to keep the exhaustion out of my voice.

"Where were you today?" Ivan snaps, and I blink at him, actually surprised.

"Is it any of your business where I went today?" I ask, starting to get pissed.

"Answer the question, Fay," he replies, quick - more the police interrogator than the lovesick boy I've seen lately.

"I went to lunch," I say immediately, crossing my arms over my chest and looking Ivan up and down.

"Long ass lunch" he murmurs, leaning forward and studying me.

"Yeah," I say, nodding and not backing down. "It was. Now, why the hell do you care?"

"Because I was at the jail today," Ivan snaps, still watching my face for any reaction. And suddenly I realize precisely where this is going, and that I have to be very, very careful. God damn it, I knew a phone call was a bad idea. I'm going to kill Jerome.

"And," Ivan continues, "while I was there, Lippert took a very interesting call."

I sigh and then clench my jaw, letting him see my frustration. "What does this have to do with me, Ivan?"

"Were you on the phone with him? Did he call you?"

Good, I think to myself. He wasn't listening in. Because if he was, he would definitely know that I was, and then this would be a different conversation.

"No," I say again, shaking my head. "He didn't. Why? Did you think I was?"

Ivan grits his teeth now. "I've been interrogating Kent for a month, Fay," he says, "and the only time he gets worked up like that is when I bring up you. Now tell me the truth: were you talking to him today?"

"I wasn't," I say, and then I sigh, as if I'm over this whole thing. "But honestly, Ivan, why would it even be any of your business if I was?"

His eyes flare then and I realize with pleasure that it was the right thing to say. Because now we're not talking about me anymore: we're talking about us.

"Because, Fay," Ivan growls, wrapping his hand around my upper arm - not cruel, not hurting me, but possessive. "I care about you - and I have been caring about you this entire time while he has just been sitting in a jail cell spilling his guts to the state. I thought that that we - "

And then he snaps his mouth shut and looks away from me. I study him, feeling suddenly a little guilty about the sincere jealousy on his face. Because Ivan, I realize - not that I didn't know it before he really is trying. He wants this to work - he wants to be with

me.

And I am using him, brutally, to get what I want.

But damn it, he started it when he slipped that listening device into the jacket he gave me. Whatever happens next is his own damn fault.

"Hey," I say quietly, stepping closer to him and raising a hand to cup his cheek. "Ivan, I didn't talk to Kent today, all right?" I say, shaking my head and looking up into his pretty grey eyes. "You can always tell when I'm lying, right?"

It's a gamble, I know - because Ivan's internal lie detector is actually pretty good.

But it's a gamble I'm willing to take.

He studies me for a moment and then exhales a long breath. "Yeah," he replies, nodding a little bit. "All right, Fay. All right."

"Come inside," I murmur, taking another step closer so that my baby bump almost presses against his stomach. Almost - but not quite. "Let's get you something to eat, okay?"

"Okay," he says, though I can still see his mind whirling, probably wondering what got Kent so worked up if I wasn't me. Then Ivan reaches up and takes my hand from his cheek and holds it in his as we walk inside.

He's still holding my hand as we get to the top of the steps and enter the kitchen, where everyone is waiting and pretending to be busy.

As soon as we walk into the room, Daniel's eyes fasten immediately on Ivan's hand mine.

And I honestly can't tell if the anger and jealousy on his face is real or fake.