31. Manuel
THIRTY-ONE
MANUEL
I couldn’t wait to spoil her and our baby. Athena was to be healthy and happy throughout her entire pregnancy, and if that meant being at her beck and call, then so be it.
“Get dressed,” I told her. “We’ll have breakfast, and then I’ll give you a tour of the island and our estate.” Her eyes lit up. “Then we’ll pick up your prenatal vitamins.”
The light in her eyes dimmed and it saddened me, but I was confident she just needed time to come to terms with everything. After all, she was significantly younger than me, and she’d be the one to go through a myriad of changes.
“Is having a baby with me such a terrible thing?” I asked her, keeping my voice soft.
She met my gaze but remained stubbornly quiet, so I cupped her face and ran a thumb across her cheek.
“Tell me what troubles you, amorina , and I’ll fix it.” Her lips parted, a blush rising to her cheeks as she lowered her eyelids, and I tsked. “No hiding.”
She lifted her eyes and met mine. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“It’s just… a baby’s a big responsibility. Massive.”
“It is.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “And this is not how I envisioned my life going.”
“Life isn’t really known to follow a plan.”
“You don’t say,” she said.
“Tell me how you envisioned your life,” I said, ignoring her sarcasm. “We’re not leaving until you do.”
She sombered, puckering her lips. I decided to be patient, letting her collect her thoughts.
“I just didn’t want to repeat my mother’s mistakes,” she finally said, fidgeting with a strand of her hair and twisting it around her finger over and over again. “And here I am, knocked up out of wedlock.”
Understanding dawned on me.
“You want to get married,” I reasoned.
She released an exasperated breath. “I wanted to be married before a baby entered the picture.”
Satisfaction ran hot through my blood. I initially planned to take it slow and ease her into the idea of marriage, but this might be even better.
I grinned. “You wish to get married, so we’ll get married.”
She blinked. “That’s not what I said.”
I chuckled. “But it’s what you meant.”
She rolled her eyes, making a frustrated sound in her throat. “I meant that people are supposed to get married, do the whole white-picket-fence thing, then start talking about children. Not have a one-night stand, get pregnant, and then?—”
I leaned in to nip her bottom lip to stop her from rambling.
“We’re not just any people.” If I knew she’d cope with hearing it, I would have told her that I loved her already. But I knew I’d have to exercise patience there too. “And if you want a white picket fence, amorina, I’ll build one around this whole estate.”
Cazzo , I’d build her a damn arena if that was what she wanted.
I kissed her deeply and she sighed into my mouth while my insides burned with fire that I feared would consume me. This was what the Marchetti men were known for. Falling fast, loving hard.
Sign me the fuck up .
I slapped her butt and she yelped.
“Ouch.” She glared at me. “What was that for?”
“Get dressed so we can go shopping.”
I turned around and left her in the closet filled with both of our belongings and stopped in front of the French window. My property stretched for miles, and the sight meant more than ever before. I would live out the rest of my days here with Athena and our child. I’d teach him or her to love and appreciate it as much as I do. The tangy smell of tangerines, the slightly salty air from the sea, the vineyards that surrounded the property.
The future seemed brighter than ever before.
I pulled out my phone and typed instructions to my staff, then I shot a message to Enrico. It was about time he returned the countless favors I was owed.
My driver rolled into town, taking the alternate route as instructed. I wanted Athena to see as much of the island as possible, and as she stared out of the car with wide eyes, her nose pressed to the car window, I knew it was the right choice.
With fascination and little excited gasps, she took in her new home. Granted, she didn’t know we were living here yet.
I wasn’t a normal man, and our life would always be lived in the shadows because of my work in the Omertà. The Triads posed a threat to her in Paris it seemed, and despite having a plethora of enemies even here in Omertà territory, she was safest in Italy. I wouldn’t take any chances with Athena and our child. I vowed to make her happy; she deserved the best of everything.
My phone rang, but Athena didn’t pay it any attention. Her entire focus was on the sights passing us by—Torre di Guevara, a historical 16th-century building next to the sea in a panoramic bay of Cartaromana, overlooking Ischia Ponte and our castello.
I answered my phone without checking who it was.
“You think you could have given me more notice, vecchio ?” was Enrico’s greeting, speaking in Italian.
I chuckled at his jab, responding in Italian too. “I know you can make it happen.”
Ever since Athena entered my life, I felt like I’d been rejuvenated. Being around her made me feel like a younger, better version of myself. Yes, she turned me into a caveman, but it was so much more than that. We were so good together and I finally understood my father’s and brother’s obsession with their women. I suspected Enrico did the same.
“Your trust might be misplaced this time,” he answered in a quiet voice. “It seems every girl is missing except for Isla and Athena.”
“What happened?”
“Well, if my assumptions are correct, Reina was kidnapped by Amon. Nobody has any fucking idea where Phoenix is. And Raven… Let’s just say Aiden has a vested interest in her.”
I didn’t know why I was surprised. “What kind of interest?”
“Fuck if I know,” he muttered. “Isla’s staying tight-lipped.”
I angled my face toward Athena. These girls sure kept a lot of secrets, and I was certain if I asked Athena, she probably wouldn’t share them with me either.
“Anything that could interfere with business?” I asked.
“Who the fuck knows? At this point, would it make a difference?”
“Probably not,” I agreed. “ Alora, ci vediamo a presto ?” Will we see you soon?
“You will, but why the rush?”
“ è incinta di sei settimane .” She’s six weeks pregnant.
He chuckled. “So while I was running after Isla, you were running after her friend?”
“Something like that.”
He laughed. “Remind me to never play poker against you.”
“Why do you keep speaking Italian?” At Athena’s question, I said goodbye and ended the call.
“Because we’re in Italy, amorina ,” I teased, running my fingers along her arm.
“I really need to download that app,” she muttered under her breath.
“What app?”
“Duolingo.” She leaned in, her green eyes twinkling mischievously. “So I can learn some Italian and spy on you.”
I closed the distance between us, cupped her face, and kissed her. I groaned as my lips crashed roughly against hers. Athena’s hands hesitantly slid over the back of my neck, her fingers threading through my hair as she moaned against my mouth.
Cazzo , I was head over heels for this woman. There was no fucking denying it.