AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lorenzo looked permanently tired and permanently pissed with me.
Whenever he was home he would stay in his study and work, only coming to bed when it was very late, by which time I was usually asleep given the broken nights we had with the kids.
Each night, without fail, Clara would wake, and then Clemente would also get woken up. It took a long time to get them both settled again.
This morning, Marco came over for breakfast as Lorenzo needed to speak to him about business.
In the past, Lorenzo would have just skipped breakfast and had an early meeting, so I was thankful that he was, at least, keeping to his promise to be home more for mealtimes. He was always home for breakfast and dinner now, and if he was going to miss one of those meals, he always rang to let me know.
This sort of stability in the children’s routine was really good for them, particularly for Clara with her anxiety issues. When her father was home, she always looked much happier and ate more. She still needed to eat a bit more at lunchtimes, but I was working on that.
While Lorenzo and Marco discussed business, I talked quietly with the children and helped them with their breakfast, careful not to interrupt the men’s discussion in any way.
After breakfast, Marco and Lorenzo left for work, and the children went to play in the den.
Ten minutes later, I was in the hallway after coming out of the kitchen.
I started as someone came in through the unlocked front door, my hand flying to my chest.
“Didn’t mean to startle you,” drawled a cold voice. It was Marco. His dark hair and charcoal eyes gave him a threatening aura, not to mention the fact that he never smiled. “Just forgot my phone.”
“Oh…I…thought you’d gone?” I found Marco Marchiano downright scary. To be Capo, a man had to be brutal and merciless, and everything I’d heard about the Capo so far fitted that description.
Marco strode into the dining room and retrieved his phone which was still on the table. Adelina hadn’t cleared the dishes yet, so no one had noticed that his cell was still there.
I wondered if I should ask him if he’d like another cup of coffee before he left, but then thought to myself I’d rather he just went as soon as possible. I’d never been left alone with him before, and I really didn’t like the vibe that came off him.
He turned to leave but then spun back around and stared at me.
My pulse beat erratically as he looked intently at me.
He rubbed his hand across his jaw. “Why don’t you bring the kids to dinner tonight?”
“We can’t,” I blurted out. “I mean…the children are looking forward to having dinner with Lorenzo tonight.”
“Lorenzo’s coming to mine for dinner tonight—it’s already arranged. If you bring the kids, they can see him there. Wouldn’t want to disappoint them, after all.”
I felt irritation rise in my veins. Lorenzo had promised he would be home for dinner as much as possible, and if he wasn’t going to make it, he’d tell me in advance so that I could manage the children’s expectations. But he’d already made plans for dinner without telling me or the children. It was probably going to be another one of those nights where Clara would refuse to eat much, being worried because her dad wasn’t home for dinner like he’d promised he’d be, and instead she’d spend the meal looking at the door and wondering if her father was actually coming home. She’d already had her mom snatched away from her, and she was terrified that the same thing would happen with her dad.
“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll bring the children.”
“6pm. I’ll see you then.”
With that, he turned around and left.
I headed into the den. “Clara, Clemente, tonight we’re all going for dinner at your cousin Marco’s.”
Clara suddenly looked alarmed, her eyes pooling with tears.
“Don’t worry, your father will meet us there too,” I said gently.
“Really?”
“Yes, sweetie, really. We’ll have dinner together, and you’ll also get to see Marco and the others.”
After making sure Clara was alright, I wandered into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee. Then I was going to get the children’s art equipment out and we were going to do some painting and crafts this morning.
“Are you okay, Mrs. Anni?” Adelina noticed that I was deep in thought.
