“Can we call Auntie Maribella for real? I’d kill for some baked ziti right now.” Enzo asked.
Cesare shook his head. “Sure. Why the hell not?” He muttered as he hung up the phone. He made his way upstairs, muttering to himself.
“I brought a girl over for a private week-long trip in my private house,for the first time, and we’ll invite the whole zoo. Let’s do it the first night. And icing on the cake, half the table will be fully armed, but only half the table is remotely sane, and there is unfortunately no correlation between those two figures. That’s great. Fantastic first impression, really.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
(Sabrina)
Mrs. Bonetti was a stout woman with long, thick dark hair and warm brown eyes. She immediately made Sabrina feel welcome and insisted she eat something on the terrace before doing anything else.
Sabrina relaxed on the terrace, soaking in the view of the gardens and the Delaware River. The birds sang as she happily ate homemade pasta and a salad with freshly picked greens from a modernized greenhouse on the edge of the property. She had just finished eating when a commotion of men’s voices came from inside the house.
“Mrs. Bonetti, what’s going on?” Sabrina asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
“Oh, Signorina. It is Mr. Lombardi, the senior. He is not himself today.” Mrs. Bonetti’s expression looked back at the house at the sound of crashing glass, and then back at Sabrina. She attempted a professional nonchalance, but failed. “He has tempers sometimes, like any other man, but today I think you should go to the spa.”
Sabrina frowned. Like any other man? Cesare, her Cesare, hadn’t struck her as having anger issues; at least not like the shouting that was coming from inside the house. The noise faded abruptly after the slamming of a loud door. Sabrina, typically happy to go with the flow, shook her head slowly but firmly.
“I would like to stay. I’ll spend the afternoon around the grounds and go down to the river.” Sabrina answered, looking up at Mrs. Bonetti. “Cesare can join me when whatever he’s dealing with has been resolved, of course.”
“The spa would be very relaxing, Signorina.” Mrs. Bonetti stressed once more, wringing her hands.
Sabrina nodded, nonplussed, and took a sip of her drink. “I’m sure it would be.”
???
The Delaware River sparkled a brilliant blue under the summer sun, as Sabrina sat beneath a large maple tree; her feet bare in the grass as she dozed, sunlight flickering across her skin through the canopy of the trees.
She still felt crazy for coming here, but something about this place calmed her on a level both deep and visceral, despite the obvious goings-on inside the house. It was too soon to be planning anything, but Sabrina could see herself here. More importantly, she could see herself being happy with Cesare here.
The rustling sound of tree leaves in the wind made her smile even as her eyes remained closed, and a few songbirds could be heard singing over the low rush of the river below. It was all so peaceful and idyllic Sabrina had a hard time believing this could one day,potentially, be a regular afternoon.
The sound of a branch snapping in the distance alerted her to someone approaching. She remained relaxed as she was, knowing instinctively that this was Cesare.
When he approached close enough that his shadow covered her, Sabrina opened her eyes with a smile.
Cesare looked exhausted, and his hair was disheveled as if he’d been pulling at it. Sabrina frowned when she saw a smear of something dark red on his shirt sleeve, before looking back at his face.
Cesare was staring at her with an expression that made her want to wrap her arms around him and hold him for the rest of the night. To her disappointment, he then blinked, and his expression steeled over somewhat.
Making a decision, Sabrina opened her arms to him and watched as the tenderness on his face came rushing back. He knelt on the ground, disregarding any risk of grass stains, and buried his face in her neck, wrapping his arms around her with a groan.
Sabrina soothed her hand up and down his back, feeling him slowly relax until he was melted butter in her arms. She felt her heart beat slowly sync with his; marveling at the pulse in her finger tips and the mirrored beat pulsing back from the artery in his neck.
“Cesare?” She asked.
“Hmmm?” He grunted, placing a kiss on her neck.
“Is that your blood or someone else’s?” She asked lightly.
Cesare sighed. “Someone else’s.”
“I heard some glass shatter and some yelling.” She replied quietly. “Who was that?”
Cesare was silent for a moment before answering quietly, “My pops has episodes sometimes. They’ve gotten worse lately.” He cleared his throat nervously. “Today was an unexpectedescalation, but everyone’s okay. My brothers just got here and are going to stay for the evening.”
“That sounds really hard. I’m sorry.” Sabrina frowned. “Is he aware of what’s happening when he has his episodes?” She asked.
