Page 48 of His to Keep
“Yes, of course. Whatever makes you happy, kitten.”
“You know, I could end up becoming seriously spoiled if you keep saying things like that.”
“And I’ll enjoy indulging your every whim.”
A tear pricks my eye at his determination to make me happy. “Damn it, Gio, why do you have to say things like that?”
“Because I mean them.” The sincerity in his eyes kills me. “Now, do you want to get changed or go as you are?”
Since I didn’t expect we would leave the house today I dressed in the most casual outfit in the closet, gray yoga pants and a light pink t-shirt.
“I’ll change. We’ll probably get turned away from the boutiques if I’m dressed like this.”
“Nobody would dare turn you away if you’re with me.”
“My hero.” Jumping down from the stool, I stop to give Gio a quick kiss on the cheek. “What would I do without you?”
As I walk away I realize I don’t have an answer to that question.
Gio
As I lounge on the sofa in the sixth boutique we’ve visited, I’m grateful Rosalia came with us. Though I’m enjoying watching my wife as she shops for the first time in years, I’m not equipped to deal with the fashion questions that arise. Rosalia, on the other hand, knows whether ballet pumps or high heels are best to gowith a particular pair of pants. I’ve spent a small fortune, but I’d willingly part with every last penny to see Eilidh so happy.
“Have you spoken to Antonio?” Lorenzo asks. He’s leaning against a pillar in what to the untrained eye would be a casual pose. In his signature jeans and leather jacket, he gives every appearance of being at ease, but he’s alert to any potential threat.
“No.” It’s been a few days since I spoke to my oldest brother who strictly speaking is also my boss.
“Your mother is pestering him to bring you home. She wants to throw a party to welcome your new bride. She’s talking about giving you a real wedding.”
I roll my eyes. Give me a real wedding? As if it would be for me. My mother loves weddings, but her sons keep letting her down. While Antonio had a traditional ceremony, it fell to the bride’s mother to organize everything. Alessandro married at short notice with only the family in attendance while both Leo and Matteo got married without any fanfare.
“She just had Livvy’s wedding. I’d have thought that would be enough.”
Lorenzo shrugs. “She had only a week to organize it. I think she had to make compromises.” He snorts and shakes his head. “It was quite the production, though. You should have seen it.”
There’s a note of censure in his voice. Perhaps I should have returned for the wedding of my only sister, but I wasn’t ready to go home. It would have been hard to leave again. My brothers would have talked me into staying.
“What are they like together, Livvy and Reznov?”
I can’t picture my younger sister with the notorious Bratva boss.
“They complement each other. He has that ice prince thing going and she has the Volante temper.”
“It’s not the Volante temper. She gets that from the Angelotti side of the family.”
My mother is too much of a lady to allow herself to fly off the handle on a regular basis, but when she does lose her temper she’s terrifying.
“Tell my poor mamma there’s no Volante temper. She suffered at the hands of my father’s for years.”
Shit. What am I supposed to say to that? I am such an asshole for forgetting Lorenzo’s father was a major abuser. He beat his wife so badly she suffered a permanent brain injury. It’s an open secret that Damiano killed him, but he’ll never admit it. The older soldiers in his organization disapprove of patricide, probably because half of their sons would love to wring their necks.
“But we shouldn’t dwell on such unpleasantness,” Lorenzo says. “We will soon have another happy occasion to celebrate.”
“What?” Everyone is married now. Is he telling me one of my siblings has a baby on the way?
“Your mother’s wedding.”
“Of course.” I am the worst son in the world. It completely skipped my mind that my mother is engaged to Piotr Reznov’s uncle who recently handed his nephew the reins of his organization. “I guess I’ll have to go home for that one.”
