CHAPTER FIVE
SIENNA
It was another hour, and another quick shower before I was finally dressed and ready to leave the house. Though it was starting to warm up outside, it was still pretty chilly most days.
So I chose a pair of black low-rise jeans that hugged my hips, black high heel boots, a leather jacket, and a brown turtleneck underneath. I’d planned to wear my hair straight, but had chosen to go the curly route.
It had taken me a little longer than planned to get ready, but we were still going to make it to class on time. Eve called me three more times before I finally made it out the door. I didn’t leave without hugging Stefano tight and telling him to enjoy his day.
“What are your plans for today?” I asked as I headed to the door.
“I’m meeting with Enzo to discuss how to keep the women we love from getting kidnapped,” he told me.
Petty ass.
“Good luck with that,” I joked, kissing him on the cheek and opening the front door.
“You better be safe,” he called after me.
“I will,” I promised, closing and locking the front door behind me.
As soon as I turned around, Eve rolled the passenger window down.
“About damn time,” she called out. “I’ve been sitting here looking cute for twenty minutes.”
It had not been that long. Rolling my eyes, I strode toward her car, clutching my purse. I slid into the vehicle, pulling the door shut behind me. I was pretty sure Stefano was staring at us on the security cameras. He’d continued to stare until we were no longer in view.
“Look at you. You’re looking cute, too,” she complimented me.
“Thanks.”
We were dressed similarly. She had on lighter colored jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt, V-neck, showing off a little cleavage. She was also wearing a leather jacket and heels.
“Bitch, I know you heard your phone ringing. Why didn’t you answer it?” Eve asked, pulling up to the gate of our mansion. “I’m surprised Stefano gave me the code to this gate. I had to threaten to make him a birthday dinner in order to get it,” Eve said as the gate opened.
I chuckled. “Don’t be threatening my man like that. And yes, I heard the phone ring. But Stefano and I were sparring, so I couldn’t answer.”
“Again?” she said, surprised. “You two are doing that more and more lately. What is he preparing you for? To fight off the Titans?”
I laughed out loud at her anime reference.
“He thinks there are weak spots in my skills and wants me to get better at hand-to-hand combat.”
“He has seen you fight, hasn’t he?” she asked.
“Yup. But he’s still worried,” I told her, unable to keep the frustration out of my tone. “All he does these days is worry.”
Eve looked over at me.
“Eyes on the road,” I hissed.
“Yeah, yeah,” she drawled, facing forward. “Is everything okay with you and Stefano?”
“What makes you ask that?” I glanced her way, wondering if she could read my mind.
Shrugging, she said, “You don’t sound as excited as you used to when you mentioned your sparring matches with him. You used to be all geeked up about it.”
I did, didn’t I?
That was because I liked sparring with Stefano for the fun of it and as a workout. But not when he was so serious about it, staring at me like he could lose me at any moment. Those looks made me feel guilty.
They made me feel like I’d brought trouble to the doorstep of a man who was already bogged down with problems. I was starting to feel like I was just another task he needed to take care of on his long list of obligations. It was a feeling I didn’t like. A feeling I hoped to alleviate soon.
Pushing that thought aside, I asked, “How are you and Don Enzo?”
“I see how you’re changing the subject. But I’ll allow it this time. Enzo and I are good. No sparring, like you and Stefano. But…” She paused.
I waited for her to continue. A full minute ticked by, and still nothing.
“Did something happen?” I asked, already getting upset, and she hadn’t even told me anything yet.
“No. It’s nothing like that. It’s just. I don’t know.”
I turned in my seat to stare at her.
“Girl, you'd better start talking before I assume the worst and try to take out the DeLuca don.”
Eve laughed. “It’s not even that serious. It’s just… I… sometimes I wonder what I bring to the table in our relationship.”
Whoa! That was unexpected.
“Did one of his raggedy ass family members complain about you again?” I asked, ready to go to war with his old ass uncles and cousins who kept trying to set Enzo up with good Italian women from prominent families.
“No. After Enzo threatened to send them to reunite with the old don, they stopped doing that.”
“So, what is it?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It’s nothing serious. But, before he threatened to kill them, I overheard one of his older cousins telling him that he deserved a good Italian woman who would cook for him and give him babies to continue their bloodline.
