Free Wild Renegade by Andria Large Page A

then she might be able to convince my father.

 
    "Gina,"
Ace says, holding out his hand for her plate.

 
    Gina
smiles and hands her plate over. "Thank you, Ace."

 
    After
he finishes with Gina, he turns to my mom and smiles. "Mrs.
Gionelli?"

 
    "Grazie,"
she says sweetly and hands him her plate. "You may call me, Elena,"
she says in her thick Italian accent.

 
    Ace
gives her a rakish smile and winks at her as he hands back her plate.
"Okay."

 
    My
mother blushes slightly and giggles. Well, shit. Ace won my mother over in a
matter of minutes. I stare at him in awe as he fills his plate. When he's
finished, he hands the spoon over to my dad, who practically snatches it out of
his hand. I ignore it because I'm still in the middle of adoring Ace at the
moment. He looks over at me and grins, his blue eyes gleaming in amusement. He
leans over and gives me a peck on the cheek before turning back to his food.

 
    He
digs in and immediately groans and closes his eyes. My mom frowns in concern
and looks at me. I smirk and lean over to Ace.

 
    "My
mom thinks you don't like it," I whisper, knowing that's it the opposite
and he's in food heaven.

 
    Ace
swallows and looks at me. "This is the best sauce that I've ever tasted. How
do I say delicious in Italian?" he whispers back.

 
    I
tell him. Ace straightens up, looks at my mom and declares, "Delizioso!"

 
    My
mom gives him a pleased smile and says thank you.

 
    Both
Ace and Alex have seconds, eating everything off their plates, doing everything
but lick their plates clean. It pleases my mom to no end. My dad, on the other
hand, is silent throughout the whole dinner. Silent and eyeing Ace up like he
is the scum of the earth. I made Ace wear a long sleeved shirt so that his
tattoos were covered because my dad loathes tattoos. I felt bad asking him to
cover himself up, but I knew it would be best. I can't imagine the looks he
would be getting if he had worn short sleeves. I'm just waiting for my dad to
explode. I know it's coming. I can see it in his eyes. He's gearing up for the
argument of all arguments. God help us when he finally blows.

 
 
 
 
    ~Ace~

 
    After
dinner, all of the women get up from the table, grab plates and silverware, and
file into the kitchen. I lean back in my chair and rub my overly stuffed
stomach. Goddamn, that was one of the best meals I've ever had. And Nicole said
there is still dessert. I could really use a smoke, but I'm gonna have to suck
it up and wait until we leave. I can feel Nicole's dad's eyes on me, so I look
over at him.

 
    "Your
wife is an amazing cook," I say, hoping to get on his good side. Nothing
has seemed to work so far.

 
    "Why
you with my daughter?" he asks in his thick accent, completely ignoring
what I said. "You plan to marry her?"

 
      I blink stupidly at him for a moment.
"I...ah...not at the moment..."

 
    "Then
you have no business with her," he snaps.

 
    "But
I like her. I like being around her..."

 
    "I
no care," he barks, slashing angrily at the air. "You end this now.
You no good for my daughter."

 
    I
narrow my eyes at the older man. Now I can see why Nicole was worried. He's
being an asshole. He doesn't care if Nicole has feelings for me or not, he just
wants things his way, and that's not cool in my book.

 
    "And
why not?" I ask defiantly.

 
    "I
know your kind. You use women and toss them away. I see your picture, covered
in disgusting tattoos, and I smell the cigarettes on you. You bad influence. I
no want you near my daughter."

 
    "That's
not really your choice, sir. Nicole is an adult and she is the one who gets to choose
who she's with," I sneer. I'm really not liking her father right now.

 
    "Does
your family approve of…" He motions at me. "...all this?"

 
    "My
grandparents raised me and they are very proud of me and what I've
accomplished," I say with pride.

 
    Guy
shakes his head in disgust. "If you do not plan to marry my Nicole,