Chapter 1 - The Midnight Tea Party
Dante Moretti stared at the miniature pink plastic chair, then down at his bespoke Italian trousers.
At six-foot-three, with broad shoulders that had shoved rival capos through plate-glass windows, folding himself into furniture built for a preschooler was a tactical impossibility.
Yet Sophie stood waiting with her small hands resting indignantly on her hips, her dark blonde curls bobbing with determination.
"You have to sit down, Mr. Dante," Sophie instructed with utter gravity. "Barnaby doesn't like it when people stand at the table. It is rude."
Barnaby was a one-eared stuffed rabbit whose faded gray plush had seen better decades.
Dante slowly knelt on one knee, his heavy frame lowering onto the plush blue carpet until his eye level matched the worn toy's glass stare.
He rested both scarred forearms across the edge of the tiny play table, making the plastic legs bow slightly under his weight.
"Better?" Dante asked, his gravelly voice dropping down to a quiet rumble.
Sophie beamed, plunking down onto her stool and instantly grabbing the hollow plastic teapot.
She mimed pouring invisible tea into two miniature cups, adding a theatrical hiss with her tongue.
"Careful, it's very hot," she warned, sliding a thimble-sized saucer across to him. "It has strawberries and cinnamon."
Dante picked up the plastic cup between his thumb and forefinger, lifting it to his lips as if sampling a vintage Scotch.
"Exquisite," he muttered, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Sophie grinned proudly, then reached into the pocket of her yellow cardigan and produced another golden foil star.
Without asking for permission, she reached forward and carefully pressed it directly onto his crisp white dress shirt, right above the row of stickers already lining his suit lapel.
"Why do you keep putting these on me, Sophie?" Dante asked softly, touching the edge of the foil point.
"Because you look like you forgot where the light comes from," she answered matter-of-factly, taking a loud slurp from her empty cup.
Dante went completely still, the playful air evaporating in an instant.
Across the room, the doorway clicked open, and Anna Miller froze on the threshold with a stack of fresh towels in her arms.
Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Boston's most feared criminal boss sitting on the floor of her daughter's bedroom, wearing half a dozen gold stickers on his chest.
"Sophie!" Anna gasped, dropping the linen onto a chair and hurrying forward. "Mr. Moretti, I am so sorry—she was supposed to be in bed thirty minutes ago!"
"She invited me to tea, Miss Miller," Dante said calmly, rising to his full height in one fluid motion that made the room seem smaller.
Anna backed away a step, her hands knotting into the fabric of her gray housekeeping apron.
Her hazel eyes darted from Dante’s towering chest down to his dark, unreadable face, terrified of the lethal temper everyone in the city whispered about.
"She doesn't know any better, sir," Anna whispered, her voice trembling. "I will make sure she stays out of your way."
"The tea was warm, and the company was acceptable," Dante said, his expression completely neutral as he glanced toward Sophie.
"Let her be, Anna. Just make sure she goes to sleep before midnight."
May you like
He turned and walked into the dimly lit corridor, his long strides carrying him toward his private wing.
Behind him, Anna stood motionless beside her daughter's tiny play table, staring down at the little golden stars scattered across the plastic surface, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
