Page 33 of Luciano (Belles & Mobsters 1)

She wants me, the thought pierced through my brain victoriously.My wife is still attracted to me.

“Morning, Grace.” She startled and her eyes snapped up. “Did you sleep well?” I asked her, pretending not to notice her attraction towards me. All the while, I schemed how I would get my wife into my bed as soon as possible.

“Fine.” She focused on her coffee and turned to look at my dad, taking the offered seat. “Could we get bed rails or something for that bed? It is too high up, and I kept waking up to ensure he didn’t fall out. I don’t know how I didn’t feel him get out of bed.”

I glanced at Maria. “We got them,” she assured me. “We didn’t want to go in and wake up the baby or you. But I’ll have someone install it today.”

Grace smiled at her gratefully. “Thank you very much, Maria.”

“Of course.” She smiled back and went back to doing whatever she was doing.

“Matteo woke up early,” my father patted my wife’s hand. “I heard him call out so I opened the door and took him. You needed rest.”

“Thank you. I just can’t believe I slept so hard that I never even heard anything.”

“You were tired,” my father comforted her. “That was a long trip.”

“Yeah,” she muttered under her breath. “An unnecessary and forced trip.”

My father refused to let her words deter him from his happiness of having my wife back. Honestly, it would have been comical if only I didn’t know I was the reason she hated to be back.

“This is good; you are back. You made me very happy.” Oh, my father was going all out. “Now, I can die in peace, but first I want to see Matteo grow up.” A resigned breath left her lips. “You did a good job raising him, Gracy.”

Yes, my father worshipped the ground Grace walked on. I could see my wife shift uncomfortably in her seat.

“Um… thank you, Nonno. But he’s only two.”

“When is his birthday?” he inquired. God, if he got it into his head to throw some crazy children’s party, I’d have to put a stop to it all.

“October.”

My old man grinned like he just got the best gift of his lifetime. “What day?”

She acted like she didn’t want to tell him. I couldn’t understand what the big deal was.

“October 17th.”

“Perfecto, it is coming soon.”

Grace nodded, avoiding his eyes now too. Instead, her gaze shifted to her son’s sleeping form. She watched her son’s little hand wrapped around my finger with a sad expression. Like she was thinking about a painful memory she wanted to forget. I couldn’t help but ponder at her strange behavior. Honestly, I was surprised she didn’t take her son’s high chair and put it as far away as possible from me.

“Yours and Ella’s stuff will be here this morning,” I told her, breaking the silence.

Anger flashed in her eyes. “I expect you to have all our stuff packed up and shipped back when we leave too.”

“And where are you going to go?” I taunted her. “Back to the Romano empire.”

Angry red blotches marked the skin on her chest and her breathing slightly labored. I pissed her off.Good.

“Luciano.” I didn’t miss the warning in my father’s voice, but I never wavered my eyes from my wife. Her whole posture tensed, her gaze burning with hate.

Ignoring my father, I continued. “Don’t even contemplate calling them. This time, I’ll know before you betray me.”

“Fuck. You.” Sitting rigidly, her spine stiff, the look my wife gave me was a clear indication of how much she despised me. I remembered back to our early days of marriage. We fought back then too, but we only did it when alone, without witnesses. Even when I taunted her, she always refused to bait around my father worried he’d get upset. Clearly, she no longer had those qualms.

Ella walked in at that moment, breaking up the glaring contest my wife and I had going on.

“Morning,” Ella murmured and handed my wife her phone. A look they shared, a jerky nod, and my wife bent her head reading something on her phone. An emotion flashed on her face, but Grace now was unlike the woman I married. She was much better at hiding her emotions.

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