Page 39 of Sworn to My Heart
“You are my woman, and it seems only your mouth loves to fight that fact,” Luca responds, and everyone laughs except me.
I shoot him a glare, and he gently strokes my face. “I love this face. Don’t frown; you’ll get wrinkles,” he teases and kisses the worry lines on my forehead, making me melt instantly.
I can no longer keep up with all his personas, but it seems I respond to all of them accordingly.
My lies will catch up with me eventually, but until then, I’m willing to play the game if it’s with Luca.
“It looks like you should be more worried about wrinkles than me. I haven’t known you for long, but you’ve definitely been angry most of the time,” I joke, and they join me in laughter.
“You’re definitely something special,La Cenerentola,” Luca says with a smile, comparing me once again to Cinderella. Iimmediately correct him, “La Sirenetta*.” I start to enjoy his little game of comparisons; at least with this I’m not lying.
All three of them turn to me in surprise.
“You speak Italian?” Luca asks in Italian, and I confirm. Finally, something Abert hadn’t updated him on. They all seem excited about this revelation.
Luca pulls me close, sits down on one of the kitchen chairs, and places me on his lap, taking a bite of the leftovers on my plate. The blood on their clothes no longer seems to bother anyone.
“Where did you learn Italian?” Cora asks curiously.
“I lived a rather unconventional life with my family. I learned a lot at home. I speak thirteen different languages,” I say, and they all widen their eyes in astonishment.
“Thirteen languages?” Mariano exclaims in surprise.
“That’s not normal! Did you ever seen daylight?” Cora asks immediately after him.
“I knew this little five-footer wasn’t just a pretty face,” Luca adds, kissing my cheek.
I start listing the languages I know, and they look at me in disbelief. “We could use her for deals with the Russians or for verifying information,” Mariano says to Luca, ignoring the fact that Cora and I are still in the room listening.
“I don’t mind being of use to you,” I reply nonchalantly before Luca can answer. He studies me for a few seconds and nods, seeming satisfied.
I love this atmosphere we’ve created in the kitchen. I don’t want this version of Luca to ever leave.
*“La Sirenetta” meaning “The Little Mermaid” in Italian.
Luca
“Another suit ruined because of that filthy Russian. I really don’t understand why they endure all the torture when they know they’ll end up giving us the information anyway,” Mariano says in frustration, stripping off his blood-soaked jacket and shirt as we exit the kitchen first.
“You’re starting to sound more and more like your wife, complaining about clothes now,” I tease, as Cora and Alin follow us, giggling. Mariano flips me off in response.
We managed to extract enough information from the Russian to discover who organizes their major shipments and how to tail Vladimir while they seek their revenge on the French. This time, we’ll hit them so hard they’ll be licking the sidewalk together with the French and scurrying back to the sewers they came from. I grin with satisfaction at today’s accomplishments. After two weeks of losing my sanity, I finally feel at ease, knowing Alin will be staying close to me. She’s all mine.
“Stop drooling over my husband, Miss Alin, or I’ll be the one to kill you in the end!” I hear Cora threaten with a laugh behind me. I immediately turn to see Alin eyeing Mariano’s bare chest.
“Come on, Cora, you don’t get to see a sight like this every day. Let me enjoy it,” she replies, and Cora immediately covers her eyes with her hands.
“Mariano!” I shout threateningly and grab Alin’s hand, pulling her close to me. Due to her short stature, she looks up at me, her big, mischievous eyes daring me. She knows she’s playing with fire.
“Those eyes only look at me,” I tell her in a low, deliberate voice, making sure she understands every word. “You don’t look at any other man like that!”
She rolls her eyes, and I can’t hold back any longer. It’s time she understands who exactly she belongs to. I lift her onto my shoulder in one swift motion, and she starts pounding my back with her fists, laughing. “Put me down, you jealous lunatic!” she protests, and Cora laughs behind me.
“Sorry girl, I agree with him this time, keep your eyes on Luca. My husband is off-limits,” Cora says, and I chuckle. Mariano takes advantage of the moment, scooping his wife up in his arms and disappearing upstairs with her.
“So, what did you call me? A jealous lunatic?” I tease as she wriggles on my shoulder while I carry her out of the apartment, her laughter echoing behind me as she playfully slaps my back. After two weeks of uncertainty and frustration, I finally have her all to myself.
“You’re getting blood all over me,” she complains in disgust when she notices the blood smearing onto her dress.
