Sinning in Vegas (Vegas Morellis 2)

I give myself another minute to recover from Sin’s equivalent of ‘good morning’ before I drag myself out of bed. I’m the one who could use coffee, but I’m not allowed to have any. I grab my robe and go to the bathroom, attempting to make myself look less like a girl who was just mauled by a randy tiger. It doesn’t work, but I splash some water on my face, do what I can to tame my hair, then pile it on top of my head and tie it up in a bun anyway. I put on some lip balm and mascara, pull on my robe and some panties, and head for the kitchen.

Breakfast for nine, huh? That’s a lot of fucking people to cook for. I open the refrigerator and grab his carton of eggs. There are six eggs. I check for other breakfast possibilities and see he has five slices of bread, two bananas, and an orange.

What the hell am I supposed to serve these nine men for breakfast? I guess I’m going to have to go grocery shopping today. That’s normally a boring chore, but I like the idea of stocking Sin’s house with food. I like taking care of him. I need to find out everything he likes to eat and everything he hates.

I have cheese, milk, eggs, and a whole host of things on the counter as I attempt to throw together something I can call breakfast when the doorbell rings. Ordinarily I wouldn’t answer the door at Sin’s house, but since I already know he has people coming for this meeting, I assume that’s probably Rafe. He has seen me in a robe before. No big deal.

When I swing open the door, however, it is not Rafe Morelli standing on the other side. It’s a Morelli, all right, just not the one I expected to see.

My eyes narrow as Alec Morelli has the audacity to stand on my doorstep, a swarm of unfamiliar men trailing down the stairs behind him.

“What are you doing here?” I demand.

Looking past me dismissively, he says, “I’m not here for you, troublemaker. Where’s your—I don’t know what the fuck to call him. Where’s your keeper?”

“My keeper?” I demand, glaring at him.

“Move aside, sweetheart,” he says, practically shooing me as he steps inside.

To keep his stupid arm from touching me, I move out of the way. As he walks past, I tell him, “If I had known this breakfast was for you, I would have poisoned it.”

“Don’t poison me just yet,” he calls back as he heads up the stairs. “Your keeper needs my help.”

By the time Rafe shows up, Alec and all the men I don’t know are assembled around my kitchen table. I’ve managed to put together a plate for everyone, but I didn’t save one for Rafe. For one thing, he is still on my shit list. Also, I miscounted plates and I only dished out enough for the guys already present. If he asks, I’m only going to tell him the first part.

When he strides into the dining area, hands shoved into his pockets, he looks at the men eating and drinking their coffee, then looks at me.

“Look at you, already getting your mob wife hostess skills sharpened up.”

“I didn’t make any for you,” I inform him.

“That’s all right. I have a maid,” he informs me. Then he smiles, but promptly tones it down a little. My gaze drops to his split lip. It might hurt to smile. He’s wearing the evidence of his fight with Sin last night. In addition to the split lip, one eye is swollen and discolored. I almost feel bad for him until I remember he sent someone to kill Sin—then I want to bring my palm up and smack him right in the eye to make him hurt some more.

“I was going to apologize to you for all the really mean things I said to you yesterday, but after finding out the things I found out, I rescind my apology,” I tell him.

“You rescind the apology you never gave me?” Rafe asks, sounding faintly amused.

“Yes,” I state decisively.

“All right, kitten.”

“Don’t call me that.”

His lips curve up again. “You can’t hate me forever.”

Completely uninvited, Alec butts into our conversation. “Yes, she can.”

“No one asked you, Alec,” I inform him.

Lifting his dark eyebrows, he addresses Rafe and points to me. “This one holds lifelong grudges. I went on half a date with her before either of you ever met her. To this day, she hates me so much she would shoot me in the face for a piece of fuzzy floor-candy. She’s gonna hate you forever. Welcome to the club.”

Sin is seated at the head of the table. Upon hearing Alec’s summary of our relationship, he scowls and demands, “Half a date? How the hell did you go on half a date?”

Alec shrugs. “I bailed halfway through. A work thing came up, I had to leave.”

“Bullshit,” I accuse, pointing at him. “You’re such a liar. No wonder you’re still single.”

Sin shakes his head, gesturing to Alec. “This asshole clearly has shitty judgment. This is who Mateo sent me?”