The heat when I open the door makes me sigh in relief after hurrying through the cold morning fog. Sara is waiting for me in our usual booth at the diner. The whole place smells like pancakes and coffee and it's making my mouth water.

"You're late," Sara chastises me as I sit down across from her and wrap my chilled hands around the cup of coffee she has waiting for me. The heat burns through my frozen fingers but I don't let go.

"Sorry," I mumble. "I had a hard time getting up this morning."

"Late night?" she asks, sipping on her own coffee. She's gorgeous again today. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail that curls down her back. Her dark maroon shirt is long sleeved but low cut enough to display a generous amount of cleavage, but not to the point of being slutty. The haggard, frightened girl I met last time in this diner is gone.

"Actually, I went to bed early last night. I just didn't sleep very good." I pick up a sugar packet and play with it. "Too much on my mind."

“Your upcoming wedding partner?” she teases.

"Him and half a dozen other people," I reply. I can't believe how tired I am and take a big sip of coffee.

"You're keeping everything bottled up inside again, Miss Cara Savio." Sara takes a sip of her coffee and leans back in her chair. "Talk to me. Let it out."

“It's all family business,” I tell her. “Uncle Tony is having me take on more responsibilities. I'm doing a lot of the work integrating the two families. We're not just merging people, we're merging businesses. It's a lot of work.”

“I bet,” she says, sipping at her coffee. “There's still more. I can tell.”

“I found out it wasn't the Russos with your escort trouble,” I say with a shrug. “I'm still digging as to who thought it was a good idea to try taking a girl on my turf, though.”

She shudders a little.

“I won't let that happen again,” I promise. “I made sure to put some guys up there to keep things under control. Ethan says he'll help.”

“Thanks,” she says, and sips her coffee. “I'm okay now. I'm strong.” She looks up at me. “And you aren't getting me off topic that easily. There's something else bothering you. Something big.”

I play with my coffee cup, twisting it around in my hands. I glance around, but no one is nearby. I have to tell someone or I'll go crazy.

“The Russo family is split on the marriage,” I finally whisper. “You can't tell anyone.”

“What? Seriously?” Her eyes go wide. “I mean, I won't tell a soul. I thought they wanted the families to merge.”

“His mother is against the marriage,” I reply. “She wants me to break it off.”

“And have both the Savios and the Russos hate you? Yeah, that sounds like a good plan,” she says sarcastically. “Why doesn't she want you to marry him?”

“I have no idea. She says it's not a good match or something.” I shrug.

“How did you find this out?”

“She had a taxi pick me up and take me to her house. It's a freaking mansion. I didn't know how loaded the Russos were.” I sip at my coffee.

“You know it's all for show, right?” Sara asks.

“What do you mean?”

“They're old school mafia. They have roots in Sicily or something, but they made most of their money in real estate in the early eighties. They had a trash company and were basically the stereotypical Italian mafia,” Sara explains. “That's why they have that big house, the buildings, stuff like that. But, they're not making money like they used to. The money is in digital now, which is why they want in on the Savio Family.”

“Where did you learn all that?” I ask. I'm impressed that she's delved into the histories of the families.

“It's interesting. There's a couple other organizations that the Russos could have chosen. The Romanos in New Jersey, the Moretti Family, and the Scutari Family. But, none of them are as successful as the Savios.”

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. “You still haven't told me how you learned all this,” I tell her.

She blushes. “I'm kind of seeing somebody.”

“Yeah?” I'm happy for her. “What's the lucky guy's name?”

She chews on her lip for a second. “You have to promise to stay quiet about it. It's new and I don't know if it's long term and I don't want to cause problems.”

“Who is it?” I grin. I'm thinking maybe one of the Maroni brothers. They were at all the family functions, and I actually thought the older one was pretty cute. “What's his name?”

“Ethan.”

She says his name and it doesn't register in my head. Ethan is probably five or ten years older than Sara. I don't actually know his age, just that he was military and is a scary enforcer.

“Ethan? Like, the guy who keeps me safe Ethan?”

Her shoulders fall a little. “Yeah. I can tell you're not happy about it.”

I shake my head. “No, it's not that. I just...” I shrug. “I just am surprised you got him to say more than three words in a sentence.”

She relaxes a little. “He's actually pretty smart.”

“Well, if he's dating you, then I can see that,” I say with a nod. Ethan and I don't usually talk much.

“You won't say anything, will you?” Sara fiddles with her coffee cup. “It's still really new.”

“You like him, though, right?”

A smile crosses her face and her eyes light up a little. “Yeah.”

It's obvious that she's thinks he the best thing since sliced bread. It's not a match I would have made, but if it makes her happy, then I'm glad.

“You know what he does for a living, right?” I ask her.

“Yeah.” She shrugs. “But, he's on my side. He's a good man.”

Yeah. Just dangerous as fuck.

“I'm happy for you two,” I tell her. “But, please don't tell me sex stories with him. I don't think I could look at him the same.”

Sara laughs and the tension is gone. We're friends again.

“Maybe Dante's mom had a deal with another family,” she says suddenly. “Like, she promised Dante to the Romanos, but the rest of the family went with the Savios.”

It sounds plausible. “Maybe. I don't know. It's just weird.” I finish my cup of coffee. “We should order. I'm starving.”

“Sounds good.”

Sara smiles at me and we start talking about normal every day things again. Still, her idea about Dante's mother stays with me. It's probably just that I want things to make sense, but there's something about it that keeps tugging on my mind the rest of breakfast.