Page 72 of Knocked Up by My Dad's Mafia Boss

“I can do math.”

“I really do hate you.”

Elio’s laugh rings out over the line, and I crack a smile despite the way I feel. He really is my best friend, and it feels good to tell him… some of it.

“So that’s it? She’s too young?”

“She’swaytoo young.”

“I don’t see how this is a huge problem.”

“What would you do if Samantha dated someone twenty years older than her?”

He pauses. My heart leaps into my throat.

“I’d probably kill him.”

“Exactly what I thought,” I mumble, closing my eyes again. I still feel exhausted even though I’ve slept the day away.

“But I’m an asshole,” Elio insists. “You can make this work.”

“I dunno.”

“Youhaveto, Dante. I’ve never heard you talk about a woman like this. You’ve never even had a real girlfriend.”

“There was Debbie Comber in high school.”

“She waseverybody’sgirlfriend.”

“Fuck you,” I say, letting out a surprised laugh.

“Fuck you, too,” Elio says warmly, and I feel lighter even though everything’s falling apart around me.

“That’s your advice?”

“Oh, you’re asking for advice?” Elio sounds genuinely shocked.

“I mean, yeah. I guess.”

“Follow your heart. Not your head.”

“Oh, don’t be an asshole.”

“No, I’m serious. If I’d listened to my head back when I met Grace, I wouldn’t have Samantha.”

I freeze at the mention of Samantha’s name.

“And Dante, I wouldn’t trade my life with Grace for all the world. Not even after she got sick. I’d do it all over again, right to the end.”

“You would?”

“In a heartbeat.” His voice has gone thick, and he lets out a long breath. “I met someone, too.”

I smile. “I know. The leggy blonde, right?”

“She’s more than a leggy blonde.”

“I figured, since you keep seeing her.”