Reno looked at Sal as if he had losthis mind. “No, you go,” he said. “Shuffle your ass over there. We’ll wait right here for you, Sal Luca. You go!”
Sal looked at his big brother. “Tommy, you do it then. Uncle Mick loves you. Go ask him.”
“No, I’m good,” said Dapper TomTommy Gabrini. “I’m with Reno on thatone. But you can go, Sal.”
“And when Uncle Mick throws you downthis mountain we’re on, for getting up in his business,” Reno said, “we’ll comedown there and pick up the pieces. We’lldo that just for you, Sal Luca,” Reno added, and he and Tommy laughed andhigh-fived. “Trying to get uskilled. Get your ass away from here!”
Sal had to smile, too, because heknew the truth: they were big, powerful men, all feared in their own right, butnot one of them had the nerve to go that far. They pushed the envelope all day long, and crossed boundaries regularly. But not with Mick.
And the young guns of the familywouldn’t have the nerve to entertain the thought of going there. And there were plenty young guns inattendance: From Teddy and Joey Sinatra, to Bobby and Brent Sinatra, to JimmyGabrini and Reno’s fearless younger son Dommi, their young guns were tough guystoo. But when it came to approachingMick the Tick? They were useless. But they had their hands full anyway as allof the younger kids, including Amelia and Hammer’s son JoJo, and Mick and Roz’stwins, were running all over the place and needed constant reprimands.
Big Daddy Charles Sinatra, they allknew, was the only one on that same level with Mick to take the dare and askhim what was up with him and Roz. ButCharles didn’t have to ask. He alreadyknew.
But instead of wasting his time goingover to Mick and trying to get Mick’s stubborn ass to at least talk to his wifeabout it, Charles went to the wife. ToRoz. And pulled her aside.
“Who was that guy?” Roz asked, assumingthe guy that had his hand on her hip was why her brother-in-law moved her awayfrom the dance train.
“Some jerk,” Charles said, trying tospeak over the loud music. “But that’snot why I pulled you over.”
Roz looked at him. “Okay. Why?”
“You need to talk to Mick.”
“Forget it, Big Daddy.”
“Don’t tell me to forget it. Go to him, Roz. You know how he is. You guys need to have a conversation.”
“I’ve tried to talk,” Roz said. “You don’t think I tried? But he’s not listening. He doesn’t want to hear it.”
But Charles was insistent. “Go talk to him, Roz,” he said again. “I mean it now. You’ve got to be the bigger person becauseMick doesn’t know how to be in situations like this. And don’t get me started on stubbornness.”
Roz knew she was stubborn. She knew there was nobody on the face of thisearth who could be more stubborn than she could. Except Mick!
She looked at Mick. He was still staring at her, looking morepitiful than powerful, she thought, and she knew Charles was right. He would never start the conversation. Especially since he was more than willing toput all of their woes at her feet as if his ass didn’t do shit. But why she always had to be the one?
“He’s reaching a conclusion, Roz,”Charles said. “He may reach the wrongone. And you know how he is. Even if he comes to the absolute wrongconclusion, he’ll stand by it. He’ll letthe chips fall where they may. For thetwins if for no other reason, you’ve got to be the bigger person.”
Roz let out a frustrated exhale. She knew Charles was telling the truth. But damn! Why did she always have to be the conciliatory one, no matter who was atfault? Why was it always up to her?
But she looked at that broodinghusband of hers again. And she knew,despite their major problems, he was worth it. She reached that conclusion the day she married him.
Charles sighed relief when she beganwalking toward Mick. Thank you, Roz,he inwardly said.
But Mick had a differentreaction. He braced himself when Rozstarted heading his way. The last weekhad been hell for him, but it wasn’t the kind of hell he was used to. Emotions were involved, and his heart. Because that was what Rosalind was. His heart. The very core, the very beat of his heart. And he wasn’t ready for any kind of conversation. Fear gripped him as she walked towardhim. And when she stood beside him, herealized just how unprepared for that kind of hell he truly was.
Charles saw it too. That was why his relief turned into a frownwhen he saw what Mick did. Because assoon as Roz walked over to Mick and stood beside him, and before she could geta word in edgewise, Mick’s stubborn ass pushed away from that backwall andwalked away. He walked away! Charles could have killed him!
But not before Roz got in ashot. She couldn’t believe iteither. He just walked away from herlike reconciliation be damned. She wasbeing the bigger person. She took thefirst step. She took her heart andhanded it to him once again, and he handed it right back. She knew she should have left it alone! She looked at Charles with pure anger in hereyes.
But then she looked at Mick. In truth, she was even more heartbroken thanangry. And she was scared out of hermind. What if Mick was over italready? What if what happened over thepast few weeks changed their lives forever and there was no going back to whatused to be? He was the kind of man whodiscarded people all the time. What ifhe was ready to discard her?
But before she could even considerthat awful possibility, she heard someone yelling her name over the loudmusic. “Roz? Roz!”
When she turned around, she saw thatit was Trina Gabrini, the wife of Vegas casino mogul Reno Gabrini. “Come on, girl,” she said. “We’re having a dance-off. Old school versus young bloods. Come on!”
The last thing Roz wanted to do atthat very moment was dance again, let alone have a dance-off. But she wasn’t
