Read Exploding: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection #1) for Free Online

grinned, grateful that the veil of distance was dropping from between them. “Huh. I think for a second there you had an actual expression. Didn’t think it was possible for you to break away from that emotionless death glare you do at all hours of the day.” She mimicked his stoic stare, and then broke into a broad smile.
    He smirked at her needling. “Yeah, well, you’ve always been the one better at smiling. Think I’ll save it for the pros.”
    “Wow. That almost sounded like a compliment.”
    “It almost was.”
    Then before Vince could talk about business or territory disputes, she whirled around and stirred a pot that had just begun to boil. “Oh, shoot! It wasn’t supposed to do that. I always burn the first batch of caramel. I blame you for throwing me off my game with those flowers.”
    “The heat’s too high,” he told her, pointing to the burner.
    “Is not. You just distracted me, so I didn’t stir it enough.”
    He leaned back in his chair. “I’m telling you, the heat’s too high. Mama didn’t do it like that.”
    Fallyn cast him a simpering expression. “Yes, please tell me how your saint of a mother made caramel. Did Mama Antonia pass down the family secret to your girlfriend?”
    “Maria doesn’t cook. She’s more the bedroom type than the kitchen type.”
    Fallyn donned a wistful expression and clasped her hands under her chin. “Ah, one day I hope to have my very own knight in shining armor who says all kinds of degrading things to me, too. One day.” Fallyn smirked at Vince’s snigger. “Is that how Maria wooed you? Her bedroom acrobatics made you forget that she doesn’t know how to boil water?”
    Vince chuckled, a deep and velvety sound Fallyn had been endeared to when she’d been a child. She hadn’t heard him laugh in years. “Maria woos me, yes. She has all sorts of things that keep me coming back against my better judgment.”
    “Thing one and thing two?” Fallyn asked, motioning to her breasts.
    Vince barked out a laugh, looking years younger as a genuine smile washed over him. “Yes, I suppose so.”
    Fallyn watched his cool demeanor fall to the wayside. “Huh. You look younger when you’re happy. Haven’t seen you look like that in a long time, kiddo. A smile looks good on you.”
    Vince blanched. “Kiddo? I’m twelve years older than you!” The smile he’d not accessed in ages spread across his sculpted lips, revealing a roguish dimple in his left cheek. “I guess it has been a while since I’ve had a good laugh.”
    “That’s a shame. That’s the thing about all work and no play. See that you schedule yourself some time to just be. If you’re anything like Killian when he took over for Daddy, you’re no doubt running yourself ragged. You’ll be no good to Maria like that – in the kitchen or the bedroom.”
    “You brought back a mouth when you came home, Little Keefer. A mouth and no shoes.” He pointed to her bare feet. “I remember you mousier, running upstairs whenever Papa D and I came over.”
    “That’s the thing about men with guns.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, dumping the ruined caramel and starting over with fresh ingredients. “I’m home now. You can stop by for éclairs whenever you like, but keep the others away until the truce sticks for more than a few months.” She motioned to the fridge. “Grab the cream for me?”
    Vince moved to the fridge, unsure how it was that he found himself helping the O’Keefe girl in the kitchen. “Where’s your double boiler?”
    “Just dump it in the pot. I don’t need a double boiler for caramel.”
    Vince rolled his eyes at her and fished around under the counter for a medium-sized steel mixing bowl. “See? That’s your problem. You’re taking shortcuts. You have to use a double boiler, or the cream will heat unevenly and much too fast. I thought you studied cooking in school.”
    “Um, I know you’re not criticizing my food. You just had my éclair shoved in your