Chapter 17 Alex
I’d much rather have taken her to the house in Curacao, but no man can control the weather.
Next time.
Instead, we're home, in Italy.
Not our home, as we never lived here, but our grandparents did.
Once we had a foot in the door, we sent our parents back to care for them.
They were both first-generation Americans born in the US and were more than happy to return to the country and get away from the city's hustle and bustle. Our family has an estate passed down through the generations. Our grandparents left it to them when they passed, and we ensure to visit at least once a year. The wine’s much better here, also, so there’s that.
Kat has been in awe since the plane touched down—well, since we drove away from the airport.
And, fun fact, she isn’t a fan of flying. It would have been funny if I hadn’t been worried she might puke at any moment.
Vince has never been a fan either, but he just doesn’t like heights or anything he isn’t in control of, and considering he doesn’t have a pilot's license, well, yeah, he’s not flying any planes.
Apparently, aside from the states she drove through to get to New York and New York itself, she’s never traveled. Born and raised in Maine, Des seemed appalled by that information, and I’m sure Nathan will ensure we rectify it, especially after seeing how much she seems to love Italy.
The wonder on her face, her wide eyes, and damn near giddy eagerness to see everything is adorable.
What wasn’t adorable was the way she all but shut down when Des teased her about enjoying our ‘expensive’ vacation.
I could have kicked his ass. Thankfully, I was able to distract her by buying a flower from one of the dozens of street vendors. After that, Addy stepped in perfectly and stole all of her attention the way only she can.
“If I didn’t already want Carter dead before, I sure as fuck do now,” Vince grumbles as we follow the girls. Addy is dragging her through the crowd in search of gelato. She’ll have to wait until we venture to Florence to get Amorino’s, but it’s not as if it’s less than here.
“What does Carter have to do with anything?” I hate to even bring him up, but Kat is far enough away, and I’m sure he has a reason.
Vince looks at me like I’m stupid, and I get the feeling I’m missing something.
“Didn’t you see how she reacted to what Des said?” he asks, and I’m annoyed all over again, shooting a glare at Desmond.
“I was just messing with her,” Des says, and at least sounds like he feels bad.
“It wasn’t you, not really. I mean, teasing her might not have been the best idea when she was actually enjoying this, but that’s a learned response.”
“What?” Des asks, but I understand, and for a moment I see red.
“You think Carter put his hands on her?” I hiss, then remember where we are and in what company. I don’t need to ruin this trip for Kat by bringing up the past, and I don’t want to scare Addy by losing my temper.
I look to find Nathan occupying both of them with street vendor treats. Yeah, that will do it, at least for a few minutes.
“I can’t say for sure he ever put his hands on her, but I wouldn't be surprised with the way he behaves. He’s an entitled jackass. He had Trevor break into her apartment and trash it, sent her threatening notes, and tried to have her kidnapped. I’d say the odds are pretty good.”
Well, fuck, when he says it like that.
“But even if he didn’t, you don’t have to physically touch someone to condition them to act in a specific way. The way her face fell, I don’t think he was very nice to her before he cheated. If I had to guess, that might have been the best thing to happen to her as far as I’m concerned.”
His words hang in the air, and while it was terrible that she went through this, he’s right. Carter’s cheating changed everything for all of us.
We spend the rest of the day exploring, eating from street vendors, and buying her flowers from almost every pushy salesman at every corner.
Every time, she’s adamant that we don’t have to, but we, of course, do it anyway.
She deserves them and so much more.
By the time we reach our parents’ house, she has nearly a hundred euros' worth of random fresh flowers.
Mother greets us at the door, on one knee, ready for Addy’s flying hug despite her older age.
She loves her so much that she almost moved back to live with us when she was born.
She’d stayed with us for a while when the boys were younger, but with Addy, she had said she needed a woman in her life.
Unfortunately, our father's health had taken a turn, and she wasn’t able to.
He’s since gotten a little better, but only because she watches him like a hawk, changing his whole diet and keeping him from not only the pipe but the booze.
She’s so occupied with Addison that it takes her longer than I’d thought possible for her to realize it’s not just us.
The second she sees Kat, she pushes to stand, Addy still wrapped up in her arms as she turns her gaze to Nathan. I know that look; I grew up on the receiving end of that look, whereas Nathan was almost always better behaved.
“Nataniele.”
That’s all it takes.
“Oh, Daddy’s in trouble!” Addison squeals with a laugh that momentarily saves Nathan from her wrath, giving Nathan enough time to step forward and explain.
It’s not until I look down at Kat, whose hand rests in mine, with Des’s arm slung around her shoulder, that it even occurs to me she was unaware that Nathan spoke Italian.
Well, we all do, but only Nathan is showing off his skill set as Mama rains questions down on him.
