Mob Boss 4: Romancing Trina Gabrini (19 page)

Trina shook her head.
 
“Not for this.
 
It’s personal.
 
Reno hates mixing business with personal.”

“I can understand that,” Sully said.
 
“So how are you settling into your new small
town life?”

Trina smiled and looked out of the
window.
 
Sully’s eyes roamed down her
body while she looked away.
 
Perfection,
he thought.

“We’re settling in nicely,” Trina said.
 
“Everybody’s been so kind.
 
I’m not used to that.”
 
She said this with a laugh and looked back at
Sully.
 
His eyes moved up from her chest
and he smiled, too.

“Crane is a good place,” he offered.
 
“The people try to live by the golden
rule.
  
We have our share of vindictive
bitches now,” he said to laughter from Trina.
 
“Don’t get me wrong,” he added.
 
“But they’re few and far between.”

The waitress came and took Sully’s drink
order.
 
When she left their table, Trina
leaned forward, her hands folded on the table.
 
She wore a low-cut, summery blouse, and Sully’s eyes immediately roamed
down to her revealed, solidly packed cleavage.
 

“I haven’t met any vindictive folks,” she
said.
 
“At least I don’t think I have.”
 
Sully smiled.
 
“But I like the pace of the place.”

“It isn’t too slow for a big city gal like
you?”

“That was the point of coming here, remember?”

“I remember it being Reno’s point,” Sully
said.
 
“I haven’t heard your side.”

Trina looked at him.
 
People often saw Reno as such a dominant
personality that they usually concluded that her opinion didn’t matter.
 
It was refreshing to see that Sully didn’t
view it that way.
 
“No, I agree with
Reno.
 
We both needed a slower pace.
 
But he has his restaurant.
 
He has something to do every day.
 
I’ve got to have something to do, too.”

“Thus our little meeting this afternoon.”

“Right.”

“You aren’t afraid Reno won’t let you
volunteer at Ponder, are you?”

“No, it’s not that.
 
I mean, he’s going to have questions.
 
I want you to answer them for him. I want him
fully on board with this decision.”

Sully suddenly became concerned.
 
“But the decision is already made?
 
I mean, if he doesn’t like it, you aren’t
going to change your mind?”

“No, no,” Trina said.
 
“The decision’s been made.
 
I’m going to volunteer there.
 
I just want my husband to back me, that’s
all.
 
That’s how our marriage works.
 
No secrets.
 
None of that
he’ll do his thing,
I’ll do mine
.
 
We keep it as a
unit.
 
Together.”

Sully dreamed of that kind of relationship.
 
And, he was beginning to realize as he stared
at Trina, this kind of woman.
 

“Sound like you guys have a beautiful
relationship,” he said.

“It’s good,” Trina admitted.
 
“Not perfect, ever, but it’s good.”
 
Then she decided to change the subject.
 
Talking about her marriage with a third party
was rarely something she was comfortable doing.
 
“So tell me, Sully,” she said, “where are the happenings?”

Sully smiled.
 
“The happenings?”

“Yeah.
I’ve found the mall and the grocery stores and pharmacies and even the movie
theater.
 
But where’s the beauty parlors
and the nutrition centers and the gyms?”

“Nutrition centers?
 
So you’re a natural foods person or---”

“Not at all.
 
I love
me some soul food, you hear me?” Sully laughed.
 
“But Reno has a slightly elevated cholesterol count, so I want to make
sure I keep the big guy around.”

“He looks like he’s in excellent shape.”

“He is.”
 
Trina thought about his fine body, particularly that skillful cock of
his, going down on her this morning.
 
“Excellent
shape,” she added.
 
“I’m the one who
needs the help.”

“You?”

“Yes, me.
 
I feel like I’m getting a little out of
shape.
 
And it’s not because Reno has
said anything to me, either.
 
He’s not
superficial at all.
 
But he does expect
me to keep it tight.”
 
Sully
laughed.
 
“For real, though.”

“Well, that’s easily solved,” Sully said.
 
“I could use a jogging partner.”

“You jog?”

“Every morning.
   
Five
miles on a good day, but we can do less if you need to.”

“That actually sounds tempting,” Trina said.

“Then let’s go for it.
 
I’ll be your bodyguard,” he added.
 
“I’m sure Reno would prefer that his
beautiful wife not run alone, anyway.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“Really?”
 
Sully asked.
 
“You have to ask him if you can volunteer, but running alone early in
the mornings is cool with
him?
”

Trina smiled.
 
“It’s not even like that.
 
I’m
sure he would prefer I don’t jog alone, but I don’t think he’d worry about it
either way.”

Yeah, right
, Sully thought.
 
That man was guarding her like a precious
jewel, and he fully understood why.

Then he smiled and shook his head.

“What?” Trina asked.

“I don’t see you as the obedient, domestic
wife, but that’s exactly how you are.”

