Page 6 of Bound to Him

“And I was always ready to knock it down a few notches. So, after I pummeled his ass that day, he never got over it.”

“Well, it’s time to man up, Hux.” Vinnie’s big brother tendencies came out. “Punch Tony if you need to but end it there. He’s about to be your new brother, whether you like it or not.”

I lifted my hands in surrender, my eyes drooping as I felt my body drifting off.

“Let’s get you the fuck home,fratu.”

4

Olivia

“Olivia, pass me the platesper favore.” My older cousin Ziggy stood with her hands stretched out over the breakfast table. I grabbed the dirty plates and stacked them before handing them over to her. We’d just had our breakfast, and my father disappeared 10 minutes ago after eating only half of his meal, and my cousin wasn’t pleased.

“Viola!”

I turned to see my sister also attempting to sneak out of the kitchen. Her toast hadn’t been touched. Ziggy’s voice reached a new level of volume. “Why does nobody eat their food? Is it bad? Is my cooking not nice no more?”

Ziggy was nearing 40 years old and had been hired to work in our kitchen after her mother, our previous cook, fell ill a few years ago. It was true, her cooking wasn’t nearly as good as her mothers, but this was a family business after all. We hardly ever hired outside of the family when we could be helping a fellow Romano with a safe, well-paid job within this massive house.

Tony wiped his plate clean with the last bite of his toast. “No, no, Ziggy, it’s absolutelyeccellente.” He kissed his fingers, still chewing while standing up to take his plate to the sink. Our cousin smiled, almost blushing at his praise. Tony could be a real grouchy ass sometimes, but he loved his family very much and treated all us girls with charm and respect.

“I’m sorry Ziggy; I told you I’m on a diet!” Viola shrugged and turned around again.

“Where are you off to?” I asked, leaning my hip against the table. She stopped and faced me with an almost imperceptible sigh.

“If you must know, I asked Papà if I could go shopping this morning.”

“I didn’t realize you needed anything?”

She rolled her eyes. “Regardless of what you might think, Olivia, you don’t need to know everything about me.”

I raised my eyebrows and turned back to help clear the table. “Alright, my apologies, your highness.”

I heard her scoff, then her heels click as she walked out the kitchen, through the lobby, and stomped up the stairs. Sound carried through this house, if you stood in the right corners. I was convinced that Ziggy knew absolutely everything that went on in this house purely from the acoustics in the kitchen.

“She’s up to something,” Ziggy said quietly, facing away from me while washing the dishes in the scullery. I walked in and placed the juice glasses beside her.

“I hope not,” I said, feeling sad. Ziggy gave me a knowing look and bumped her shoulder against mine.

“What happened to you,mia cara, wasdel cavolo. I will always hate the ruthlessness in this family, especially when it affects our own. You will be scarred for life, but Viola must learn her own lessons; you can’t always protect her from her own family.”

“Well, I’ll always try anyway.”

She smiled softly and lifted her eyes to stare out the window over the gardens as she always did while washing dishes. The conversation stuck with me as I wiped the kitchen table and packed the sauces away. I couldn’t help Viola as much as I wanted to, or needed to, for my own peace of mind. But I could make sure my father knew that I would always try.

“Papà?”

I knocked quickly on his office door, then nudged it open, and stepped inside. His desk faced the door, but he was in his seat facing the window to the left that overlooked the front of the house. Enzo Romano was a relatively large man with an authentic Italian body due to the constant pastas and gelatos that Ziggy made. It was no wonder Viola claimed to be dieting. My father, on the other hand, normally finished two plates full of food at every meal. This morning was an anomaly, and it was partially why I was here. He seemed to be pulled out of his deep thoughts and raised his eyebrows at me.

“Olivia,tesoro mio, everything alright?”

“I hope so.” I shrugged, standing in front of his desk and twiddling my fingers. “I thought I’d talk to you about Viola’s situation.”

He pulled in a deep breath, looked outside again, and sighed. “Yes… I expected you’d have something to say about it.”

“I’m not here to fight you.”

“No?”

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