Chapter Twenty Three Willow
Chapter Twenty Three
Willow
“Holy shit Dragna. THIS is your house??” I try to keep my voice calm but the words come out in a soft squeal.
I knew he was rich, but this is next level.
His home isn’t even a home, it’s more of an estate, no not even, it’s a freaking castle. Huge black iron gates surround the entire place, only opening at the long driveway that snakes up to a gravel turning circle and in the middle is a fountain. A fucking fountain!
There’s cars scattered outside the house, sorry, castle. A huge, gorgeous, castle like mansion with stone steps leading up to the massive double front door.
“It is moya dusha, I hope you like dogs by the way.” He says to me as we climb the stairs.
“You have dogs! What breed? I absolutely love dogs. Alina and I always wanted one in our apartment but our landlord said no when we asked.” I say as I take in the men milling around the perimeter, some standing in groups smoking, others looking like they are watching for something through the gates.
It’s a little over the top for just being a big business man but then I have no idea what kind of money he has to protect.
“I have three. Two Rottweilers and one Doberman. They are trained guard dogs but I promise they will be friendly to you.” Dragna replies while pulling me closer to him by the arm he has around my waist.
“When is your mom arriving?” I ask as we approach the giant double doors and two men open them for us while greeting Dragna as ‘boss’. Seriously, how rich is he?
“She’s actually alre—”
“O moj sine!” I hear being shouted towards us before an older woman the same height and size of me comes rushing up to us. Dragna leans towards her and she grabs his face kissing his cheeks and smiling at him like he is her entire world.
“?ao, mama.” He greets her back and he wraps his arms around her before kissing her on her forehead.
“Mama, I’d like to introduce you to Willow.” He says and he comes back to placing a hand at my lower back before kissing the top of my head.
I feel lightheaded. He’s showing me affection in front of his mom. I don’t know why, but I feel like this is a much bigger deal than I originally thought.
She looks at me and before I know it she has grabbed my face with both her hands and kisses me on both cheeks.
“Dobro do?la, ?erko!” She says as she smiles at me.
“English please mama.” Dragna interrupts before she can carry on speaking to me.
“Sorry! I’m just so excited to meet you. Dragna has never introduced a lady to the house or myself before, forgive me Willow. I’m Milena.” She says with a twinkle in her eye.
“It’s okay, I’m very excited to meet you too.
From what Dragna has told me, he cares for you very much so I’ve been looking forward to dinner and getting to know you.
” I say with a smile and she pulls me in for hug, squeezing me tight.
I hug her back and soak up the feeling that I never felt with Freds family.
They hated me because I was never seen as good enough for him all due to the fact my family couldn’t further his own families business empire.
Milena pulls back and holds me away from her by the top of my arms, looking me over with the biggest smile on her face.
She isn’t what I expected his mother to look like, mostly because he looks to terrifying and serious half the time.
Milena is soft, delicate and petite. She is also absolutely stunning.
How she raised a beast like Dragna I’ll never know.
“Ona je lepa Dragna.” She says as she looks up at him and he smiles back at her before looking at me.
“Znam, mamam ona je prelepa i iznutra i spolja.” He replies and I look between the two of them wondering what they are saying.
“Come, come, I want to know all about you Willow. Dragna tells me you work at a bookstore. What kind of books do you like to read?” Milena asks as she takes my arm with hers and walks me through the foyer of the house.
God this place is beautiful. It’s exactly what I would imagine for Dragna after seeing the outside.
It’s all dark and moody. Dark hardwood floors and black paint on the walls.
Pictures and art in gold frames line the walls with golden chandeliers throughout the hallway to give some warmth and colour. It matches him perfectly.
“I read a little of everything, but mostly romance books.” I reply to Milena while hoping the makeup I have on hides the blush I feel forming on my cheeks.
I can’t tell this woman I love to read spicy books.
Romance is a wide variety genre, so hopefully she thinks more along the lines of Bridgerton rather than a why choose with four different guys.
“Ohhh I love romance books, I might have to visit you at work sometime and you can give me some recommendations!” She beams at me and I can’t help but smile big back at her.
