Chapter Twenty-Three

Brynn

“Married.” Tatum’s voice cut through the chatter as she raised an eyebrow at me.

I nodded and grabbed a carrot off the veggie tray, then swirled it in the homemade dill dip Bristol had made. “Uh, yeah. I was married for a few years.”

We’d finished dinner about an hour ago, and the guys had retreated back to Leo’s office for drinks. The girls and I had gathered around the table while munching on snacks none of us were really hungry for. But when it came to Bristol’s cooking, resisting wasn’t an option—especially her dill dip.

Fayth tipped her head to the side, eyeing me with curiosity. “And why didn’t I get an invitation?”

I let out a laugh. “Because I was pretty sure you didn’t want to attend your brother’s ex-girlfriend’s wedding.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Woman, you were basically married to that man already. You just didn’t have the ring or paperwork.” She wagged her finger at me, teasing but also dead serious. “And I would’ve been there. Leo’s my brother, sure, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what a dick he can be.”

And that right there was why I’d always liked Fayth. She was honest to a fault.

“Well, it was probably for the best. I’m not sure you and Guy would’ve gotten along.” Normally, I didn’t use Guy’s real name when talking about my ex, but something told me Fayth, Bristol, Jada, Tatum, and Kitty wouldn’t recognize it.

Jada raised an eyebrow, leaning in slightly. “Is your ex the connection that’s helping Leo right now?”

I choked on the carrot I was chewing, not expecting that question. Coughing, I grabbed my glass of wine and stammered, “Oh, um… well...”

Fayth’s sharp gaze narrowed on me. “What aren’t you telling us, Brynn?”

I waved my hand, trying to play it off. “It’s nothing.” I forced a smile, even though the heat was rising in my cheeks. “Guy is the connection helping Leo.”

Tatum raised her hand like she was in school, her eyes wide. “I don’t believe you. Partly because Leo told me that if I had questions about you being married, I should ask you directly.”

“Stop,” Bristol called from the stove, where she was pulling a tray of cookies out of the oven. “You really think Brynn wants to talk about her ex?”

She set the hot pan down and slid another tray in, but Fayth wasn’t letting it go. “Spill, girl,” she urged. “We’ve all dated our fair share of assholes. Cyn, one of the ol’ ladies back at the clubhouse, dated a real dickhead. We pretty much renamed him Asshat.”

“Yeah,” Kitty agreed, nodding along. “I tried online dating a few times, and the creeps that came out of the woodwork were insane.”

Royal raised her hand, smirking. “I could tell you all about my ex. The only good thing he gave me was Kane.”

Tatum was practically leaning across the table now. “Spill, Brynn. I doubt it’s as bad as you think it is.”

I took a deep breath, knowing there was no way to downplay this. “Guy… turned out to be Guy Maranga, the most powerful mafia boss in the world. He died two years ago, and I took over his empire.”

The room went dead silent.

“Holy shit,” Royal whispered, her eyes wide.

“Wow,” Bristol gasped, blinking like she wasn’t sure if she’d heard me right.

“Yeah, right,” Fayth laughed, shaking her head. “Did Leo put you up to this?”

I shook my head, my expression serious. “No, I really was married to Guy Maranga.”

“You’re saying that name like we’re supposed to know who he is,” Bristol said, still laughing like it had to be a joke.

But Fayth wasn’t laughing anymore. Her stare was piercing, understanding dawning on her as the gravity of what I’d said sank in. She knew. She’d heard the name before.

I took a sip of my wine and nodded toward Fayth. “Why don’t you clue them in?”

Fayth leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping the table. “Guy Maranga isn’t just some guy. He’s basically the same as Leo, but instead of controlling North America, he controlled... well, pretty much the entire world. He was Leo on steroids.”

“Holy shit,” Royal whispered again, looking like she’d been slapped in the face.

Bristol’s eyes were wide as she processed it. “So… he’s dead, and you took over…” She waved her hand, struggling to find the words. “Everything?”

“That’s putting it mildly.” I shrugged, trying to keep my voice even. “Yeah, that’s what happened. And it’s why I’m able to help Leo now.”

The shock rippled through the room again, the weight of what I’d just admitted settling over everyone.

Kitty blinked a few times, then leaned in. “This is like a big, huge, ginormous deal, right?”

I nodded. “Yes. That’s why it was all so secret. No one could know.”

Fayth leaned back, whistling low. “I knew there had to be more to your story, but I didn’t expect that .”

Royal still looked like she couldn’t quite believe it. “You got a type, girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” Tatum agreed. “Powerful mafia man.”

All the girls laughed, even I did.

I sighed, rubbing my temple. “Yeah. I guess you could say that. But you guys can’t tell anyone. No one outside of this house knows Guy is dead.”

Fayth eyed me closely. “Um, what?”

I nodded and licked my lips. “The world does not know Guy died, and that is how I want it to be. Guy trained me to take over for him, but knew if word got out that he died, people would be coming out of the woodwork to take me down.”

Bristol held her hands and closed her eyes. “I can’t even wrap my head around what you just told us.”

“What did she tell you?”

I turned and saw Slider in the entry to the kitchen with Leo behind him.

“Fayth is pretending to be her dead husband, Guy Maranga, so all the bad dudes in the world don’t try to take her empire.” Fayth declared as if I hadn’t just told her not to tell anyone.

“Fayth,” Royal laughed from across the table, her voice full of amusement. “She said we can’t tell anyone.”

Fayth shook her head, undeterred. “She said no one outside of this house can know.” She pointed over her shoulder toward Slider, who was standing by Leo. “The man is literally right there, inside the house. He had a right to know.”

I bit my lip, holding back a smile. Fayth had found a loophole, all right. I wouldn’t exactly say Slider had a right to know, but Fayth had taken my words and twisted them just enough to suit her needs. She always had been clever like that.

Fayth’s gaze slid to Leo, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “So, how does it feel to be the underachiever in your relationship? She runs the world, brother.”

Leo let out a chuckle, completely unfazed. “As long as she loves me, I don’t care.”

My heart swelled at his words, warmth spreading through my chest. God, I did love him. Always had. Always would.

Without a second thought, I stood up from the table and walked straight into Leo’s arms. He wrapped them around me, pulling me tight against his chest, and I let out a content sigh. Being in his arms felt like home like all the chaos of the world couldn’t touch me here.

He leaned down, his breath warm against my ear. “I thought you weren’t going to tell anyone,” he whispered.

I sighed, knowing he was right. “It was the wine,” I muttered, leaning my head against his chest. “And they were all being so nice to me. I didn’t want to lie to them.”

Leo chuckled again, the sound rumbling deep in his chest. “I’ll remember to keep the wine away from you at business meetings,” he teased, his voice low. “And make sure everyone’s a total dick to you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, the sound bubbling up before I could stop it. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

Snuggling deeper into his embrace, I let the moment wash over me, his warmth, his scent, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. I could hear the others still laughing and joking at the table, but right now, it was just me and Leo.

He kissed the top of my head, and I tilted my face up to look at him. It still amazed me how we’d found our way back to each other after all these years—it didn’t matter anymore. Not when he held me like this.

Fayth’s voice pulled me back to the moment. “You two are disgustingly cute, you know that?”

I smiled but didn’t let go of Leo. “Yeah, I know, but we’ve got twenty years to make up for.”

She laughed and pointed at us. “But seriously, Brynn. You run the world, girl. Don’t let him ever forget that.”

Leo squeezed me tighter, a playful grin tugged at his lips. “I don’t need reminding. Trust me.”