Phoenix Rising: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book Two

Twenty-Eight

A server walked over, pulling a pen from behind her ear. When her eyes landed on the boy in the booth, a confused look flitted across her face. Recognition flashed in her eyes, but she was sure he hadn’t eaten in the building before. Then, she recalled the man’s name, innate curiosity taking over. "I'm so sorry, but are you related to Meistari Callum?"

"He's my father," Phoenix replied.

She smiled, relaxing slightly. "You look just like him. It seems like not that long ago he was here proposing to his girlfriend."

Grinning, the teen laughed as he said, "That was my mom. They’re still happily married with four more kids at home."

"Well, in any case, do you two know what you're going to have this evening?" The woman asked.

Phoenix picked up his menu and glanced down at the listed items. "I'll have... Oh, damn. I, uh, I can't make up my mind."

Andromeda smiled over at him, "May I?"

"Have at it, ‘cause I have no clue what to order," Phoenix groaned.

"We'll get the Wonton soup to start, and some iced water, please," she told the server.

Smiling down at the blond girl, the woman jotted down the order and left.

Phoenix looked over at Andromeda, "Thanks. Can you tell I've never done this before?"

Giggling, she said, "Neither have I. Wait… didn’t you say that you had other girlfriends?”

He chuckled under his breath, glancing at Memphis as he spoke. “They didn’t last longer than a day or two at best. While Emily took a liking to you, which is rare, you haven’t faced my aunt on your own yet. The other girls thought my sister was my secret daughter, and started demanding expensive gifts while telling me to get rid of my female friends. Hell-to-the-no would I drop my sisters-by-circumstance for anyone. She’s going to test you, to try to make it hard for you to like her, but be patient because that’s just how my friends protect me.”

“I didn’t have friends growing up, and I admittedly envy that about you, but I refuse to push those that care about you away. It’s so hard to find loyal people these days,” she responded, not realizing how her words impacted his perspective of her.

His heart stuttered over a few beats as he looked at her. She was sitting with her legs crossed, one hand softly drumming the tabletop while the other held her menu. Her deep blue eyes flickered over the items, and he could almost envision her methodically going over everything in her head.

The woman returned with their soup, and Phoenix couldn’t help feeling like she’d rushed their order. "There you are. Have you had enough time to decide?"

"Not really," Phoenix muttered. He'd been so caught up in staring at the little woman across from him he'd forgotten to look over his own choices. Relenting to the fact he was more than a little lost, he told the server, "I'll just get whatever she's having."

Cocking a brow, Andromeda sighed heavily. "You don't have any allergies, do you?"

"Nope," he said, purposely dragging the word out.

Frowning, she glanced over at him. "Are you a sweet and sour chicken or a honey garlic rib kind of guy?"

He laughed, "You can get both if you want to."

"Okay," she smiled. “So, we’ll get the chicken fried rice, vegetable Soo Guy, a serving of sweet and sour chicken, and a serving of honey garlic ribs. I’ll get a Gensing tea to go with it, please.”

Mouth watering at the selection she asked for, he grinned. Without looking at the waitress, he said, “And I’ll have a Coke, thanks.”

Phoenix found it hard to breathe as he looked at her, taking in the way her blond hair tumbled down over her shoulders in soft waves. The way her eyes sparkled when she laughed made him feel something he'd never felt for anyone else in his life. This was something deeper than lust. Deeper than anything he’d ever felt before. It was taking every ounce of his mental strength to keep from doing something stupid.

He swallowed. It couldn't possibly be the L word, could it? He was so sure that his father was wrong, that he was only longing to know her, that it was just him satisfying his unrelenting curiosity. Yet, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. When he tried to see a future without her, his heart hurt more and more with each passing second.

Phoenix licked his now dry lips as he checked the time on his Rolex, "Would you mind if I stepped out for a moment? I have to check in."

"Please do. I don’t want to worry your parents," Andromeda replied. Watching him walk away, she imagined what it would be like if he never came around again after the threat was destroyed. Tears pricked her eyes, her chest burning painfully as she found herself already feeling lost without Phoenix.