Uncle Pietro was there and cursed the cousin out in my defense. ”
“That’s why I fucks with Uncle Pietro,” I told her.
“Right! And of course, Enzo defended me, telling him that I was a good woman, the woman he planned to marry and start a family with, but only when I was ready. I loved how they came to my defense. And I may have come around the corner and said some choice words myself.”
“Of course, you did.”
“But that’s beside the point. The point is, I’ve been asking myself over and over again, what makes a good wife, a good girlfriend. And I don’t have the answer yet. I even googled that shit.”
“What did you learn?” I asked, desperately wanting to know the answer.
“A lot of blogs stated that being able to cook and keep the house in order was what made a good wife. Our house is always in order because we have a maid. I don’t even have a fully functioning kitchen, so our cook meal-preps our meals and brings us food every few days.
And do you know that yesterday, Enzo heated the food up for us, refusing to let me use the microwave.
He claimed it was because he didn’t want me to break a nail, but I swear that man thinks I’m a menace in the kitchen,” she complained.
“You are,” I told her.
“Rude,” she snapped. “Anyway. I just… I want to be able to do something for him myself and not have somebody else do it for us. I want to feel like I’m being the woman he needs,” she told me as she merged into another lane, getting ready to turn onto our exit.
“Eve, you are a good woman,” I started.
“What makes me a good woman in your eyes?” she asked.
“Well, you’re my best friend, my sister. Whenever I need you, you’re there, no questions asked. You don’t even care if it’s my fault. You’re going to ride with me no matter what,” I told her.
“I didn’t say what makes me good to you, Sisi. I want to know what about me will make me a good wife,” Eve stated.
Well, damn.
“You’re… pretty. You know how to fight. You’re a beast with a gun. You can kill…”
“I didn’t say what made me a good assassin,” she huffed.
Oh, right. Damn.
“Well….” I couldn’t think of one damn thing to say that would cheer my friend up. Giving up, I told her, “You may have come to the wrong person for this.”
“Sienna,” she groaned.
“I’m serious, Eve. I can’t help you because I’m going through something similar myself.”
“For real?” she asked, turning onto our exit.
“Yeah. Stefano is so great. And I love him. I’ve never loved anyone like this before. But, I feel like he’s doing more to make this relationship work than I am.”
“Same,” Eve agreed. “Enzo’s crazy ass is always doing sweet shit for me. And I just be sitting there, soaking that shit up. But what am I doing for him?”
“Loving him,” I told her, not knowing what else to say.
“But is love enough?”
“Hell if I know,” I muttered, staring down at my nails.
My sis and I were in the same boat. We had these amazing men in our lives, and we had no idea what to do with them… other than maybe fuck them good and love them. But did that lead to a happily-ever-after, or just a happily-for-now? We wanted forever, but wasn’t sure how to make that happen.
“I know Enzo is gearing up to pop the question. He’s been pointing out ring commercials, asking what kind I liked,” Eve continued, turning onto the street of our cooking class.
“And I want to say yes. But, I’m scared.
I don’t ever want to get divorced. I’d rather kill his ass than have him divorce me. ”
“I mean, the vows do say until death do us part, so what else can you do other than kill him if he tries to divorce you?” I told her.
“I know, right! But I don’t want it to come to that if he one day wakes up and thinks, I should’ve married one of those good Italian girls my family wanted me to marry.”
“Fuck that. If he does that, we’ll just kill his ass and his family,” I told her, getting angry at Enzo, and he hadn’t even done anything… yet.
Eve nodded. “But how do I prevent that?” she asked. “How do I make this work if I don’t bring anything to the table? I’m trying to be a wife, not just someone who sits around, looking pretty all the time.”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m trying to figure that same shit out.
I feel like I need to be more, to do more for Stefano, because he does so much for me.
I just… I don’t know how to be more. I’ve never seen more before.
I’ve never seen a happy couple. I’ve never been in a healthy relationship.
I’ve never been loved by a man the way Stefano loves me.
This is all new for me, and I don’t want to fuck it up.
But I can see myself fucking it up,” I told her, blinking back tears because I refused to ruin my makeup.
Eve parked the car and cut the engine, then faced me with tears shimmering in her eyes.