“Oh, for the love of it,” Tom huffed. “Want to tone it down, Godfather wannabe! Geez! Why are you trying to scare this kid?”
“I’m not!” Vinny argued. “Just making sure he does the right thing!”
“Right,” Donald said with an obvious eye roll. “Like you’re the guy who knows about doing the right thing. Pfft.”
“What are you saying, Donny? You got a problem with me?”
Uh-oh…
“I’m just saying, Vin, that you are known for causing trouble and not doing the right thing. Leave the kid alone!”
It took Levi a minute to realize he was the kid.
“Guys, really, it’s…”
“I’ve never been convicted of anything!”
“Not for lack of trying…”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Vinny shouted, coming to his feet. He turned his attention back to Levi. “You just make sure you treat her right. Understand?”
All he could do was nod and felt himself sag in his seat a little as Vinny walked away.
“That guy,” Donald murmured. “He can be a real hothead. Sorry, Levi.”
Still unable to find any words, Levi just nodded.
“We all share his sentiment.” This came from Johnny. “We’ve just all got manners.”
“Yeah. I hope this little scene didn’t ruin lunch for you,” Barry said with a sympathetic grin. “Vinny goes off at least once a month like that. It’s nothing personal.”
“Oh…uh…okay.”
The remainder of the meal was spent talking about the party and all the things the Romeos had bought for Gammy…er, Irene. They were a great bunch of guys–very different personalities–but honestly, it felt like he had gone to lunch with all his favorite uncles.
Well…Vinny was still a little too scary for his taste, but up until the end there, he had been okay to hang out with as well.
When the check came, they all fought over who was paying, and eventually, Johnny won. He winked at Levi. “I always win.”
And there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it was true.
Out in the parking lot, everyone was saying goodbye, but Johnny hung back and walked with Levi to his car.
“Can I ask you something?”
Shrugging, Levi said, “Sure.”
“You own that pub or are you just working there?”
It was the last thing he expected anyone to ask. Keeping his focus straight ahead as they walked, he said, “Why do you ask?”
Johnny stopped, and Levi had no choice but to do the same. “Levi, come on. Unless you come from a wealthy family, there’s no way a bartender from Long Island is making enough money to drive a car like this.”
Something in his expression must have given him away because Johnny placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze.
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Thanks.”
“Can I ask why you’re not telling anyone? You afraid Willow’s only with you for the money?”
“What?” he cried. “No! Hell no!”
“Then what? I never owned my own place, but if I did, I’d be bragging about it to anyone with ears!”
“Yeah, well…normally I do. But with Willow…I don’t know…I think one of the reasons she even gave me a chance was because she felt like she could relate to me. If I mentioned I owned the pub, she might have felt…”
“Different.”
“Exactly. But not like she would have dated me for the money…”
“No, no, no…I get ya. Willow really is a sweet kid, but she’s a little insecure,” Johnny said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I fully blame her parents.”
So do I…
“Anyway, it didn’t seem like a big deal not to bring it up when we first started hanging out. But now it’s…” He let out a long breath. “I don’t know how she’ll handle it.”
“Can I give you some advice?”
“Sure.”
“Tell her before somebody else does. It will make thing much harder for you if she finds out for herself that you’ve been lying to her.”
“It’s not really lying…”
“It is. By omission. Just sayin’.” Then he clapped Levi on the back. “Okay, time to go home and nap so I can stay awake long enough to enjoy Irene’s party. I’ll see you there!”
“Thanks, Johnny. And thanks for lunch.”
The old guy smiled. “Any time, kid. Anytime. You take care of yourself and Willow.”
Levi stood rooted to the spot while Johnny walked away, and he could only hope that this party went as smoothly as lunch did.
9
“Are you sure this looks okay?”
“You look beautiful.”
Smoothing her hair down, Willow swallowed hard and looked around the room to try to spot her parents. Luckily, they were running late, and it gave her a few minutes to get settled before she had to face them.
She startled when Levi reached out to hold her hand. It wasn’t like it should have, they’d been holding hands for almost a week already, but in the moment, she wasn’t expecting it.
“You’re going to have to relax. All our hard work at making things look natural will go out the window,” he murmured softly against her ear. His warm breath gave her chills, and she wanted to drag him to the nearest dark corner and kiss him senseless. Actually, she wanted a few minutes alone with him all afternoon to do just that, but it had been non-stop chaos.
After their pedicures, Gammy decided she needed a manicure too and treated Willow to one. After that, they went out for lunch at one of Willow’s favorite restaurants–a 1950s themed diner before going to get their hair done.
Well, Gammy got hers done. When the stylist suggested that Willow should shorten her hair, she had immediately backed out and said she preferred to do her own. It had earned her so many judgy looks, but she held her ground and only had to sit in the salon for ninety minutes while everyone glared at her.
Super fun.
Back at the house, they found Levi on the phone. It sounded like he was talking to someone at the pub and she thought it was rude for them to be calling him while he was on vacation. Wasn’t he allowed to take any time off for himself? Why couldn’t the
