“Oh.” She remembered now, and even if they were sharing a moment, she did have to scowl at him. “Did you go to my school?”
“Yeah, I went to your school the other day,” Tino said without flinching. “You saw me do it.”
“No, did you go there without me? Did you go talk to some people?”
“If I went to your school, I wouldn’t have been talking. Figli di puttana,” Tino cursed with a scowl. “Why?”
Brianna kept her eyes narrowed. “’Cause they called me into the office and apologized.”
“So what’s the problem?” Tino sucked on his Popsicle again. “Least they could fucking do.”
“And they upped my scholarship money. That doesn’t happen, Tino. I know you had something to do with it,” Brianna accused him, because she hadn’t thought he was going to run with that little promise over something like this. “I know it was you. You’re the only one I told.”
“Maybe they just came to their senses,” Tino suggested. “Everyone knows it’s unwise to mess with our Borgata. Someone could’ve clued them in.”
“Yeah, maybe, except then Miranda came up and apologized too, like kissing-my-ass apologized.” Brianna couldn’t keep the dismay out of her voice, even when Tino turned to look at her in what seemed like genuine shock. “I could tell she was scared to death. What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything to her.” Tino sounded horrified. “You think I went to your school and threatened some WASP-y girl from Southern California? I wouldn’t do that. I have complete confidence that you can handle that shit on your own. You could take that Miranda puttana in your sleep.”
Brianna paused, because now that he said it, the idea did sound ridiculous.
“Huh,” Brianna mumbled and sucked on her Popsicle again. “Well, you and Carina are the only ones I told.”
Tino arched an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
“Oh my God!” Brianna shouted and brought her legs down, doing a somersault off the couch and looked toward the kitchen, because Carina had disappeared. “Carina!”
“That bitch ratted on you,” Carina said as she came out of the kitchen. “She ratted you out to the authorities. She’s lucky I didn’t fucking bury her.”
“It’s not the authorities. It’s just a school. This isn’t life-and-death. Even if I got kicked out, who cares? I can still work. There’s a million gypsy jobs on Broadway. You can’t just go cut some outsider because they ratted on me.”
Carina shrugged and looked away. “I didn’t actually cut her. I might have had a discussion about cutting—”
“Did you tell the administrators you’d cut them too?” Brianna shouted. “Did you go into their office and scare them into giving me more money?”
Carina arched an eyebrow and looked toward the couch, as if considering it, and then shrugged again. “Sure.”
“How much money did you get?” Tino asked curiously.
Brianna looked back to him and winced. “Quite a bit.”
“Enough to keep me in the style I’m accustomed to?” Tino asked as he rolled off the couch like Brianna had and stood with a wide smile. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck. “Enough to buy me everything on my Christmas list and make me a happy man?”
Tino smacked Brianna’s ass before he walked to the kitchen.
“Gross,” Carina said as he passed, but when his back was to her, she smiled and glanced over her shoulder at him in the kitchen. “You’re in a good mood.”
“Yeah, well, turns out Brianna’s a romantic too,” he called from the kitchen.
Brianna couldn’t help it.
She laughed.
Carina walked over to her and dropped her voice so Tino couldn’t hear. “Is this a good thing?”
Brianna stopped sucking on her Popsicle to give Carina a smile, knowing that the ridiculous amount of happiness she’d been hiding was showing on her face. “Yes,” she whispered. “It’s the best thing in the whole world.”
“Okay.” Carina held up her hands in surrender. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“I’m happy,” Brianna promised her.
Carina turned back to Tino. “And you’re happy?”
Tino leaned against the entrance to the kitchen, his gaze on Brianna. “Yeah.” He smiled. “Very happy.”
“Okay,” Carina decided for all of them. “I told Nonno Brianna was coming with me for Thanksgiving. We’re staying the weekend.”
Tino dropped his head back and looked at the ceiling. “Carina—”
“The puttana’s going to the Brambinos’,” Carina said, because she hadn’t said Mary’s name since Tino got out of the Savios’ basement.
“Is she taking Frankie with her?” Tino was still looking at the ceiling. “I don’t like spending time with him either.”
“Yup.” Carina nodded. “I told Nonno I wasn’t coming if either of them were there. They’re gonna be gone for Christmas too.”
“I have to be with Romeo,” Tino argued. “Nova has to go to the don’s, but no one gives a shit about me. I can’t leave him alone for Thanksgiving. I can’t leave him alone for Christmas either. He was alone for all those years in prison.”