Trina laughed.
 
“Damn skippy, I am. I aim to keep my man!”

Sully laughed.
 
Then after a few moments, as if something had occurred to him, his
laughter turned into a look of concern.

She looked at him.
 
She was confused by the change.
 
“Okay, what is it?”

“Never mind.”

“What, Sully?”
 

“I don’t want to ruin our budding friendship
before it’s barely off the ground.”

“And how could you ruin our friendship?”

“With a little truth?”

Here goes, Trina thought.
 
“About my husband?”

“Right.”

“Let me guess: You Googled him?”

Sully was surprised she would guess that.
 
“Among other things, yes.”

“And you found out all about his
background?
 
About his
ownership of the PaLargio and all of that?”

“I already knew he owned the PaLargio.
 
I already knew he was looking for a slower
paced life.
 
He told me all of that when
he first contacted me.
 
But Trina, my goodness.
 
I had no idea about his mob activity.”

“He doesn’t have any mob activity, but go on.”

Sully knew he had to tread carefully.
 
“I read about what happened to his parents
and his siblings, and a lot of that happened since he’s been married to
you.
 
And all of it was related to his
mob connections.”

Trina exhaled.
 
“So?”

“So?
 
Trina, how do you put up with all of that?
 
I mean,
it’s
one
thing to have a tough background.
 
But
it’s something altogether different to have a
mob
background.
 
He’s a
reputed mob boss, Trina.
 
Every single
article I read about him hinted at it.”

“Right.
 
They hinted at it.
 
And you know why they hinted at it,
Sully?
 
Because they
don’t know Reno and what he’s all about.
 
And I’m telling you now Reno is not some mob boss.
 
Reputed or otherwise.”

Sully nodded.
 
“Okay.
 
I thought I could keep it
real with you, but I see I was mistaken.”

The waitress returned with his drink order and
asked if they were ready to place their food orders.

“Not yet,” Sully said.
 
“But what do you recommend when we are
ready?”

Trina stared at him as he spoke with the
waitress.
 
Could she trust him to
understand?
 
It would be great to have
somebody to talk to, somebody like Sully.
 
But it was one thing to be friendly and nice.
 
It was another thing to be trustworthy and
understanding.
 
When the waitress left,
she leaned forward.

“Look,” she said, “I want you to keep it real
with me, I really do.
 
But that doesn’t
mean I’m going to discuss my husband or my marriage with you.”

“And I wouldn’t want you to,” Sully said
cleverly.
 
“I just want you to be
okay.
 
That’s why I even brought it
up.
 
All of these rumors can’t be doing
you any favors.”

Trina leaned back and stared at her bottled
water.
 
When she signed up to be Reno’s
wife, she signed up to be his wife.
 
Period.
 
“I’m okay,”
was all she would say about it.

Sully stared into her luscious eyes.
 
He saw that stubbornness there, but he also
saw pain.
 
And concern.
 
And, his best weapon, vulnerability.
 
He reached over and placed his hand on top of
hers.
 
She looked into his caring blue
eyes.
 

“I’m not trying to be presumptuous, Trina,” he
said.
 
“I’m not trying to overstep my
bounds, believe that.
 
But I like
you.
 
I like Reno, too.
 
You guys seem like good people, genuine
people, and that’s a rare find for me.
 
So I just want you to know that I’ll be here for you if you ever want to
talk.
 
Friend to
friend.
 
I don’t judge, I don’t
cast dispersions.
 
That’s not why I
mentioned what I read.
 
I just want you
to be okay.”

Trina smiled.
 
“Thanks,” she said.
 
“And I’m okay,
really.
 
Has it been easy being married
to a man like Reno?
 
No.
 
It hasn’t.
 
Of course it hasn’t.
 
I’m not
gonna lie.
 
But he’s been more than worth
every bad day, Sully.
 
More
than worth it.”

Sully smiled.
 
“Good,” he said, rubbing her thumb.
 
“You deserve the best.”

Trina realized he was rubbing her, and they
exchanged an awkward glance, and then she immediately withdrew her hand.

“So,” he said, realizing his lapse, “how did
you get here?
 
I didn’t see the Porsche.”

“Cab,” she admitted.
 
“Reno had to meet with lawyers before he went
to Clauson’s so I let him take the car.
 
He promised to take me car shopping after lunch today, anyway, which I’m
really looking forward to.”

“You guys didn’t have a car in Vegas?”

“Oh, yeah.
 
A Bentley, for one.
”

“Well, excuse me,” Sully said with a
smile.
 
“You go girl.
 
So where is the Bentley?”

“In Vegas, where it’s going to stay.”
Sully laughed.
 
“I am not about to bring that flashy car to
Crane, no way, no how.”

“You don’t like Bentleys?”

“I don’t like flash.”

“Oh, you mean like that Porsche you drove to
Ponder
yesterday?”