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Once the doctor leaves, I make the call to my father. He and my mother already know about Everly because Marcello has a big mouth. He loves my parents, and they think of him as a son. I would bet Mom is Marcello’s favorite of the family, and that’s saying a lot since I’m his best friend. He has taken her shopping and has gotten mani-pedis with her. I smile, remembering how I walked into the nail salon to pick Mom up when Dad got busy at work one day. Marcello was sitting in the chair, getting his toenails done. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and couldn’t stop the burst of laughter that erupted out of me. You would think a big, strong mafia guy would have been embarrassed at being caught in that situation, but he was rather proud of how good his nails looked. He told me I needed to get mine done, and I was bent over laughing by this point. The tiny Vietnamese lady who was doing Marcello’s toenails started laughing along with me. Tears were running down both cheeks. For hours after we left the salon and dropped Mom at home, I would randomly burst into hysterics. Even now, just remembering it makes me laugh.
As the phone rings and my dad answers, I know I must sound crazy, laughing to myself.
“Gio.”
“Dad. It’s done.”
“Are you sure about this, Giovanni? Your mom said Everly was a lovely girl. If you do this, there is no going back. She might not forgive you.”
“There is no other option. Everly removed her ring and didn’t want to put it back on. I need to know that she’s safe. Someone beat her so severely just a few days ago that she could hardly walk. I can’t take the chance of whoever it was finding her and doing it again, or worse.”
“That explains the tracker, but it doesn’t explain the fertility drugs you ordered or the prenatal vitamins.”
“Father, was it not you who said I needed a wife and an heir?”
“Yes, but I thought you would acquire them the old-fashioned way through an arranged marriage or falling in love with someone. I want you to be as happy as your mother and I are.”
I know he has good intentions and wants the best for me. He’s always been a good father, which is uncommon in the mafia.
“We will be. I plan to make Everly happy. She doesn’t know it yet, but she won’t ever be alone again. She will never have to sleep in a cold alley again or work in a bar with men groping her. It’s going to take time for her to see that she needs me, but when she does, she will never want for anything for the rest of our lives.”
“I understand, son. I will let Mario and Carla Esposito know that there won’t be a marriage contract between our families.”
“I’m a married man, Pops. Make the call. That won’t change as long as Everly and I are both alive. Soon, you will have those grandchildren that you and Mom have been after me about.”
He chuckles. “Can’t wait. Your mom has been talking about how excited she is since she came home from spending the day with your wife.”
“That’s a relief to hear after she was angry about missing the wedding. I promised her she could plan one when I get Everly on board. Once she’s pregnant, we will give her the wedding of her dreams.”
Hanging up the phone, I climb into bed beside my wife, pulling her body into my arms. I wrap my arms around her and entangle my legs around hers, holding her like a starfish. I’ve never slept with a woman in my arms, but I can’t imagine not having her now. I’ve never slept as well as I did with Everly in my arms.
Everly
The next morning, I wake up feeling like I’m in an oven. I open my eyes to Gio, holding on to me for dear life, and our legs intertwined. I really need to get to the restroom, but when I move, he stirs. Pulling me tighter into his body, something hard pokes me in the ass. I try to untangle him from me so I can get up and go to the bathroom, but every time I get one arm or leg untangled, he pulls me into his hold tighter.
“Gio, I need to go to the bathroom.”
He lets me get up, and I go into the bathroom. Once I’m finished, I look under the sink, hoping there is a spare toothbrush, and I find several new ones in a pack. Holding it in hand, thoughts of women spending the night in Gio’s bed run through my mind. I’m green with envy, knowing he’s touched other women. I have no right to be, but the man is a psycho caveman over me as well, so I don’t feel guilty. “Fuck him. He thinks he can just take me hostage here, and yet he’s got spare toothbrushes for the women who spend the night under his bathroom sink.”
Of course, this is the exact moment that I look in the mirror and see Gio standing in the doorway behind me with his arms across his chest, smirking. He’s shirtless, wearing gray sweatpants, and looking way too sexy.
“What was that you just said, wife?”
“Oh, fuck off, Gio.” Now, I’m being ridiculous, but I can’t help the anger spreading through me. I don’t even know the man. He’s drugged me, kidnapped me, married me against my will, and yet I am furious at the thought of him touching another woman. What the hell is wrong with me? Is this like Stockholm Syndrome setting in? I didn’t think it would happen this fast.
“You and your sexy porn pants and that little smirk are pissing me off before I even start my day.”
“Porn pants? You think I’m sexy?” He snorts.
He walks up behind me until my back is up against his front. “What was that you said about other women?”
My face heats with embarrassment that he heard my little tantrum.
His lips are traveling down my neck and shoulder, placing small kisses along the way.
“I said you have toothbrushes under your sink for the many women who sleep in your bed.”
“Baby, only one woman will ever sleep in my bed for as long as we both breathe, and that’s you. We can’t undo our past, but you are mine, and I am yours until death do us part.”
