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And the feeling is mutual.
"Look, Neri, your mamma andnonnaare back." Connie rises gracefully from her spot on the floor near the train track.
She dusts off the seat of her slacks, though I doubt very much there is a speck of dirt on Severu's floor.
My son jumps up and runs over to throw himself against my legs in an exuberant hug. "I missed you Mamma."
"I missed you too,ometto." My little man. I bend to lift Neri up to hug him back just as tight. "You were still napping when I left, or I would have taken you with me."
"I don't need a nap," Neri says forcefully.
It's a familiar argument and one my little man is not going to win anytime soon. Overtired, Neri can rival any made man's temper.
"Your zios Severu and Miceli took naps until they turned five," my mother says.
"They did?" Neri asks suspiciously.
Hisnonnasmiles and kisses both his cheeks before saying, "Yes. And Miceli was like you. He tried to get out of his naps, but Severu never did."
That has my son's active brain whirling, I can tell. My oldest brother is only second to his father in Neri's hierarchy of heroes. He adores Miceli too, but Neri is in awe of Severu.
I mouth, "Thank you," silently to my mother over Neri's shoulder.
She gives her familiar Mona Lisa smile and nods. "I need to get ready. I am meeting some capos' wives for tea."
Aria De Luca's social calendar is daunting. I enjoy the whirlwind of activity with her when I am in New York but can't attend everything. I'd never see my son otherwise.
Besides, I'm not sure anyone could keep up with my mother and her social engagements.
Neri squirms in my arms and I let him down.
Throwing a greeting to Lara over his shoulder, he rushes back to the center of the large living room. His toys are spread out on a thick art deco carpet and the coffee table that is usually there has been moved under the window.
My bodyguard returns the greeting and takes up a position near the entrance of the room.
Things have been cool between us since the appointment with Dr. Hewitt. Lara apologized for not telling me what the appointment was for, as did my assistant, who I left in Vegas for this trip.
I would have left Lara too, but Raff would not hear of it.
I'm sure neither will make the same mistake again, but I'm not one of those people whose temper burns hot and bright and then dissipates. It takes me time to get over genuine anger.
Miceli says I can hold a grudge better than he can hold a gun. Considering how deadly my brother is, the implication isn't lost on me.
I kick off my heels and settle on the floor near where Neri is playing. My narrow skirt forces me to sit with my knees bent and my legs off to one side. Not nearly as comfortable as Connie is in her dark pantsuit designed for ease of movement while looking professional.
But I'm used to it. This way, I can get up and back into my heels in seconds if anyone outside the family arrives.
Neri enacts a fight sequence between his superhero figurine and the remaining train cars. "Deadpool is the bestest!"
The antihero superhero is Neri's favorite of all of them and he never goes anywhere without the action figure. Considering all of the men he most looks up are themselves more Deadpool than Captain America, it makes sense he's so enamored with the mask wearing superhero.
Neri zooms across the living room and stops in front of my bodyguard. "Look, Lara. He's the bestest and the strongest. Just like Papà."
Lara nods. "I see that,piccolo."
My son shoves one of the other action figures out toward me. "You be him, Mamma."
Soon, my figure is in a mortal battle with Neri's. My son's wins, of course and he crows in victory.
