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The dining area at Nonna\'s house that evening was packed with members of the De Luca family. Angela was nervous when she met them again, but everyone was very friendly and they welcomed her with no qualms. Alessandro introduced her to his wife, Gael\'s stepmother, who gave her a generous hug and even served her first wine for the night. Angela thought the only person she hadn\'t met was Gael\'s brother. He\'d told her he had one, but he\'d never talked about him, and neither did the others. She didn\'t want to cause awkwardness, so she decided to ask him about it later when they\'re alone.

Laughter and chatter filled the room that joyous evening. Dinner was superb with Alice and Nonna\'s dishes spread on the table. They had authentic Italian dishes and some American staples. Angela barely had room for Nonna\'s tiramisu in her stomach, but there was no way she would pass up eating that. She and Gael shared a piece.

She excused herself to the bathroom for a few minutes, and when she came back, they were laughing and talking about this afternoon\'s O Sole Mio \'performance\'—about how Alessandro lost the bet to his son, but he wasn\'t mad about it. In fact, he was pretty impressed and proud.

"So you won a hundred bucks because you had faith in your girlfriend that she would not take any shît?" Alice\'s husband questioned.

Gael leaned against the backrest of his chair, his arm resting on the top of the empty chair next to him with the other on the dining table. He shook his head and sighed. "Yeah. I guess I did."

Angela, who felt more comfortable around his family now, didn\'t want to pass up the chance to take the credit. She took the empty seat and scoffed playfully. "Uh… No, you didn\'t. \'I\' did. \'I\' won \'me\' a hundred dollars because \'I\' stood up for \'me\' and \'you\'." She folded her arms under her breasts and arched a brow at Gael as though she was challenging him.

The people around the table made teasing sounds of "Oohs" as she openly challenged Gael in front of his family.

The corner of his lips twitched, amusement threatening to show on them as he scoffed back, "Yeah. \'You\' stood up for a song."

"Doesn\'t matter." She shrugged. "I still kicked your asses." She quickly faced Gael\'s father to mouth "sorry" for the term she used.

Alessandro chuckled and lightly waved his hand, whispering, "Forget about it."

Giovanni, who sat across Gael, rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward, a knowing grin dancing on his face. "So, she got the hundred from you?"

"I took it while he was…distracted," said Angela.

More laughing ensued, causing Gael to roll his eyes. He couldn\'t believe that his own family was siding Angela. He was the one who played the bet and he won it! Despite his thoughts, he was happy to see that she was having fun with his family. He just wouldn\'t admit that. "Oh, come on. You played me."

"No… It\'s you two who played me. So I won it. The odds are in my favor." She swept her eyes to everyone at the table and a sly smile drew on her lips. "And apparently, so does your family."

Giovanni cackled, waving his finger at Gael and took a jab. "I never thought I\'d see the day you\'d lose to someone—especially to a girl."

"Hey!" Gael glared at Giovanni, and then his gaze softened when he turned to Angela and squeezed her shoulder. "She\'s not a girl. She\'s a lady."

Her grin reached her ears as she placed a hand on Gael\'s thigh, and he kissed her temple. "Thank you," she muttered.

Feeling confused and betrayed, Giovanni stuttered, "Wha-I-Wait. I thought we were on the same side? You were kicking his ass at this table."

The childish complaint made her giggle. "For the record, I\'m on my own side. And right now, it\'s to whoever\'s letting me stay in his house and not out on the streets for taking his Benjamin." 

Gael chuckled at her response, casually brushing her arm as he pulled her to his side.

"Angela Player Su." Giovanni shook his head and tossed back a shot of scotch before he got up and poured another one into his glass.

Nonna Flavia, who sat at the head of the table, clapped her hands, a sweet smile plastered on her face as she watched Gael and Angela. "This is good. This is great. I\'m so glad you decided to come back and stay with us for the new year, Angela."

"Thank you, Nonna. I\'m happy to be here too."

"I\'m sure you\'re not the only one who\'s happy. The man next to you had been grumpy while he\'s here, and you weren\'t." She rolled her eyes and got up from the table too. The others teased Gael while Angela swore she saw Giovanni mouth the words to his nephew: you\'re whipped.

***

Most of the men from the dining room got up and dispersed. Gael pulled Angela into the office to have some privacy, but he didn\'t close the door. He just needed to be away from the others to talk to her. 

Holding her hand, he told her, "Listen… I forgot we\'re supposed to go somewhere tonight—well, me and the other men in this house and some from the Bunk."

Angela\'s brows drew together, her heart increasing the rhythm as she asked, "Where are you going?"

"The Manor."

"Oh…" She swallowed, glancing at the living room from where she stood and then tucking her hair behind her ear. What did it mean then? Was she supposed to go home alone now that he was supposed to be somewhere? "Okay. Is something happening?"

"Nothing to worry about. It\'s sort of like a year-end celebration. There\'ll be drinking and distribution of bonuses. Our men did well this year despite losing some of our brothers. They earned it. I\'d take you with me, but…it\'s just us men, and it could be dangerous."

"Dangerous? You...going to a club is dangerous?"

"It\'s dangerous because we\'re a big group, though I pray that our number wouldn\'t bring us bad luck. Most of us, except those on duty, will be there."

"I get it." Angela nodded, though she started feeling off. The other time they had a big gathering in public was during his birthday, and she knew how that ended. Her heart drummed against her chest. Just at dinner tonight, they were having fun, and now suddenly, she was feeling nervous for him.

Gael saw the worry in her expression and realized she was thinking too much. He cupped her face, smiled, and reassured her, "I shouldn\'t have said that. Nothing\'s going to happen tonight, but I can\'t let you stay on your own at home, so I need you to stay here while I\'m there. We\'ll just be at the club for drinks. I won\'t even stay the whole night. Probably just two hours…three hours tops. And I\'ll come pick you up. Is that okay?"

Despite his reassurance, Angela couldn\'t help but worry. "Are you sure everything\'s going to be okay? It\'s just a party, right?"

He nodded. "Positive. Like I said, I want to take you with me, but it\'s just us men tonight. I don\'t want to bore you there. Alice and Gabby will be here. You like them, right?"

"Yeah. Of course, I like them. They\'re really nice."

A woman walked through the front door a few feet away from them, carrying a covered tray in her hands. Gael called for her. "Val, you\'re staying until we come back. I\'ll pick up Angela in a few hours."

Val, Gael\'s cousin, nodded with a huge grin on her face. "Excellent! I\'m thrilled you\'re not making me go with you guys to The Manor. Angela and I will have a lot of fun tonight." She winked at her before heading towards the kitchen and yelling, "Gabby! I brought something you\'re gonna love! Oh, and Angela\'s staying with us. Take out the bottles, and I\'ll meet you, girls, at the den!"

Gael let out a sigh and then faced Angela, already regretting leaving her with these women. It\'s not like he didn\'t trust them, it\'s just that, he didn\'t want Angela to feel pressured. His expression was serious when he warned her, "Don\'t drink too much."

Everyone else didn\'t look so worried; Val was even planning a little party of their own. Therefore, Angela brushed off her worries and trusted Gael that he and the others would be okay while they were away, so she decided to enjoy the girls\' night. "I\'ll try."