Fear. Pain. Heartache. Her emotions danced together in a desperate bid to overthrow her sanity until one in particular made her gasp softly.

Thinking about a life without him left her feeling destitute and alone as she finally understood the reason behind her anxiety around him. Her mouth slowly opened to test the words on her tongue. “I’m… My God… I’m falling in love with him.”

“Yes, you certainly are,” Memphis commented as he took Phoenix’s empty seat. He raised a brow at her, a smirk tugging at the edges of his mouth.

Confusion flitted through her eyes. "Why did you come over?"

Ignoring her question, Memphis looked her over. Snorting a laugh, he said, "I really don't see what he likes about you."

She raised a brow, watching as Phoenix walked back into the building and snuck up behind Memphis. True to form, Memphis was oblivious, or so she thought. "Why don't you like me?"

"Ain't it clear yet? You gotta earn your place with us. I don’t care that you’re not like your aunt. That s**t doesn’t matter to me. There’s nothing about you that I find remotely attractive, though.” Memphis paused, noting the tears forming in her eyes.

Wincing, he shook his head. “I just mean that you’re not even close to being my type. Fatti crescere una spina dorsale, Principessa.. Besides, I happen to know you’re all he freaking talks about half the time, and that’s never happened before.”

Andromeda's gaze snapped to the honey-brown eyes of the teen across from her. "Wait, what?"

"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, Ms. De Luca," Memphis muttered. Without waiting for her to respond, he left her sitting at the table.

Andromeda’s confusion was tangible as Phoenix sat back down, "How much did he say?"

"Actually, he didn't tell me anything about you that I didn’t already know," she murmured. Her eyes locked onto Memphis’s, who seemed genuinely shocked that she didn’t throw him under the bus.

Equally surprised about her suddenly hiding something from him, Phoenix didn’t bother telling her he’d actually heard the tail end of the conversation and knew what was said. "I know something went down, but I’ll let it slide. Now, about the contract, what did you want to know?"

Andromeda swallowed carefully, "Did you mean what you said about the out clause?"

"Yes,” he replied automatically.

She nodded as she picked at her food when the waitress placed the spread on the table. "Is this something that I have a choice in?”

"Please don’t think like that, Romie. I already told my father that I’ll break the contract terms on purpose if you don’t consent," Phoenix said gently.

Her eyes lowered to the tabletop as she mulled over his words. Her cheeks heated, a blush tinting her skin an adorable shade of pink. "I'm not sure what's going on anymore. Every time I turn around, my safety and freedom are threatened. I know Daddy has a lot on his plate being the Maestro of a massive mob, but I..."

Her voice trailed off, her train of thought, once running out of control, came to a grinding, screeching halt as realization and reality gave her a swift kick in the pants. Taking a deep breath, she blurted out what she wanted to say before her fear of rejection could reappear. "I want to give you a chance, but I’m afraid. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid of you, I just don’t want to feel like a prisoner. Since birth, all major decisions were made for me without considering my input or how it would make me feel.”

“I’m here, and I’m listening, so tell me your grievances,” he whispered.

She faltered, sobbing softly as he took her hand. “I feel like I’m nothing more than a marionette being made to dance on the strings of the puppeteer. Like I’ve no control whatsoever over my own life.”

“Andromeda, I really am sorry. I know I should have talked to you about it first, but things were going so fast and your father is not a patient person, Bellissima. We needed to act fast, before Bianchi made his move,” he explained, his guilt attempting to overthrow his mind.

"Like I said, I want to give you a chance,” she repeated. She breathed a sharp laugh, “This is me finally making a decision for myself. Just, please don’t make me regret this.”

Phoenix swallowed tightly, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. Testing her resolve, he said, "Before we start any kind of relationship, you need to know that I'm a possessively protective guy with a mean streak if triggered. Once you accept me into your life, there's no turning back. I don’t easily let go of people I care for, so be well beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt sure that this is what you want."

"I’m sure I want to date you, mostly because I feel safe with you," she replied with a soft smile as she met his expectant gaze.

"Then I'll do my best to keep you safe for as long as physically possible," he promised wholeheartedly.