Diego glances at me and then Puma. “We’ll be fine.” He assures us.
Puma studies Sal’s face, then Diego’s before nodding and guiding me out the door.
When I glance back, Puma runs his hands up and down my arms. “I’ll have Wildcard check on them soon, just to make sure they’re behaving themselves.”
“Thank you.” I tell him, shifting up so I can lay a kiss on his soft lips.
“I need to talk to Spark. What are you doing?” Puma asks.
“I need to find Elina. I need a hug.” Puma chuckles as he gives me a hug and kisses the top of my head.
“Give her a hug for me.” Puma says. “I’ll find you later.”
I smile and watch him walk down the hall to Spark’s office. He glances at me before going in and gives me a sexy grin. I feel the promise of that grin down to my toes. Grinning, I turn and search for my daughter.
I find Corinne and Desdemona in the kitchen with the kids eating spaghetti. Or in the case of Elina, wearing it. I lean over and find the only clean spot on her face to plant a kiss. “You’re a mess.” I tell her.
“This is how I show how much I love it.” Elina tells me. “It’s a compliment on Desdemona’s cooking.”
Desdemona gives her a small bow as I chuckle and shake my head. Mal has a small amount of red sauce at the corners of his mouth. He’s watching Elina, and I have to stifle a smile when I see him rub a little sauce on his cheek. I glance at Corinne, who is also hiding a smile. When I roll my eyes, she loses the battle and chuckles.
“Once you’re done, it’s bath time.” I tell my daughter. She groans before sending me a speculative look.
“Bubble bath?” She asks.
“What else?” I reply, receiving a brilliant smile in return. “If you two wanted some time to yourselves, I can take care of them. I’m sorry about not being around much this afternoon.”
Corinne waves me off. “No problem. The kids have been great. I got more work done and Desdemona and I have been discussing the charity event.”
“I was hoping the three of us could sit down together this evening.” Desdemona says. “I have some numbers to run by you both and I’ve found two more artists with some excellent pieces that I want to include in the program.”
“Let’s go clean up the hooligans and get them to bed.” I say, taking Elina’s hand and leading her to her room. All the guest rooms have their own bathroom, which is nice. That way I can keep her bathroom stocked with all the supplies I need to wash off a layer or two of spaghetti sauce. I smile as I think about Mal. He’s enamored with her and following her lead. I sincerely hope this is temporary. Elina does not need more men catering to her every whim.
I pull her pajama top over her head as Puma comes into the room carrying Mal. “I need some kid time.” He says, kneeling to let Elina climb into his other arm. “The three of us are going to watch a movie. No adults allowed.” He says, leaning over to give me a kiss. I watch all three of the kids leave the room, shaking my head as Mal and Elina bombard him with movie suggestions.
I find Desdemona and Corinne hard at work. I sit and listen to their conversation, getting the reprieve I need after this strange day. We’ve just discussed the additional artists Desdemona found and the possibility of adding another room to handle the extra exhibits when Diego steps in. I glance up and see the exhaustion on his face. Desdemona must see it as well, because she hurries to him and offers him a hard hug.
“I’m ok.” He tells her, stroking her back. “It was just more emotional than I expected.” He says, sitting down.
“Do you need something to eat or drink?” I offer, but he waves me off.
“No. We finished the sandwiches and the bottle of tequila. I think I’m set.” He says with a chuckle. “I forgot how much Sal can drink.”
“You two alright?” Desdemona asks, and he nods.
“We’re good. We talked about Carmella and our life together. He knows how much we loved each other. So no hard feelings.”
Corinne looks confused, so I give her a quick rundown on what we learned from Sal about my mother.
“So that’s what Juan wants? He thinks marrying you will give him access to another cartel through your aunt?” She asks. We didn’t share that my aunt is the leader behind many cartels, but let her believe that she only leads one of the larger ones.
“Looks like it.” I admit. “Is that all you talked about?” I ask Diego. “Did he have any insights about where Juan is hiding out or his next move? We didn’t really talk about him.”
“He has nothing to add. We talked about John Spada. I told him how Juan pretended to be Spada and worked for me for a short time. It was John’s brother, Greg, who died in the car bomb meant for Sal.”
“We need to tell Puma.” I say.
“Need to tell me what?” Puma asks, entering the room. When I frown at him, he explains. “The kids fell asleep about twenty minutes in. I got them both tucked into bed. Now, what do I need to know?”