Chapter 29
Alessandro
Aside from the vibrant flowers, white and blue are the only colors that surround us in this place—Santorini.
The pathways are narrow, but thankfully it’s shoulder-season, so it’s not terribly packed with tourists as the women lead the way, going in and out of all the little shops.
Normally, I’d want to get on with the day and find a restaurant or bar to plant ourselves in until nightfall rather than waste this much time at souvenir shops.
But Sofia’s happy, and that changes everything.
It seems like Elio’s wife, Aurora, and Sofia are genuinely getting along. It makes sense that the only two wives under thirty would bond on a trip like this. I knew Sofia would only need to break through Aurora’s shy exterior.
I linger towards the back of the group as we wait near another shop. Placing myself between Sal and Elio and looking at Sofia and Aurora as they laugh at an ugly donkey figurine.
Sal nods to the girls as Sofia picks it up. “You’d better stop her. I think she’s going to buy it.”
I swear under my breath, but I can’t fight the smile on my face.
“It’s not a bad thing.” Sal shrugs. “Your new home needs it after getting rid of all of those animals. Sofia is simply replacing those things for you.”
“I’m just happy there’s only one and Aurora can’t buy one to match,” Elio says.
Sofia looks at me, her smile making her brown eyes crinkle as she holds the damn thing up like a trophy before purchasing it.
There’s something so wholesome about all of this that it feels like I’ve entered an alternate reality.
Sal shakes his head. “I can’t wrap my head around how you two are getting along this well after everything that went down.”
“Me neither.”
We step closer towards a white plaster wall as a large group of sunburned tourists pass by.
“Any news on the package that Dante sent?” Sal keeps his voice low and holds up one of his hands, fluttering his fingers near my face.
“Right.” I sigh. “I still haven’t dealt with that yet.”
And to say it’s making me nervous is an understatement because I promised Sofia that I’d sort out the issues with her family yesterday, but she has no idea how much needs to be sorted. If I could go back in time and beat the shit out of my stupid, violent self that hatched this plan, I would.
Elio laughs without humor. “That’s a huge problem. They’re probably getting shot down by the guards outside the castle walls as we buy trinkets and go on wine tastings.”
“I know,” I hiss. “But I’ll fix it.”
“Do you think we can be allied with them, eventually?” Sal asks.
Elio cuts in before I can open my mouth. “What good is being allied with them? Their net worth is a fraction of ours. One of the least influential crime families in the States.”
“Enough.” I point my finger in his face. “If I hear you speak ill of her family one more time…”
“Sorry, boss, I…” he trails off and looks towards Sofia and Aurora, who have noticed our minor altercation.
“Forget about it.” I force my face to relax. “I don’t want to ruin the trip, but remember your fucking place.”
Elio puts his hands in his pockets as a way of pretending not to look shaken up and wanders away from me and Sal as our group continues to meander around the island.
“That was well done,” Sal keeps his voice low.
I raise my eyebrows, unable to tell if he’s patronizing me or not.
He continues on, “Putting him in his place without traumatizing the women or the poor people around us. What do you think Marco would have done? Ruined the entire fucking trip.”
Sal walks away as Sofia hesitantly approaches me, sensing the serious conversation. She hands me yet another bag to carry. “Hopefully, you don’t mind.”
“What? Carrying things for you?” With the information she told me yesterday—her being late—I’d carry a paper clip if she asked me to, even though I know that’s overkill. I have a staff member fetching a pregnancy test for her to take tonight because the anticipation is killing me so much.
“No, that I’m buying so many things.”
I raise an eyebrow at her. She could buy out an entire shop and it wouldn’t make a dent in my finances.
She rolls her eyes. “I know I’m not spending too much, but… you don’t seem like a souvenir type of person.”
“I’m not, but if it makes you happy, who cares. I’ll stare at an ugly donkey in the sitting room. I don’t give a shit.”
“Actually, I think I’ll put him in the bedroom. Maybe in a place you can see it when you’re standing at the edge of the bed.” She winks at me.
“Now that is a problem.” I squeeze her side. “Do you not want this little one to have a sibling?”
