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“And I you. Can we go to breakfast now?”
“Whatever you wish for.”
She got ready fast, putting on a strapless dress that happened to be my favorite and matching flats. Expensive clothes and jewelry could make any woman sparkle, but she didn’t need any of that. Grazia’s light came from inside and it captivated me.
We ended up having breakfast at a small trattoria close to the house. I knew the owners and they treated us well, but it wasn’t a place I’d usually frequent. The coffee was not the best, the terrace was small, and the kitchen door was opened and we could hear all the yelling, but Grazia was too hungry to wait to get downtown and I would have settled for porridge if I got to eat it looking at her.
When she decided she ate enough crepes Suzette to last her all day, I carried her to the car and drove to the shopping district. Grazia had no interest for the big-name stores, so we ended up browsing some small shops and they were all cute, but none carried lingerie, so I didn’t get a show. She was looking at silk scarves when she noticed I was watching her.
“Sasa.”
“What?”
“You’re looking at me.”
“Where else should I look if not at my wife?” I raised my eyebrow and she licked her lips. “Should I look out the window?” No answer. “Should I look at other women?”
Just like an angry cat, she went stiff. “I want to see you trying.”
“Just you,Tesoro.” Taking her hand and kissing it, I pulled her to a rack nearby and found a dress. It was black and sexy, and too short to allow her to ever wear it in public, but I had no problem with her wearing it for my eyes only. “Try this on.”
“This one?” She looked at the V-shaped cleavage and then back at me. “It’s very provocative.”
“I like it when you provoke me. Go to the changing room.” I sent her away with a slap on her ass and she left giggling. When she disappeared behind a door, I settled on one of the couches that I could bet were put there for husbands waiting on their wives.
Grazia took her sweet time and I got a chance to check my phone. No calls, but Pietro texted me a few times to give me some details about a big meeting with the power-plant people. If all the favors I called in would stay on schedule, those papers were going to be signed in less than a month and that’s when the fun would begin. I smiled to myself thinking about how much I could grow the business and thefamigliaby the end of the year. If everything would go as planned, I might need to buy a bank soon to keep all that cash.
My good mood was ruined in a heartbeat when a heavy perfume wrapped around me. It was sweet, but not like Grazia. This one was intoxicating, too powerful to be sexy and to pungent to be feminine. When I looked up and saw Ariana Bernoulli sliding her slim body close to me, I realized how fit that perfume was for her.
“Salvatore, it’s so good to see you.” She chirped. “I was so sorry to hear about your father. How are you feeling?” Her words were accompanied by a touch on my bicep and I felt the coldness of her hand through my shirt.
“I’m feeling fine. Leave.” She heard that from me a few times. She should be used to it by now.
“Oh, come on. Don’t act like we’re strangers. We’re old friends.”
“No, we’re not, you were Grazia’s friend.”
“You don’t mean to say there was nothing between us.”
“Niente[53].”
“But there could be.” She was sleek as a snake, as always. Too bad I knew all her tricks.
“You should know better, Ariana. I told you last time, no one can turn my head from Grazia. There’s no competition when she already won.” That struck a nerve and the woman’s face turned to stone. I wasn’t done with her yet. “I know you like to hang around my men and ride their dicks now and again. Maybe you get off on the danger of getting fucked by people you shouldn’t touch, or maybe you think it will get you close to me, but that’s over. No one associated withFioriwould touch Fabiano’s whore.”
“Shh!” She placed a finger over her lips in averydramatic gesture. “You don’t want Fabiano to hear you talk like that. He gets very angry when someone says a bad word about me.”
“He might be angry from dusk ‘till dawn then.” Something else got my attention. “He’s here?”
“In the Tabaco store next door. I wanted to pick out something nice for him and saw you all alone. Couldn’t help myself but come and say hi.”
“I’m trying to enjoy a day with my wife. Leave.”
If Fabiano was here that meant trouble. He and I never saw face to face since Father kicked him out of our house in disgrace. Clashing with him was a challenge I’d take on any day, but not with Grazia watching. A wife should never see the darkest side of her husband.
Someone as pure as Grazia shouldn’t see the darkest side of me. She knew the man I was better than anyone else, from my honor, to every last stain of blood on my hands. She was born mafia royalty – the Caputo princess – she knew the shadows, but I still wanted to protect her.
“Leave, Ariana, before you stir more shit than you can handle.” Ariana Bernoulli might have been a narcissist, she might have been a bitch and a viper, but she was not stupid. If she came to talk to me, it wasn’t because of some friendship, or to flirt, it was because she was looking to start trouble.
