Page 47 of Nanny's Baby for the Italian Mafia Boss

“No. You can breathe easy.”

“I’m nervous, is all. I should have talked to him, but I got afraid. I’ve never—” I roll my lips together to stop myself from saying anything else. “Never mind.”

“Ah, I understand. There’s no need to be embarrassed about that. You chose a good man for that. I promise you, he won’t disappoint you. He will give you your space to think and process. For now,” he adds on.

When we get to the house, he opens the back door, allowing me in first. Ella is at the kitchen table already, eating cereal, but there is milk spilled everywhere. The cereal is all over the floor and counter, and she’s swinging her legs on the barstool as if she doesn’t have a care in the world.

I guess she doesn’t. At six, what’s there to worry about?

“Ella, good job making yourself breakfast,” I say to her, not wanting to make her feel bad about the mess when she took the initiative to make herself food.

“I know I made a mess, but I’ll clean it up when I’m done.”

“Don’t be silly. I can do that. You focus on eating.” I open the cabinet under the sink to grab cleaning supplies. Gianni walks out of the kitchen, and I stop him. “Thank you, Gianni. For everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Uncle G, what happened to your face?”

He grins. “I got into a fight with a knight, and she kicked my ass.”

She gasps, milk dripping from her mouth. “A girl knight? I didn’t know that was possible.”

“Anything is possible, Gummy Bear.” He boops her nose with his finger. “Women can be anything they want to be. They could be kings if they wanted.”

She giggles. “We are queens.”

“We all know kings get more respect. Women can be kings too. Don’t ever settle for less when your power is so much more than what any man has. Promise?”

She grins. “I promise.”

He kisses her forehead and shoots me a wink before heading to his room.

My knuckles ache as I wrap them around and hold all of the supplies. I don’t think I broke my hand, but I’ll need to ice it later. Snagging a few paper towels, I soak up the milk on the floor, then the counter, wiping off the milk jug.

Then I grab the cleaner, spraying and wiping so the floor isn’t sticky.

“Sophie?”

“Yeah, Ella? What’s up?” I sweep up the cereal and toss the pieces in the trash.

“Can we go to the park again today?”

I think about it, remembering the last time we were at the park, and how our time got interrupted because of Matias.

“I’m not sure. I’d rather we go to the park when your dad is around. How about we have a movie day? I’ll pop popcorn, candy, drinks, and we can camp out in the living room, and maybe make a fort? What do you think?”

“Yes! I want to make a fort! I can eat candy, too? As much as I want?”

“Yes. And it will be our little secret.”

“Yay! I’m going to go get the blankets now. I’m so excited.” She drops her spoon and milk splatters everywhere.

I sigh, chuckling as she zooms by me.

I dump her cereal into the sink, rinse out the bowl, and put it in the dishwasher. I fish out a few bags of popcorn from the cabinet, grab her favorite candy from the pantry, and then second-guess myself.

It’s still early in the morning. I should have her eat something that’s good for her.

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