It’s funny for a moment, but as the questions move to topics of marriage and babies, I quickly step in.
“Mamma.” Her head snaps in my direction, and for a moment, I’m on the receiving end of her glare. I feel like I’m ten, and it takes me a second to remember myself and why I was willing to turn her ire toward me.
I hold up Kat’s hand, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand before I release her, pulling her from Des’s arm and gently pushing her toward Nathan.
She hesitates a moment, looking back at me like a deer in headlights, before she looks to Des, who is smart enough to give her an encouraging nod. Turning back around, Nathan holds out his arm to her, and she moves toward him until he can wrap his arm around her and tuck her into his side.
“Mamma, meet Kat,” Nathan says in English, no doubt for Kat.
Mamma looks down her nose at her, assessing her.
She’s never liked a single girl any of us have brought home; she hadn’t even allowed us to stay in her home with Natasha when we came to visit in the past because they butted heads so badly.
I’d never cared before, but I find myself hoping she likes Kat.
I know I’m not alone in wanting to make her my wife, and I get the feeling that if Mamma doesn’t like her, that honestly might break Kat’s heart.
“Kat,” Mamma says in a curt greeting that isn’t at all her usual cheery personality, and I see Papà roll his eyes at her dramatics from his wheelchair.
“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Kat bows her head before offering her an adorable smile that I know makes the rest of us smile.
Mamma notices.
She looks from Kat to Nathan before turning to look at Des, Vince, Oliver, and myself, where we stand a few feet away watching them.
A butterfly chooses that moment to fly past Addy, making her squeal with delight as she watches it, pulling everyone’s attention back to her.
“Mommy, look, a butterfly!” she yells, pointing at it and following it the best she can.
Mamma’s eyes go wide at her words, and this time, when she turns to look at Kat, a smile pulls at her lips as well.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kat,” she says, offering her hand and pulling her into a hug when Kat takes it.
Mamma watches Kat with Addy for the rest of the day, and I see her slowly warm to her more and more.
Addy shows her every inch of our family property, and when we sit down for dinner, Mamma presses a kiss to each of our cheeks before gripping Nathan’s chin and forcing his head down so that their eyes meet.
“Una donna bellissima e una madre meravigliosa,” she tells him before moving to take her own seat.
The weight of those words being removed from my shoulders is staggering, and I know I’m not the only one who feels it.
“What did she say?” Kat asks Nathan, but instead of answering, he reaches out and captures her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand with a smile so full of love that it leaves her speechless.
Over the next few days, we spend showing Kat around Catania, from the city to the beaches, and despite Mt. Etna being a beautiful backdrop I’d never cared to get any closer to, I can see the curiosity spark in her eyes.
Next time.
Palermo, Taormina, Messina… The week is spent exploring and making memories she’ll never forget as I plot our next visit.
None of this is new to us, but seeing Kat experience it for the first time is magical all on its own.
Traveling has always been a necessity, something we do for business or to see our parents, and while I don’t hate it, I might have just found a new reason to look forward to it.
Who doesn’t love a dusty old church when the woman of your dreams looks at it like it’s the palace of her dreams?
Curacao is going to knock her socks off.
“Addison, I’m going to leave without you,” Oliver calls through the house with a smile on his face that lets me know he’s full of shit.
“Where’re you headed?” I ask and get the pleasure of watching Oli jump before he whips around.
“I didn’t realize you were there,” he says, wiping a hand down his chest as if removing wrinkles from his perfectly pressed shirt.
Sometimes I feel it’s impossible to see the similarities between us. Oliver has always been so much more like my brother, while Des is much more like me, but they both have their quirks from us.
“I promised Addy I would take her to the bookstore while we’re here. Kat said her library at the house is lacking in material that challenges her.”
I’m not sure when it happened, but I’ve noticed a shift. Even now, with him simply mentioning her, there’s no animosity the way there once was.
Hmm.
Why not push my luck?
Addy still hasn’t come out, and Oliver moves to head in and collect her.
“Why don’t you see if Kat wants to go with you?” That stops him in his tracks, and I don’t even try to stop the smirk that pulls at my lips.
Oliver has always been just fine keeping to himself, never one to seek attention, but after the way Natasha treated him, he only withdrew further. It didn’t matter what I did or said, or what women I found to try to entertain him; he wasn’t interested in anything but family and work.
I know he’s afraid Kat will hurt him, but I don’t think that could be further from the truth.
Given the chance, I think Kat will love him the way he deserves, fully and genuinely, for him and no other reason.
“I’ll ask her.” He disappears into the house before I can say another word. That’s fine. I don’t need to say anything else. Kat will handle him just fine on her own; he just needs to give her a chance.