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“You spoke to Alessio,” she repeats, though it’s not a question but more of a statement. “Was it only him or the rest of them?”
“Ah, I spoke with Pietro, Massimo, and Zeno as well.”
Her lips split into a grin. “And what did you think of them? Handsome aren’t they?”
I don’t bother stopping the smile that pulls at my lips. “They are. But that brings me back to how you know them.” I look at her expectantly as I place the last of the silverware.
She hands me the wine glasses, and explains, “My family has worked for their family for generations. My father is one of their most trusted men, and my brothers work under him. I grew up around them, and they treated me like one of the family from the beginning. I always knew my place, but they were never cruel or treated me like the daughter of the help. And when my mother died, I remember Pietro himself coming to our home with a dish he had his chef make. He sat with my father and drank so much bourbon we had to call his men to come to get him back home safely.” She smiles at the memory.
I smile. “It sounds like you love them.”
She nods. “I may live in America, but my heart will always be with them in some capacity. Pietro is a hard man when he needs to be, but he’s also a very good man. And he’s passed that on to his sons. I have never doubted that they are as dangerous as everyone claims, and I’ve seen it on occasion, but they are also the kind of men you go to when you have a problem.” She pauses and glances at the doorway of the dining room before she looks back at me. “I have never told anyone this, so can I trust you to keep this to yourself?” I straighten slightly but nod. “Good. When I was about fifteen, I hit puberty, and almost overnight I went from being a skinny rake to having a figure that caught a lot of attention. Especially boys. Unlucky for most of the ones at school, none of them interested me. They were too pretty and too nice. And I knew my father would never approve of me dating them. Well, dating anyone, so I mostly just ignored them and focused on my studies.
“But then one day there was a transfer student who came in from London, and he took a liking to me. He was a bit more my type, but there was something off about him, and I mostly ignored him or told him to leave me alone. He, however, did not get the hint, and he was starting to get obsessed with me. He’d follow me to and from school, and there were times I was sure he was following me when I was doing the shopping and things for the family, but I could never catch him. It made me nervous. Enough that one night, Alessio noticed I was jumpy after school and insisted on walking me home. He left, and then he came back because he had a bad feeling. He caught the prick trying to rape me.” I gasp, and bring a hand to my mouth in horror. She shakes her head at me. “Don’t get too upset, darling, my brothers and father taught me well, so by the time Alessio got inside, I had already broken the fucker’s dick and was trying to wrench it off his body.”
I stare at her a moment before I sputter out a shocked laugh. “Well, I guess that is one way to handle it. I can only imagine what Alessio said when he saw that.”
She snickers. “He turned a bit green before he manned up and got me to let him go. Then called his brothers to come and take out the trash. Turns out the asshole was kicked out of a prestigious school in London for attempting to assault a girl at school he had an obsession with. His parents paid off the school and the parents, and sent him to our area to keep him out of the public eye. However, he picked the wrong girl to stalk because he paid for it with his dick, and then his life.” She turns serious. “But the point of telling you this, is that after it was handled, I was called into Pietro’s office, and I have to tell you I was scared to death he was going to be so pissed at me and take it out on my family. But he didn’t. Instead, he pulled me into his lap like when I was a kid and soothed me as I cried on his lap. I hadn’t cried up until then, still in shock. But he was safe, and he soothed me. Then he scolded me for not telling him or his sons about the bastard in the first place. And then my father showed up and he did the same, upset that I hadn’t gone to him either.
“And from there, they made sure I was okay. Pietro hired the best assault counselor in our area. And both my brothers and the Caruso brothers took turns walking me to and from school for a long time until I felt strong enough to do it myself. I probably should have been pissed at them doing it, but I took comfort in the fact that they had my back. And when I decided that I want to explore the world a bit, they tried to talk me out of it.” She laughs then. “Massimo even offered to marry me, if it meant I was safe.” I gape at that. She waves her hand. “He didn’t love me, and I didn’t love him. Hell, they are all more like brothers to me than anything, but he wanted me to have an option to stay somewhere and be safe. And between you and me, I think our fathers were hoping I would say yes. But when I insisted on coming here, my father got Pietro’s permission, and they all promised they are only a call away if I need them.”
“They sound like a really nice family,” I say with a smile, and a large twinge of envy. I wonder what my life would have been like if my family was as good as that one.
“Oh, they are,” she agrees, grabbing the last of the glasses to put in place. “But they’re also hard-headed, stubborn, and general pains in the ass. So if you’re thinking you want to spend any time with them, keep that in mind. They could give Nico a run for their money.”
“Doubtful,” I chuckle. “But I’ll find out when they get here, I suppose.”
She stops what she’s doing and stares at me. “When they get here?” she repeats.
I falter. Wait, am I not supposed to say something about that? “Uhhh,” I stammer out, unsure of what to do.
She steps forward. “When are they going to arrive?” she asks excitedly. Clearly she’s happy about the news.
I bite my lip, unsure. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to say.”
She waves that away. “First rule, darling, is you tell the housekeeper if you’re going to have guests.”
She has a point. Oh well, if Nico gets upset that I told her, I’ll handle it. “They said they’ll be here in two days.”
She stares at me and then snorts. “Yeah, right. They’re probably on a plane already and on their way here. Which means we only have a few hours before they arrive, and if we’re not ready for them, they’ll hold it over Nico’s head forever. I wonder if my father and brothers will be with them.” She sounds so hopeful that I really do hope they are too. She straightens and says, “Alright, darling, if you want something to do, I have plenty to prepare. Because we’re about to get busy.”
I smile, excited at the prospect of being able to help and not stuck trying to fill my time. “I can handle that. And then I want you to tell me all about your family and what I can expect.”
She laughs. “Oh, darling girl, you have no idea the stories I can give you. Just remember that when you want ammunition to keep their asses in line if I’m not with you,” she adds with a wink. “You and I, Gia, we’re going to be the best of friends before this is all done. And between the two us, we’re going to keep all these men in line.”
We hurry out of the dining room, and it occurs to me that this might indeed end with me having my first real friend, and I can’t be happier. Especially if it gives me tools to keep a certain someone on his toes.
CHAPTER30
Nico
The Caruso’sarrive like a fucking tornado, and all I can do is stand back and watch as they swirl in and cause chaos. Of course they arrive a whole day earlier than they said they would, and they’ve brought every damn person they can think of with them. Thankfully, Sofia knew this was going to happen and made sure everything was ready. With the help of Gia, who I found helping her strip beds and scrubbing bathrooms.
Yeah, I hadn’t been pleased, but Gia insisted she offered and was having a good time, so I didn’t protest too much. She was smiling and laughing with Sofia, and seeing it eased something inside of me. I should probably be worried about her growing friendship with my crazy housekeeper, but there are more important things to stress over, so I let them be. When I finally went to collect her to go to bed, Gia was happier than ever, even as exhausted as she and Sofia both looked.
Today, however, I want to hide Gia far away from it all. And in fact, I haven’t told her our guests have arrived. She’s still asleep upstairs. Dante woke me to let me know their plane arrived and he was on his way back with them. Sofia, of course, is up and waiting with me, practically buzzing with excitement.
“Why have you never taken a vacation to go home?” I ask her bluntly while we wait.
