Page 34 of Nolan (The Doherty Mafia)
My brothers had dropped their guards around her to such an extent they started talking about Aldo and the rest of our family business.
“He might be hiding out but he’s still in touch with all his suppliers, and some of ours,” Colin said, crushing some peas aggressively under his fork. Marley, his wife, tapped his wrist with her hand like she’d tried to rein him in.
“But he’s not going to be able to sway them. Everyone knows our reputation. They know they have no choice but to be loyal to us because we’ll come out victorious on the other side of this,” Adrian said.
“And he’s making his reputation very clear to everyone,” Killian added.
“An unreliable reputation, on the losing side,” Adrian said.
“Who is Aldo?” Amelia asked the question with a look of confusion on her face. None of the other females in the room had spoken once the subject of Aldo came up. They knew how raw and sensitive the topic was. They’d been instructed by their men to stay out of it. Amelia had no idea.
She glanced at me and then at the hardened faces of everyone else at the table.
“He’s one of the things we don’t discuss,” I replied.
Amelia’s eyes grew wide.
“Is he like a business competitor?” she continued. She wasn’t about to let it drop. Casually, she picked up a bread roll and broke a piece off to eat. She hadn’t noticed the way my brothers’ faces had changed since she spoke. Her question was a sudden reminder that we had an outsider in our midst.
“Yeah, something like that,” Tristan replied.
“Nolan hasn’t told me much about the family business. Actually, he hasn’t told me anything. So what kind of business are you guys involved in?” Amelia asked. There was a hint of a smile on her face as she looked around the table.
Was she seriously not getting this?
“Maybe you need to stop asking questions, that’s what I do when I don’t expect straight answers,” I said.
“What do you want to know?” Colin growled at me from across the table.
“There has to be other stuff we can talk about that doesn’t involve Aldo Baron?” Isabelle interjected.
I let out a deep breath and settled back in the chair.
“Yeah, probably for the best,” I said.
“So, Amelia, what are your future plans? With fashion…career wise?” Isabelle asked in a chirpy voice, sounding more forced than anything else.
Amelia stared at me, waiting to see if I’d say anything, but I didn’t.
I didn’t want to fight with my brothers in front of her. She didn’t need to be burdened with it.
Seventeen
Amelia
I knew I’d stepped on some toes by pushing to find out more about their relationship with Aldo.
The fact was, I wanted some answers of my own. Not just the ones Aldo had fed me.
So far, the Dohertys hadn’t been anything but kind and welcoming towards me. They had treated me with respect and made me feel like I belonged. I had sat at many family dinner tables in my lifetime. Dinner tables where I felt like a stranger and an outsider, and this wasn’t one of them.
Even though Nolan insisted his brothers wouldn’t want to open up to me, and even though he had his own issues with them—I had gotten to see the Dohertys in a light that surprised me.
I’d become more and more suspicious of the things Aldo had told me about them. Was it possible that Aldo had lied to me? Exaggerated the flaws that were true about the Dohertys?
But why was he in hiding? Why was he hiding from them? I needed to know more. I needed to come to my own conclusions. But I couldn’t ask any more questions after that. I needed to think of my own safety too.
I just hoped I’d have another opportunity soon. I’d have to keep calm and remain friendly with everyone.
So when Reese got up to go to the kitchen and arrange the dessert, I offered to help her.
Besides Nolan, she was actually the person I felt most drawn to—even though I knew there was no logical explanation for it.
Reese was chirpy as she took the trifle out of the fridge. It looked amazing and I told her so.
“Also, congratulations on the good news. I’m sure you’re going to make a wonderful mom,” I added.
Reese blushed. She nodded excitedly.
“I really can’t wait. Before I met Killian, I never realized how much I wanted my own family, but now I do. I want to raise a few kids with him. I want my children to have the kind of life I never did,” she said.
Reese talked as she arranged the crystal dessert bowls on a tray. I felt a chill run down my spine.
“Yeah, I’ve never thought about it because I don’t think I know how to be a mother. I’ve never had one, not even someone who resembled a motherly figure.” I had to stare down at my feet as I spoke. I was embarrassed and surprised by my own words—wasn’t I supposed to keep personal details a secret?