Milena has a warm presence to her that I can tell makes people instantly love her.
“I’d like that, I can give you the address after dinner.”
Dragna follows behind us and I look back over my shoulder to look at him to find him already gazing at me as if I’d hung the moon.
I’ve never seen him look so soft and so open before.
He’s all hard edges, mostly always scowling at people and while he’s treated me so kindly and shown me his softer side, the way he is right now in the presence of his mother is something entirely different.
I can’t help but feel the butterflies in my stomach again.
My mom always said ‘how a man treats his mother is how he will treat you’ and if how Dragna talks about his mother and how openly loving towards her is anything to go by, then this big terrifyingly handsome and ruthless looking man might just have the kindest heart I will ever know.
He comes up to my side as we enter through a set of doors to a dining room and he links his fingers with mine.
I have him on one side and his mother on the other side of me, still arm and arm, and instead of thinking this is a lot for still only knowing this man for a few weeks, I can’t help but feel like this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Milena releases my arm and walks towards a seat at the table while Dragna leads me to the opposite side. He pulls my chair out for me and I take a seat while thanking him before he rounds the table and pulls his mother’s seat out for her.
“Thank you my boy.” Milena says as she sits down and places her hands on her lap.
“He has shown me nothing but kindness Mrs—”
“Oh no, no Mrs, or Miss, please call me Milena my darling girl.” She says as she puts her hand to her heart and smiles at me.
“Thank you Milena, I can see where Dragna gets his soft side from.” I say in a lighthearted way looking towards him.
A second later waiters pile into the dining room carrying plates upon plates of food and drinks, setting everything down on the table.
There is so much food there has to be at least eight courses and even though I didn’t eat today to ensure I had room for dinner, there’s absolutely no way I’m going to be able to eat this much.
From salads, breads, chicken, steak, fish, there’s literally everything I could possibly want to choose from.
I look up at Dragna in amazement and he clears his throat, looking almost bashful.
“I asked Alina what your favourite foods were, I hope it is all up to your standard of the diners and takeaways you two like to visit so often.” He says with a hint of teasing while his mother hides a smile behind her freshly poured glass of wine as she takes a sip.
“Hey, our regular food places are to die for! Don’t diss them.” I tease back just as a waiter comes to my side and asks me which wine I would prefer.
After my glass is poured and I take a sip, more servers come out to begin plating our food from the glorious selection laid out in front of us.
“This is incredible, thank you so much.” I tell Dragna as I continue to look around me in amazement.
I’m not used to this kind of service but obviously Dragna and his mother are and yet, despite that, their manners towards the waiters and servers have my heart swelling even more.
Nothing says douchebag like when people treat wait staff as if they are literal servants.
To know that this is Dragna’s lifestyle and he is still so kind and courteous towards staff, it shows me what kind of person he really is, that behind his outer shell of roughness, he has a heart and it seems like a big one.
“Willow, I have to ask and I hope you don’t think it is rude of me, but I know you just turned twenty two and my boy is what some would consider far, far older than you are… what do your parents think?”
Milena’s question catches me off guard and I swallow another sip of my wine, the gulp audible like I’ve just been caught doing something I shouldn’t be.
Suddenly I feel nervous to tell Dragna that my parents don’t know about him yet, and especially in front of his mother.
“Well, I haven’t actually told them yet. Not because I don’t think this will go anywhere or anything, I just haven’t had a chance to speak to them properly over the phone to update them with my life the past few weeks.” I smile nervously.
“But I couldn’t see them having an issue with the age gap.
All they have ever wanted for me was to be safe, treated kindly and to be happy.
If that’s with Dragna, then I’m sure they would be accepting.
It’s also only been a few weeks since we have met and technically this is only our second date, even if somehow it feels like I’ve always known him.
” I smile up at Dragna and he smiles back at me while taking my hand in his on top of the table.
“I’ll probably tell them this week if I can get my mother on the phone since they don’t live in New York.”
“When it is meant to be, you just know my girl. It will feel like they have always been part of your life, fitting in so easily you think you might be going insane for how quickly you feel things for them, but that’s love.
