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“Mom,” I hissed. “Nic is a mafia boss. He’s into illegal stuff. I expected you to have some kind of reaction to this information. Shouldn’t you be telling me to find a nice boy to marry?”
She laughed lightly as she arranged the pieces on the plate until they were to her liking. Then she looked up at me and smiled, patting my cheek. “Sorry, sweetie. He made us an offer we couldn’t refuse.” My jaw dropped. “Besides which, it isn’t like we didn’t already know who he was before he came to visit us.”
My mom was making mobster jokes about my fiancé who really was the head of the mafia.
“What kind of offer?” I couldn’t imagine a single thing he could give them that would make my parents not care about his background.
“To love and care for you.”
I sighed dreamily, picturing Nic telling my parents that he loved me. There was only one problem with the vision in my head. “But neither of us have actually said the words to each other.”
“Niccolo!” Allegra called out from behind me. I swiveled around to find her standing in the doorway, muttering in Italian under her breath. I hadn’t heard her come in, but she was the furthest thing from quiet when Nic walked into the kitchen, and she lit into him. I couldn’t understand half of what she said, but Nic apparently didn’t have the same problem based on the look of dismay which crossed his face.
“Basta, Mamma.” He cut her off mid-rant and turned to me. “Of course, Gianna knows I love her.”
My eyes widened and filled with tears as I shook my head. He stalked towards me, pulling me tightly against his chest and claiming my mouth in a passionate kiss, uncaring who our audience was. By the time he let me up for air, my tears were gone and I was breathing heavily.
“Silly woman,” he murmured against my lips. “Of course I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I whispered back.
“Perfetto!” Allegra clapped.
“Indeed,” my mom sighed. “And perfectly timed, too, since brunch is ready to be served.”
And so the blending of our families began—with love, acceptance, and delicious food.
SIXTEEN
Nic
I shook Salvatore’s hand and kissed Livy on the cheek, earning me a bit of a glare from Gianna’s dad. After brunch, we’d all attended mass together and were departing to go our separate ways from the church. Gianna hugged her parents goodbye, and I smiled when Sophia did the same. She’d taken to Salvatore and Livy, as though they’d been part of the family all of her life. In fact, we’d blended together almost seamlessly.
I was almost struck speechless when I realized I hadn’t told Gianna I loved her. I’d thought it so many times. It hadn’t occurred to me that she would question my love for her, and I hated the idea that she had. Heat shot through me as I thought about all the ways I planned to make it up to her.
We climbed into the black town car and took the short ride home, our bodyguards in the car behind us. After we arrived, my mother announced she was going to rest and would probably be in for the night.
“Daddy?” I didn’t think I would ever stop feeling the rush from hearing her call me that.
I lifted her into my arms and kissed her nose, making her giggle. “What, preziosa?”
“Can we go to the park?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say no, Sophia had only been home from the hospital a week, but Gianna chimed in. “Of course we can, sweetheart. As long as you promise to take it easy. No running, okay?”
Sophia’s head bobbed up and down as she squirmed, prompting me to set her on her feet. She started to run up the stairs, then stopped and threw us a quick glance. We pretended not to notice, and she continued up the stairs at a more sedate pace. I chuckled at my adorable baby girl, and Gianna held her hand over her mouth, clearly trying to stifle her laughter as well.
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her into the sitting room and backed her up against a wall. Letting go, I caged her between my arms with my palms on the wall.
“You are an amazing mother, mia dolce.” She blushed, but I wasn’t finished. “And I want you to feel free to make decisions in regards to Sophia. In this house, and in private, you may contradict me as much as you want.” Her eyebrows fell and she looked wary at the hardening of my voice. “But in public, or around those I work with, you are not to question my decisions.”
Her eyes darkened with anger and she looked away. I gripped her jaw with one hand, turning her eyes back to me. “I cannot be seen as weak, especially right now with all of the fucking trouble brewing between us and the O’Reillys. It puts you and our family in even more danger if they think I cannot protect you.”
