Page 274 of The Devil's Fire

“She will lecture him for a while about not getting any younger.” His mother shook her head and moved her chair closer to me.

“Damiano did tell me how she’s trying to get him to have some babies as soon as possible.” I chuckled, watching Damiano patiently listening to his Nonna’s rant.

“Don’t worry, honey. Since Lorenzo is getting married soon, some of the pressure has gone to him and Cara.”

“That might take a while since Cara hasn’t gotten over the fear of giving birth.”

“You’ve met Cara?” She asked in surprise.

“She’s my cousin.” I grinned, and her eyes widened slightly.

“Oh, so you’re a Volante?”

“She’s the daughter of Gaetano Volante.” Damiano informed them as he sipped his wine.

“How interesting.” Nonna commented, tilting her head slightly to the side as she looked at Damiano.

“Well, at least you’re Italian, or part of you is… Tell me, dear, what are you?”

“Ay, madre…” His mother sighed and shook her head.

I chuckled at his Nonna’s choice of words.

“My mother is Greek. Is it that obvious that I’m not fully Italian?” I grimaced a bit, feeling embarrassed that my Italian wasn’t as good as I would have liked it to be.

“You have a slightly different accent, and, well, it’s not the best Italian I’ve heard! But don’t worry, spend time with me, and you will have no trouble.” She smiled. “You’re family now, so you may call me Nonna from now on.”

“And you just call me Eleonora. No need to be formal with me; you’re practically my daughter.” She gave my shoulder a small squeeze, smiling warmly as she looked at us.

This made me feel emotional. I had spent weeks thinking about how I didn’t have a family anymore, but I did. Every single person in Damiano’s life had made sure I could always count on them, and I was forever grateful for that.

I ended up telling how we met at the engagement party, joking about feeling like I had met the Devil and fearing he was after my blood. It wasn’t a joke back then, but now I could at least jest about it since it didn’t turn out to be true.

“I never threatened to shoot you.” Damiano raised a brow when I mentioned his sudden appearance in my hotel room.

“You said you could easily put a bullet in me through the door.” I reminded him, making him smirk.

“That wasn’t a threat, my love. I was stating a fact.” He said casually, earning a scoff from me.

“Wait, were you really planning on shooting me?” I asked, and Damiano pretended not to hear me.

“What made you change your mind?” Nonna questioned, amused by our banter.

“She fell face-first when she tried to run away from me. Never in my life have I seen anything like that before. It made me laugh.” He looked at me teasingly.

“So, me trying to run for my life and falling on my face saved me from getting shot?”

“Funny how things work in your favor.” He gave me a cheeky wink before getting up from his seat. “If you’ll excuse us for a moment, I’d like to show Althaia around.” Damiano said, extending his hand for me to take. I expressed my gratitude for dinner before he led me away.

“… Isn’t she just wonderful?” I overheard Eleonora saying, bringing a smile to my face.

The estate was truly enchanting, with lights illuminating our surroundings. My eyes were drawn to the various flowers and blooming trees, their pink blossoms standing out against the green foliage. I found myself envisioning sitting under one of those trees during the day, recreating the beautiful scenery in my sketchbook.

“I told you they would love you. You can relax now.” Damiano reassured, pulling me into him as we strolled around the garden in the comfortable night breeze.

“I never expected such a warm welcome. You have a wonderful family.” I mused, resting my head on him with a smile. “I know I don’t say it enough, but thank you.” I said softly as I looked into his eyes.

“For what?” His brows slightly raised.

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