Page 24 of Mafia Baby

She smiles. I don’t know why I’m inserting myself into her family issues, but I can already tell that Gianna is smart, stubborn, and independent. For her to be worried about this, it’s obviously not a small issue.

“Thanks. You don’t need to worry about saving me, though. I appreciate it, but I just have to work on figuring out what I’m going to do now that I’m back here for good. So I can move out and have my own space.”

“You’re smart and capable. You’ll figure it out.”

She nods slowly, stroking the horse while staring into its eyes. “I hope so. I just have to wait until Mercury is out of retrograde, and then my plans should be more concrete.”

“What’s in the microwave?”

Gianna laughs, causing the horse to back away. She quickly soothes the large animal and then turns to me. “Do you really not know, or are you just using that same line that everyone who doesn’t care uses?”

“No, I really don’t know.”

“It’s just when things go a bit wonky in the cosmic dance. Mercury, the planet of communication, decides to do a little backward shuffle in the sky. It's not really moving backward, but from down here, it looks like it's taking a step back.”

“So, what does this mean for us Earthlings?”

“Things go haywire. Communication might get a bit confusing; plans might go off track, and technology might decide to throw a curveball.”

“Well, either way, that number is for any kind of emergency. Planet-caused emergencies and all.”

“I’ll use it wisely.” She winks at me, causing a strange sensation in my chest. I need to leave this party before she distracts me even more.

“I was going to say goodbye to Will…”

“He’s in a meeting with the host’s advisors or something. I think he’s playing with fire, but he’s adamant he’s going to get money from this guy for his property downtown.” She rolls her eyes.

I wonder if her brother or father ever listens to her business ideas. She’s smart, and she seems to have a natural understanding of this stuff.

“Okay, I have to go. Tell Will I say hi and bye, if he knows I was here.”

“I will.” She smiles at me, and I turn to walk away. “Dom.” Gianna calls after me. I turn back, and she kisses me before I can pull away.

I glance around to see if anyone saw that, but there’s no one around the stables.

“Take care of yourself,” I tell her, walking away to deliver the information to Vince.

Chapter Ten

Gianna

Tonight, I’m going out by myself. And not to Dom’s club.

I have to try and stay away from him. Each time that we’ve had sex, he’s left telling me not to expect it again. And I shouldn’t be this upset about it. He’s not good for me.

I have plenty to focus on now. There is no space for crushing on a member of the Chicago mafia.

The only problem is that the more I tell myself I need to forget about Dom, the more I remember…what he tastes like, how it feels when he’s inside me, the sounds he makes as he’s coming.

I show up at the bar and realize it’s more like a seniors’ spot than anything else. But that’s fine. I just want to get out of my own head a bit. I order an iced tea and dance alone to hits from the seventies.

Maybe it's the Leo in me, stubborn and impulsive, seeking a temporary escape from the turmoil of my emotions. Or perhaps it's the stars aligning in some cosmic joke, pushing me toward reckless behavior just when I'm trying to regain control.

I start flirting with some of the old men, liking the attention but knowing that it’s stupid to talk to people that I barely know.

One man asks if I have a boyfriend, and I tell him I don’t. But then I bring up Dom and go off on a tangent. The poor man sits and listens quietly, giving me bits of his advice every now and then.

Excusing myself, I rush into the bathroom. Thankfully, there’s no vomiting, but I do pee for longer than you’d think possible. Being pregnant is ridiculous. I often feel like my body doesn’t belong to me anymore.

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