Chapter 32
Sunday, May 21, 2017
When the gentle breeze swept past, it was refreshing, even rejuvenating against my exposed skin. It was the perfect day, and the sun was shining at its highest point. As I stood outside on the upstairs balcony, I soaked in its rays. I brought my wine glass to my lips, smiling. On the grounds below, Bianca and Katrina were sitting at our stone fountain. Katrina wanted to play outside and have a picnic, but Dominic was stern in keeping her within the property lines. The ice between Dominic and his mother had finally begun to thaw, so when I suggested she be the one to entertain his niece, he didn’t object.
It wasn’t as if he had to worry, what with our armed men all around and plenty of cameras.
In the next couple of weeks, Bianca would temporarily move into the mansion so she could be near while we prepared for Vincenzo’s arrival. Her stay would also count as a test run of sorts. Dominic gave the green light for Bianca to watch Katrina unsupervised. If all went well, Katrina would get her wish of slumber parties with Bianca.
Vincenzo kicked, happy he was no longer being chased around with the ultrasound wand. My thirty-six-week appointment was this morning, and my fear of childbirth had only gripped me tighter. Not quite crippling but hovering over that line.
Julie told us Vincenzo was eight pounds and was in the ninety-sixth percentile. I was scared, to say the least, at the news, but she followed up by saying she saw nothing wrong and that he was healthy and all was still normal. Since he was this large already, I for sure needed weekly scans to assess whether it would be safe to deliver him naturally or schedule a cesarean.
That kind of surgery concerned me, but if it meant me and my son lived, then so be it.
Lost in my thoughts, I neglected to sense Dominic come up from behind, his touch startling me as he held my upper arms, thinning our gap to kiss my cheek. I leaned into him, immersed in his scent as I drank another sip of blood.
“I take it work is done,” I stated instead of asking. After our shopping trip today, he spent time in his office taking over paperwork from Dino.
Dino and the rest of our brothers helped unload and put away the bags of Vincenzo’s new clothes, toys, and additional stock of necessities like bath items and bottles and diapers. Dominic had a rather… Stressful outing. He hated shopping for anything other than new guns or suits.
Dominic rolled his eyes, stepping away and further into the aisle. I laughed but then just as quickly threw myself into a section of baby booties, fawning.
“Aren’t these cute!?” I grabbed a pair off the wall and dangled them in front of me for Dominic to see. He nodded and then once again paced. I dropped my hand, standing there, intending on tossing the booties and a pair of each of the other designs into the shopping cart. “You know, you could at least pretend to enjoy yourself.” I reached for more pairs, filling up the crook of my elbow.
I looked in time in our shared silence to see Dominic’s wide, toothy smile. I burst out laughing, dropping the booties in the cart. I shook my head, staring at our full cart as I took a few steps down the aisle, sidling up next to Dominic. “If you want, we can pay for this stuff and split. My feet hurt anyway.”
“Thank God,” he muttered, resting his hand on the small of my back as we walked together.
Exiting the aisle, I glanced around to make sure nobody else needed to pass us, inadvertently spotting a section across the way that had lamps, one of them horse-themed. Tears rose into my eyes as I gasped, overcome with grief, remembering how Nadia loved horses. I wasted zero time taking off for that lamp like my life depended on me reaching it before anyone else.
A heavy sigh trailed behind me.
“For now.”
Dominic gently lifted my belly, literally taking the weight off my pelvis. Alleviation rushed me like a wave, and I sighed in contentment.
“Thank you,” I breathed.
Katrina suddenly lost herself in a fit of giggles as Bianca began to tickle her, and I smiled, asking Dominic, “What’s on your agenda for the rest of the day?”
“I don’t know. I guess I could go over our stock again to make absolutely sure we have enough.”
He sounded off, like he was distracted or dreading whatever he had to tackle next.
Leaning forward, I placed the glass of blood on the railing, then angled my arm back to where I was able to capture his face with my fingers. I turned my head to see him staring intently out at the bright sky. I craned my neck, peppering his cheek with kisses.
“You’ve counted and re-counted that damn blood at least a hundred times. What’s wrong? And don’t you dare lie because I’ll smell it.”
A ghost of a smile snuck across his lips.
“It’s just hard to look most of my men in the face the same way after what happened. Trust is vital, and without it, there is no family.”
Luigi backstabbing him was a personal blow. A knife to his heart. Knowing we had another snake in the grass was getting into Dominic’s head more than he wanted to admit.
I turned his head so we could look at each other.
I slipped my hands down along the top of his, gently grazing his skin and knuckles with my nails. The whispering wind caught the hem of my kimono and kissed the bare skin of my chest.
“We’ll figure out who. Please don’t get too far in your head over this.”
“You’re preaching to the goddamn choir,” he said flatly. I let out a breathy ghost of laughter. “We have a traitor. I can’t sit idly by while they traipse in and out of my home.” Dominic’s next words scraped along my jaw as he dipped his head, his voice gruff and strong. “Around what’s most precious.”
I nuzzled my face along his, momentarily closing my eyes.
“You can’t play this any other way but slow.”
“So, what do you suggest?”
“All we probably can do is set some kind of trap.”
“Lure them.”
“Every criminal messes up eventually, don’t they?”
Dominic pulled me more into him, his breath fanning the shell of my ear. My knees nearly buckled at the sound of his dark, seductive, soft growl.
“Fine. I’ll try your way.”
“Remember,” I said seriously, “it’s a work in progress.”
He gave a shorter, throatier growl, then rested his forehead against the side of my head. Tender times such as this felt surreal.
I had always assumed I’d live and die alone. Being engaged and weeks shy of bearing my first child weren’t in my bingo cards, but here I was, embracing it and this way of life with open arms, the silver around my finger warming under the sun.
Our son kicked, and I fell again into the weight I carried as Dominic slowly released my belly. I guided Dominic’s hand to where Vincenzo’s foot was. He kicked once more, square against his daddy’s palm.
I fondly gazed at my belly. “I’m counting the minutes.”
Dominic moved his other hand up along the side of my belly and toward its center. “Me, too, Bellissima .” He kissed my temple, continuing to talk against my skin. “Me, too.”