Her eyes snapped open and she looked at me with shock on her features. “I thought it was going well. What happened?”

“It would have never worked,” I shook my head. “I was living in a fairy tale and that is just not how my life is.”

She tilted her head and reached for my hand. “If you really like him, Elle, you should go for it. Gio will come around eventually.”

I burst out laughing, shaking my head. If only that were true. No. This was the one man that Gio would never come around to.

“It’s okay, Liv. He wasn’t who I thought he was. He was exactly the kind of man I have been trying to stay away from. It wasn’t going to work. I’m fine.”

“You sure?” she asked, concern laced in her tone.

“Yeah. I will be.”

“Okay. Is that the real reason you’ve been so down the last few days?”

I sighed, not wanting to lie anymore. “Yeah. I guess. But it’s for the best.”

We sat in silence for a few more moments, until she turned to me with a secretive smile.

“Do you want some news that might cheer you up? But you cannot tell a soul. Not until I am sure and I have told Gio.”

“Yes. Tell me, please!” I lifted one leg on the bench to face her and she looked suddenly giddy with happiness.

She placed her hand on her stomach and whispered, “I think I’m pregnant.”

“What?!” I screamed jumping up to my feet. She started laughing as my mouth hung open and my eyes started to water with happy tears. “Oh dio mio, I am going to be a zia?”

“Maybe, I’ve taken a test, but I still want to get it confirmed,” she chuckled. “I have a doctor’s appointment this morning. I just want to be sure before I tell Gio. You know how crazy he will get.”

“Liv, this is amazing! Gio is going to be over the moon! I am so excited,” I was dancing about like a fool now, but I didn’t care. This was the best news I had heard in forever. “Can I come with you? To the doctor?”

“If you want?” she smiled and I squealed with glee. “It’s in an hour.”

“Okay! Let me go and get ready! I need to look incredible for the first time I meet my little niece or nephew!”

I raced off towards the mansion to choose the perfect outfit as she laughed behind me, “You won’t see anything, Elle. It will be a tiny dot!”

I didn’t even care. I was so ecstatically happy at that moment that I hadn’t even thought about Alessio Barbieri for a whole five minutes! Progress.

“Congratulations, Mrs Buccini,” our family doctor smiled at Liv from across her desk. “You are five weeks pregnant.”

“Oh my god, Liv,” I squealed excitedly and threw my arms around my sister-in-law who was beaming from ear to ear.

“I need to go through some personal information with you, Olivia, so when you are ready, Signorina Buccini, if you could step outside that would be wonderful,” the doctor smiled at me kindly and I nodded. Squeezing Liv once more, trying to project just how delighted I was at this news, I left her alone with the doctor to discuss the next steps.

Finn and Guido, Liv’s personal bodyguard, were standing with authority in the waiting room looking completely out of place. Finn smiled at me when he saw me coming and I couldn’t hide the excitement. I threw my arms around his neck and screamed with glee, even though he had no idea why. The soldiers don’t ask questions. We tell them where we need to go and they protect us with their lives. They weren’t in the business of asking about our personal lives but Finn was different.

“I take it you are happy?” he whispered as I released him and Guido quickly directed his gaze straight ahead. It was seen as inappropriate for me to hug a soldier, but everyone knew Finn meant more to me than just my protector.

“Very happy,” I grinned, turning to sit down in a waiting room chair and reaching for a magazine. I couldn’t even focus on the articles because my mind was so frantic with how everyone would take this news. A new Buccini. A potential new heir to our empire. This was huge. Gio had never mentioned having children, but I knew he would be over-the-moon. He loved Liv more than anything and he would be the most incredible papi.

I paused flicking through the magazine as I thought about how protective he would become over Liv during the pregnancy. Poor girl. She was about to be smothered. And mamma… this will make her so unbelievably full of love. Her first grandchild. I smiled again and returned to the magazine. It wouldn’t just be my family that would be ecstatic. All our capos, staff and soldiers would feel the hope and pride too. The Buccini name would live on. But with all these sudden happy thoughts came the anxiety and panic straight after. This child would be the worst news to our enemies. I knew that much.

Olivia exited the office with a file in her hands and a dazzling smile on her face. I hoped she was prepared for how much her life was about to change because not only was she now a mamma, but she was a mamma to a potential mafia heir.

“Ready to go?” she smiled and I stood up, nodding.

“So, when are you going to tell Gio?” I whispered as we linked arms and headed for the elevators down to the underground car park where our escort cars and more of Gio’s men would be waiting for us.