Her breath hitches. “We don’t know for sure yet.”
“There’s a test waiting for us when we get back.”
I can sense she’s nervous at that, and I wish I hadn’t told her. I slow our pace to give us privacy, rubbing the small of her back.
“Is there a certain result you’re hoping for?”
Her eyes go wide as she bites her bottom lip, looking up at me. “Part of me is dying for it to be positive. I think the amount of…” She looks around us and then mouths the word ‘orgasms,’ “you’ve given me has messed with my head. But I didn’t expect this to happen so quickly.”
I kiss the top of her head, not knowing what to say because I agree with every word she’s saying. I resented this marriage so much when it was arranged, and now I can’t stop myself from thinking about a little Sofia running around my section of the castle?
I should be exhausted after spending so much time wandering around in the sun, but sitting across from Sofia, along with a sunset almost as beautiful as she is, is giving me a second wind for the evening.
Everyone is seated at a long table at a restaurant I rented out privately for ourselves. Sofia and I are seated at the far end next to Sal and his wife, who are engaged in a discussion with the rest of the group. Which is wonderful because it almost feels like the two of us are on our own date.
“Something has been bothering me for a long time,” Sofia says. I brace myself for whatever it is she’s going to say, my mind assuming the worst. “That you don’t know when your birthday is. So, you don’t even pick a day to celebrate it every year?”
“Seriously? That’s what’s been bothering you?” I tease. But my heart pounds in my chest at the words she just said. No one has ever cared about that before. Even Elena. Which is surprising, but I figure she’d assume I’d be too proud to go along with anything like that.
Sofia narrows her eyes at me. “This doesn’t bother you at all?
Knowing that literally everyone on the planet excluding a religion or two gathers with their family to celebrate aging up a year?
And not only do you miss out on that, but you don’t even know exactly when you turn into a new age.
You could be forty right now, and we don’t even know for sure. ”
Forty.
Where the fuck has time gone?
I glance towards the others at the table, wondering if they’re overhearing our conversation because the last thing I need is for them to witness this pity party from my wife, but no one is paying a lick of attention to us.
I sigh. “Not really. I mean, what do people do on their birthdays? Receive presents? Eat cake? Get drunk? Have sex? Well, I can buy anything I want, and now that I have you… there just isn’t much of a point.
” I keep my voice down. “It stung when I was younger, going to Elena and Vincenzo’s celebrations if I was even invited, and then realizing that I was the odd one for not getting a birthday party thrown yearly. ”
“Marco was such a monster.” She shakes her head.
I can’t help but laugh at that. “Of all the complaints I had about Marco, him not getting me a dessert for my birthday is pretty far down on that list.”
“I know, but… I just think it’s something we can change.”
“How?”
“Pick a day.”
“What?”
“Pick a day and I’ll plan a party—”
“I don’t want a party.”
She rolls her eyes. “What about the two of us doing something nice?”
I take a moment to consider why I’m even resistant to this idea.
And I realize that reason is beyond fucked up—that this type of gesture is so foreign to me I perceive it to be a threat.
It’s as if I’m expecting Sofia to use this opportunity to murder me somehow, even though I know she wouldn’t do that.
“Fine.”
She exhales in relief. “You really make things impossible for no reason. Now pick a day so we can talk about something else.”
Pick a day? A day doesn’t matter. I’ve always mused about what astrology sign I was, so I suppose I could choose my favorite one and pick a birth date in that range.
But I love messing with Sofia too much.
“April twenty-first.”
Her eyebrows furrow, then she rests her face in her hands, rubbing her temples.
Today is April twenty-first.
I can sense the gears turning in her head and then suddenly, a light bulb turns on. She gives me a smile that tells me I have not won this bit of banter we’ve had.
“I need to use the ladies’ room.” She stands up from the table and grabs her little purse.
I grab her wrist before she can go anywhere, knowing damn-well she isn’t going to the restroom and has some scheme in her mind instead. “Don’t wander off too far. This island is small enough that I’d know if we had any enemies on it, but you never know.”
She leans down and kisses me on the lips. “I won’t be gone long. I’m just going to make a phone call.”