Page 52 of Snake's Head

Chapter 19

Luciana

Valerio’s sister-in-law decided to have a dinner party two days after the wedding in honor of me joining their family. It was nice, but it still made me nervous. The air was easy. Everybody was relaxed and having fun before the food was served. It was almost the picture of perfection, but I was unsure if I belonged there.

I wished I did, but I was still a stranger to all these people. A marriage certificate didn’t change things. I actually had to put in the effort to have a relationship with them, and I was not sure how good I was at that.

“I hope you don’t have any food allergies, Luciana,” a chirpy voice said while I was busy standing in a corner, terrified of being surrounded by so many people. Worst of all was that Valerio went to the bathroom a long time ago and didn’t come back. His presence was not always a good thing, but right now, I craved it badly.

I felt abandoned, but as I turned towards Mia Vasile with a small baby in her arms, I tried to hide it. It was not so easy since I was used to hiding my emotions with an icy bitch face, and Mia definitely didn’t deserve to get that.

Instead, I smiled awkwardly and said, “I don’t, but even if I did, I would probably eat everything anyways. Good food is worth dying for.”

Mia laughed. “True. It is going to be good food.”

“It must have taken so long to cook everything. This is a big family.” I also came from a big family, but we were not this tightly knit.

“Oh, I am just the hostess of the party. I have been too tired since the twins came. I can’t cook,” she said dramatically. “I am making Antonio and Valerio cook.”

“Valerio can cook?” I was surprised. I mean, he mentioned it, but guys said they could cook when they could make an omelet. I was sure this party was bigger than an omelet.

Mia smiled proudly. “He can cook very well. My brother Antonio is a great cook, and he first taught me, then we both taught Valerio. You should definitely make him cook for you.”

“I will, after tonight, I guess,” I said with a smile. Now I also knew why he was absent for a while.

Mia opened her mouth to answer, but the baby in her arms started crying. Her cheery face turned sour. "Just when I thought she was not going to cry any longer." She shooed the baby. “Come on, Angie, it is okay. You are being fussy.”

“Are both of them like that?”

“No,” she said, keep patting her daughter’s back. “Dante is a unicorn baby. He is so easy. This one got all the displeasure for this world.”

At least one of them was easy. I couldn’t imagine having to take care of twins. One baby was hard enough. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, but thank you.” She kissed the wailing baby’s cheek. “I think it is time for us to go to Daddy. I carried her for nine months, but she loves Salvatore more than me. I hate it.”

I giggled as she left for her husband’s side, and my silent observation continued. I watched as Mia handed the little bundle to Salvatore. He was a feared man. Even in L.A., his name brought fear, but he didn’t seem even a bit scary holding his daughter and pressing a kiss at his wife’s lips. He gave them such a soft look that I truly believed things were different here. My father never looked at any of his children the way Salvatore Vasile looked at his daughter.

These things made it easier to trust Valerio. I always considered him a mobster, but this was the environment he grew up in. Men here didn’t look like men from my home. My brother Tommaso was kind to his family, but we had a big age gap, so I didn’t see him a lot.

Somehow I felt like these guys would put Tommaso to shame, though. I have already seen Antonio being soft with his wife, but today I also saw him with his daughter. He had a ridiculous bow on his head, probably a gift from the small girl. They were talking something in sign language, and Antonio had a small smile I only saw him show to his wife before. I also saw him playing chess with his young son. Honestly, he seemed too young for chess, but as far as I understood, they were the genius family.

Valerio’s sister’s husband Alessio was soothing his daughter after she got a small injury playing ball. He was also present during the game. These guys were actually present fathers and attentive husbands.

Watching them, I actually believed someone like Valerio could exist. Maybe he was really not playing at all. This seemed like a good place to grow up.

I wished I had this too.

I couldn’t help but feel bad about my past. I felt jealous of Valerio for having such a safe haven growing up. I also felt utterly sad that all these kids were so lucky to be here, and Elsie was still back in L.A. with my father. It was not fair at all.

But this was good. This was a good place, and I was going to keep my promise. I was going to bring Elsie here one day. I just hoped it would be soon.

“What is with the sour face? You missed me?”

With Valerio’s voice, I realized I was sulking and immediately shook it off. No one needed my displeasure today. It was not kind.

Also, I didn’t like it, but Valerio’s presence actually calmed me a bit. Even when he was annoying, he was better than everything going down inside my head. I would never accept it out loud, but I didn’t hate being in his vicinity.

“My face is sour because you came back,” I said with a cold tone, and it only made him smile.

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