Forgivable Sins (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 2)

"Yavin wasn't exactly supportive of Lino and I becoming a thing."

"Oh, pish posh, I'll grab that boy around the ears and knock some sense into him. I swear, all the people in the damn world, and that boy was the only one who couldn't see you two were crazy about each other. Aside from you two, anyway." Mom's swinging arm almost caught me in the face, her enthusiasm so intense that I feared for my life. I slid off the stool, deciding it would probably be safer to put some distance between us.

If Yavin pissed her off, I'd lose my head when the arms got going.

I did not feel like being collateral damage.

When the bell rang, Lino yanked the door open. For once, I wished he would have let me answer it, but I understood his need to present himself as a barrier. As much as it infuriated me, the man needed to stake a claim, even with my brother.

I was a sister and daughter second now.

A wife first.

Soon enough, a mother first.

I swallowed down my apprehension, listening for Yavin to greet Lino. "Hey," he said simply.

"Hey," Lino grunted, stepping aside to let him in. Yavin went for Mom first, always respectful and pressing a kiss to her cheek before he turned his attention to me. By the time he got there, Lino had taken up residence in the kitchen, checking the dinner he'd put in the oven.

"Sis," Yavin murmured, kissing my cheek like he had Mom's. "We good?"

I rolled my eyes at the typical male show of making up without ever talking about the problem. "Sure." Even if I wanted to nag at him and rage that he’d betrayed me for calling Lino, he’d done it for the best reasons, and it had worked out just fine.

Lino loved me. I couldn’t be mad about any of the circumstances that brought that knowledge to my life. I knew that a conversation still had to happen between the boys, but as far as I was concerned, I could move on if he did. "You good with them, Mom?" he asked, and I sighed before dropping into my seat.

"Don't be stupid," she spat. "Of course I'm good with them together. Only one who didn't see it coming is you." Lino snorted as he stood from checking the chicken in the oven.

"Do you need help?" I asked, looking for something to do with my hands.

"I'd like dinner to be edible, vita mia," he teased. "Why don't you grab a wine? White." I nodded moving to the wine fridge and picking the first white I saw. Lino smiled down at me as he popped the cork, and I knew he wondered if I'd ever put any thought into what wine we drank.

I wouldn't.

"If you wanted a domestic wife, you chose way wrong," I laughed, leaning up to kiss him briefly. I felt Yavin's eyes on us but chose to ignore it. I wouldn't pretend Lino wasn't my husband, wouldn't pretend we were all just friends still to make him more comfortable. I needed to settle into a normal and force him to be comfortable.

I didn't anticipate the way Lino wrapped his arms around me, staring down at me like I'd hung the moon and stars. "There was never a choice, Little Dove." The softness in his voice made me blush, knowing that he referred to the fact that we'd both known we were it for each other when we were too young to understand.

Circumstances had kept us apart.

But fuck the circumstances. We'd found our way to each other eventually.

With a blush still on my cheeks, I turned away from Lino and gathered the wine glasses from the cupboard. I poured out four glasses. When I lifted my glass to take a sip, Lino surprised me by clearing his throat. He lifted his own glass, biting his lip briefly before his eyes landed on mine and he let out a breath. "May everyone be lucky enough to hold their dreams in their arms."

I stared up at him, my throat closing with the need to cry as tears stung my eyes. Mom's sniffle beside me almost tore my attention away from Lino, but when Lino's thumb stroked away the tear that slid down my cheek, I couldn't have looked away if I'd wanted to. "You're my dream," I whispered up at him. His broad grin stole my breath, and then he sealed his lips over mine in a kiss that lingered more than Yavin would deem appropriate.

I couldn't be bothered to care. Not when I turned away to face them and saw nothing but pure joy in my mother's face as she dabbed at her nose. I took my sip of wine, resisting the urge to melt into a puddle on the floor. Yavin gave me a hesitant smile and nod, but his eyes hardened when he turned his attention to Lino.

He didn't say a word, but let Mom guide the conversation to safer topics while I set the table in the dining room.

I just had to hope that when he finally talked to Lino, that he could stop being such a brat.

For a full-grown man, he was still ridiculously talented as a brat.

Forty-Six

Lino

I waited for it all night. We all knew it was coming, and no matter how much Hattie tried to distract from it, there would never be any chance of any of us not noticing the way Yavin seemed impatient.