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A stroller. The nicest stroller they had in the store. I’d been eyeing it since we came in there, but as soon as I saw the price tag, I walked away. There was no way in hell anyone would pay that much for a stroller. Sure, it was nice and converted into loads of different kinds, but it was too much.
“We’ll take it,” I heard Rosa say from behind me, talking to a woman who was showing her all the different specs of the stroller. Rosa caught my eye, winked, then spun around, leaving me standing there dumfounded.
“I’m not sure we have enough,” Sofia said from behind me with Aida at her side. “Maybe we should get some more diapers, and what about those cute hats and—”
“Oh and those little glove things to cover their tiny hands,” Aida added.
“No,” I groaned, but the smile on my face was as big as theirs. “I started the day with nothing for the baby and now we havetoo manythings.”
“Nope.” Sofia shook her head vehemently. “No such thing as too many things.” She hooked her arm through mine so that we were all walking side by side down the aisle and toward the cashier who was ringing Rosa up.
“You’re all crazy.” I laughed, feeling so free that it was almost like I was dreaming.
We’d laughed all day, talked about all the different things that would happen with the baby; we’d even predicted if it was going to be a boy or a girl. Aida and Sofia were convinced it was going to be a girl, but Rosa had told them they were stupid—her words, not mine—and that it was obviously a boy because of how big and low I was carrying.
It wasn’t until I was finally back in the SUV with help from Romeo again that tiredness slammed into me like a freight truck hitting a wall. My feet burned, my back ached, but my smile was wide. I’d had the best day, but now all I wanted was to get into bed and sleep for ten hours straight.
“Thank you,” I murmured to Rosa, meeting her gaze. “Thank you for taking me today. My mom…” I cleared my throat, feeling a lump form. “It’s what I’d like to think my mom would have done if she was still here.”
Rosa reached over, taking my hand in hers. “She would have, gioia. She’d have taken you to choose your stroller and lavished the baby with hugs and kisses.” She paused, her eyes shining. “She’s always with you in here”—she pressed her hand over her heart—“always.”
I held her hand a little tighter as we pulled up to the mansion, feeling overwhelmed but also the happiest I’d been since I’d found out I was pregnant. For once, I didn’t feel like the burden of everything, but instead, part of something…part of a family.
* * *
DANTE
“We’re all finally here, then,” Alessandro Roti said with a sneer on his face.
Lorenzo gave him a look, one that told him he wasn’t amused by his comment. Alessandro always said what he thought, he was also the man who had tried to take my father’s seat when he died. Lorenzo had soon put a stop to that though.
Lorenzo didn’t allow Alessandro’s attitude to seep through his armor, he simply ignored him and then looked at the other three men around the table.
The Enterprise.
The heads of all of the families in the state, working together in part so that we weren’t always at war. There’d been too much of that over the years, which was why my father had put together this organization that met once a month. Only this month we were a week late, thanks to me.
“Any matters of importance to discuss?” Lorenzo asked, sitting back in his seat. I was standing at the side of him, my rightful place as underboss, just like all of the other underbosses stood next to their bosses around the table.
“Yeah, the fact that you’ve expanded,” Gio Pozzi said. His stare moved up to mine, but all I did was raise a brow. He was trying to pick a fight, trying to get a reaction, too bad for him, he wouldn’t get one…at least, not here and now anyway.
Gio Pozzi had only come into power after his uncle—Piero—had betrayed Lorenzo. It was my brother who had put Gio at the head of his family, yet with the way he was staring Lorenzo down, you would have thought he was his sworn enemy.
The Pozzis were the lowest family here, adept in politics and growing marijuana.
“We discussed that at the last meeting,” Lorenzo told him, not turning to look at him.
“Yeah, and you didn’t let me say my piece.” Gio banged his fist on the table, causing it to shake.
“You said plenty,” Neri Riva growled. “It’s all you ever talk about.” Neri was only one of two original members still sitting at the table. Him and Stefano Cerutti. Between the two of them, they controlled a hell of a lot of money in the state. Neri was a loan shark who also owned countless casinos, and Stefano cleaned more money than you could ever think of. Cash was their thing.
“Yeah, because they now run twice as much territory as we do,” Gio continued, his face turning red. “It’s not split evenly. The whole point of this was so that we were all on a level playing field.”
I tried to keep my grin at bay because he’d never be on a level playing field with any of the other four families around this table. Tilting my head, I wondered what his play was. Was he trying to make a mark that his uncle hadn’t been able to?
Lorenzo leaned forward, the move slow and deliberate. “We were never on a level playing field.” He paused, sneering. “And we never will be.” He moved back, pushing his chest out. “I’m the head of The Enterprise. If you have a problem with that, let’s talk it out.” I grinned, knowing that his words had hidden meaning. I knew it, and so did everyone else around this table.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be head anymore,” Gio snipped.
