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“Oh. I guess things are really different in Chicago.”
He only laughed at that.
I was not stupid. I knew queer people existed in the mafia, but no one was openly queer. It was not accepted. It would never be accepted.
Or so I thought.
When I was contemplating what to say, a sweet little voice filled the gazebo I was in, “Kitty, kitty!”
I looked at Elsie running after Sherbet and smiled. She couldn’t pronounce the name very well, so she called her kitty. She kept yelling as she kept playing catch with the small kitten.
“Is that Peanut?” Valerio asked. Apparently, Elsie’s voice was loud enough for him to hear.
“Yes,” I answered. I couldn’t believe he even managed to create a relationship with Elsie all the way from Chicago. That was another level of persistence.
Once I ignored his texts and pushed him, he actually sent a box to me. When I opened it, I found the ugliest dress inside. He pinned the dress a note saying, “For your virtue, Kitty.” It made me angry even though I knew that was what he wanted. However, there was also another smaller dress. It was a pretty pink thing with tulle and also had a note pinned to it, “This one is for the little one.”
I hated how that note made me smile. I hated how much Elsie loved that dress. I hated how he talked to Elsie when we had a phone call so she could thank him. I hated how he started calling her Peanut because she was too small and cute. I hated how much Elsie got excited hearing his name.
Having a good relationship with Elsie could actually make me attracted to him, and there was no way that was happening.
“She is playing with Sherbet,” I said cooly. These moments were the ones I had to guard my heart. I wished he was not good with kids.
I mean, I didn’t really, but still, this was annoying.
“Oh, I should buy her a toy that looks like Sherbet as well.”
Because he already bought her a stuffed cat toy that looked like Wednesday, and it became Elsie’s fucking favorite. She was really picking the enemy side. I couldn’t get angry at her, though. She looked so happy and cute playing with that toy.
“If you want,” I answered like it didn’t matter, but I knew Elsie was going to love that toy as well.
“I’ll bring it myself next week.”
Chapter 12
Valerio
Peanut loved the gift I brought her. She was much easier to charm than her sister.
I wanted her to keep the cats in some way since they were coming with us to Chicago after the wedding. I didn’t tell her that, though. I knew it would upset her. I was not even sure if she had gotten used to the idea of Luce leaving. I could tell they had a close bond, and I could somewhat understand. I never had a younger sister, but I had a twin and was also close with my young nieces and nephews.
I loved that I was finally able to take Luce away but didn’t like that I was separating her from Elsie.
Our visit before the wedding granted me the chance to meet Luce’s other siblings. It didn’t take a genius to understand she didn’t have a bond with them as she did with Elsie. I particularly hated her youngest older sister Anna. She was also her Maid of Honor, and it made things even worse. Luce deserved to be surrounded by people who valued her. She was not the easiest person to connect to, and she was a grump for real, but she didn’t deserve the hate her family so openly showcased.
Other than Anna, most of Luce’s siblings either never shared a home with her or did when she was very young. They didn’t have a close relationship at all, but Anna was only five years older than Luce. It really didn’t feel right how she treated her. It was the day before Luce’s wedding, her fiancé’s family was visiting, and Anna acted like Luce didn’t exist at all. She was supposed to be the center of attention, but everybody just ignored her.
I really had very violent thoughts about her family but kept them to myself. Killing your bride’s family right before the wedding would probably bring bad luck.
Also, they were really all over Salvatore and me. Maybe him having a son really didn’t register in their brains yet because Luce’s brothers still treated me like the heir. Maybe they thought I would fight my baby nephew for power.
In their dreams.
Normally I loved attention, but I didn’t like it from them because it kept me away from Luce. They acted like she didn’t matter when she was the only one who mattered to me in this hellhole of a house.
Because of that reason, I went back to that house later that night. I mean, I was already planning to go back, but not being able to interact with Luce also pushed me. I didn’t like seeing her in the audience of her family, especially her father. She cowered in front of him. She acted like somebody else, and I didn’t want somebody else.
I was very excited to have her as my wife because that would make her mine. She would not need to be scared of her father then because Gino Borelli would not dare hurt something that was mine. I wanted her to have my protection in every sense of the world so she could be her authentic self.
