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“Not much. I know gratzi.”
Catarina giggled. “That’s Italian.”
“I mean por favor.”
Catarina dropped to the bed and curled into a ball laughing at Shakarri. When she pulled herself together, she faced Shakarri to school her. “That’s please. I can speak English and Italian, and now Spanish. Wanna hear?”
Shakarri didn’t really want to, but Catarina was already off chattering away in three different languages. She assumed the little girl translated everything whenever she spoke English, but she didn’t pay attention enough to know one way or another. Catarina seemed to take after her Uncle Cason for being so friendly when they had met for just a few hours last time she was in California.
Catarina stopped halfway through a sentence about a llama. Apparently, she didn’t know the word in Spanish or Italian. “Can I sleep with you, Shakarri?”
“You have your own room, sweet pea, and I’m not sure your papa would allow it.”
She pouted. “Papà will let me. He won’t care.”
Shakarri thought she might be right, especially if he didn’t bother coming to the room they shared.
A knock sounded at the door, and Shakarri called out come in while Catarina jetted for the closet and shut herself inside it. The door opened and there stood the older Italian nanny with flyaway graying hair. Shakarri had met Paxe before, and she seemed like a nice, if harassed, woman who couldn’t always keep up with the energetic Catarina.
“Shh, don’t tell her I’m here,” Catarina said. Shakarri figured unless the woman was deaf, she heard the loud whisper.
“Mi scusi, signora. I look for Signorina Catarina.”
“It’s bedtime, Catarina,” Shakarri announced without giving away the little girl’s hiding place. A moan sounded from the direction of the closet, and Paxe walked over to open the door.
“Signorina Catarina, we must go to bed, or Papà will be angry with us. Come along.”
“Papà never gets mad at me,” she insisted.
“Come along!” Paxe put a little bite in her tone, and Catarina whined all the way out of the room. She kept it up along the hall, her voice fading until Shakarri no longer heard her. Catarina was definitely a spoiled princess, convincing Shakarri it might be a good idea to get back on the pill as soon as possible. All she needed was Ezio to fight her over getting the baby a nanny and letting their child be spoiled until it was impossible to deal with.
She stood in front of the mirror considering whether she wanted to storm downstairs and tell Ezio what she thought of him letting his lover come to their house. Exhaustion washed over her, and her stomach was still upset. She didn’t feel like dealing with any more of this drama tonight. Maybe Cason was wrong, and he’d already sent the woman home. She could only hope.
Yawning, she strode to the bed and climbed in. A remote shut off all the lights, and the room was plunged into darkness. On second thought, she decided to stay awake to confront him, but after ten minutes or so she dropped off into a deep sleep.
Chapter 7
“Crap!” Shakarri sprang out of bed and promptly fell onto the floor. Her stomach roiled like a stormy sea, and she rolled to her feet dragging the covers into the bathroom. What was left of her sparse dinner went into the toilet bowl. She couldn’t be pregnant already, could she? “Please, no.”
She’d have to make a doctor’s appointment to see. After she cleaned up, she walked into the bedroom. The covers were tangled in her arms, and when she fell, she had taken the pillows with her. There was no way to figure out if Ezio had laid beside her. She had slept like a rock all night, and very often he rose before she awakened.
Ticked off, she forgot about getting dressed or combing her hair and left the room. She reached the bottom of the stairs when the horrible laugh reached her from the dining room. Shakarri stomped down the hall and stopped in the doorway. The entire family was there at the table, including Madison looking like she woke in perfect condition every morning. In fact, she wasn’t even wearing the same dress she’d had on the night before. Today, she wore bright red leggings with a yellow top that scarcely covered her midriff. Her auburn hair hung in soft waves about her beautiful face.
All eyes swiveled toward Shakarri, and Ezio’s gaze skittered down her form, bringing into sharp focus that she had forgotten to change out of her nightie and do her hair. She must look like a freak.
“Shakarri,” Catarina sing-songed and threw her arms in the air.
“Call her Auntie Sha,” Cason joked. “She likes that.”
Ezio pushed his chair back and slowly rose. Shakarri swung around to march back upstairs. She heard his step not far behind her and locked the bedroom door. The doorknob wiggled once.
“Shakarri, unlock the door,” he said in a low tone.
She searched her closet for something to wear. Would her doctor see her on short notice? She hoped so.
Something cracked, and the bedroom door hit the wall. He’d only asked her to unlock it once. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and butterflies stirred in her stomach. Ezio appeared in the opening to the closet. She expected the entire household to come running at the noise, but no one else showed up.
She darted a glance toward him and focused on the clothes. Now was a bad time to realize she hadn’t evaluated him enough to know if he was abusive. As meaty as Ezio was, he could do damage if he decided to hit her.