” Milena speaks as if she’s longing for someone who made her feel like that and I can’t help but want to know more.
“Speaking from experience? What was Dragna’s father like?” I smile big at her waiting to hear their love story, only her own smile fades and Dragna’s hold on my hand squeezes tighter. Milena clears her throat and puts a soft smile on her face again.
“Experience yes, with Dragna’s father, no.
But that’s another story for another day.
” She lifts her napkin from the table and folds it on her lap seemingly lost in thought and now I feel terrible for bringing something up that’s possibly made her feel uncomfortable but Dragna never told me about what his dad was like and I didn’t want to press on the situation knowing he had passed away.
“I’m sorry, that was rude of me to ask.”
“Nonsense! Now, tell me more about your life because all Dragna has talked about is how lovely and beautiful you are.” She smirks at him and I feel a blush rising up my neck to my cheeks.
I tell her about my childhood and where I grew up, my parents and my friends all while we eat the most amazing dinner I’ve ever had. She shares stories of Dragna and Lev growing up like brothers and torturing her father who they all lived with.
The night goes on sharing laughter, conversation and great food and not once did I feel looked down upon for not being in the same tax bracket they come from.
A very clear difference from how I was treated by Fred’s family our entire relationship and after tonight’s dinner, I feel a sense of happiness in my heart that I didn’t think was possible.
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“Willow has work tomorrow mama, so I need to get her home.” Dragna tells his mother as we all walk towards the foyer after dinner.
“Of course darling, but first, Willow please take my number. I would love for us to have lunch sometime, just us girls.” She winks at me and I crush my lips together while looking down to hide the embarrassingly huge smile that wants to break out on my face.
I look back up to Milena and take my phone out of my bag, handing it to her to put her number in.
“I would love that! I’ll text you the address of the bookstore too, I work four days a week, all different days so I’ll let you know when I’m there and you can pop in anytime!”
“Perfect, I’ll see you soon.”
She pulls me in for a tight hug, resting one hand on the back of my head and fully embracing me the way a mother would her own child.
She lets me go and hands me my phone back just as barking sounds from down the hall and the clattering of paws hit off the hardwood floors.
A second later three huge dogs come bolting towards us and I know I probably look like an idiot with the smile I have on my face at seeing them, but I can’t help it.
I crouch down and put my hand out to call the dogs to me.
“No Willow, they are guard dogs, I need to introduce you first so they know you’re good.” Dragna says quickly as he tries to pull me up before they get to us.
It happens so fast that I barely register what’s going on. All three dogs bulldoze into me and begin licking my face and I can’t help the laugh that breaks free.
“Good dogs, oh you are all so sweet!” I say as I pet their heads and scratch behind their ears. I look up to Dragna, still laughing and he’s looking back at me with shock on his face.
“I thought they were guard dogs?” I say as he looks down at me dumbfounded.
“They are. They’ve never acted like this with anyone before.” He says as he starts petting them too.
“Ohhh I feel so special then!” I say as I smoosh the face of one of the Rotties who’s taken a very keen interest in me.
“That’s boulder.” Dragna says and I laugh even more at the ridiculous name.
“Boulder? Why?”
“Look at him, even as a pup he was rock solid.” Dragna says as serious as he can while his dog who he suspects is as scary looking as him turns to mush in my hands.
“Dogs are a good judge of character.” Milena chimes in softly.
“My car is outside, I’ll leave you both and I will hopefully see you very soon Willow. Get home safe and call me anytime dear.”
“I will, you too and thank you so much for a lovely evening!” I say as I finally stop letting the dogs take all my attention and I stand to say goodbye to Milena again. I look at my phone to make sure her number saved properly when I see the contact name and see she’s written ‘Mama’.
Nobody in this family does half measures it seems when it comes to forming relationships, and as crazy as it sounds, I kinda love it.
“Goodbye mama.” Dragna says as he hugs Milena goodnight and kisses the top of her head. She pats his cheek before he stands to his full height, looking deep in his eyes and smiling.
“Goodnight darling.”