16. Marco
Chapter Sixteen
MARCO
As soon as I send one of my girls off to bed, the other one wakes up, so I quickly head into Clara’s old room to get Zoe before she has a chance to wake up the whole house with her crying.
“Morning, princess.” I smile as I reach over the side of the crib to pick Zoe up.
Her dark hair is sticking up at all angles, and she has the biggest smile on her face when she realizes it’s me.
She reaches for me, and my heart swells in my chest as I pick her up and cuddle her against my chest.
I swear this feeling will never get old, and I dread the day when she’s all grown up and no longer wants a hug from her dad.
I stand there gently swaying on the spot, savoring this moment with my daughter until she starts to whine, and I know it’s time for breakfast.
Lila and Holly are already up, so we have breakfast together in the kitchen before she has to get Holly ready for her music class.
Once I take care of the dishes, I take Zoe through to the living room for some playtime, making sure that the alarm is set on my phone to go and wake Clara up at eight.
It doesn’t take long for Zoe to grow tired of the basket of toys that are kept on hand, so I settle on entertaining her with a good old-fashioned game of peek-a-boo.
It seems to do the trick as Zoe giggles loudly, her little hands smacking against her chubby cheeks as I hide my face behind my hands.
“Where’s Daddy?” I peek at her through my fingers.
Her eyes widen, her legs kicking excitedly as she waits for me to lower my hands.
“ Boo! ”
Zoe squeals with laughter, her whole body wiggling with joy.
The sound spreads warmth through my chest, making me feel something I can’t quite explain.
It’s ridiculous how much this tiny human owns me.
We’re in the middle of another round when the door swings open and Andre strolls in.
When he sees me sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing peek-a-boo like a goddamn clown, he stops dead in his tracks.
“Well, well… This is a sight.” A smirk tugs at his lips.
“What is?”
Andre chuckles as he leans against the doorway.
“You, sitting on the floor, playing peek-a-boo. ”
“She loves it.” I shrug as I look at Zoe, who’s still watching me expectantly.
“I never saw this coming.” Andre crosses over to the couch and takes a seat.
Zoe waves her chubby hand back and forth at Andre, and we both laugh.
“Yeah, well. I never saw it coming either.” I pick Zoe up and settle her on my lap. “But now that she’s part of my life, I can’t imagine life without her.”
Zoe burrows against my chest, her tiny hands fisting my shirt, and it’s the easiest truth I’ve ever spoken.
Andre exhales, shaking his head as he looks at the two of us, smiling bright. “Damn. You’ve gone soft.”
I narrow my eyes at my brother. “I can still kill a man with my bare hands.”
“Sure, but after you change a diaper first, right?”
I grab one of Zoe’s stuffed animals and chuck it at him.
“Fuck off. You’re not much better.”
He laughs, but the sound feels forced.
I glance up at him as the amusement fades from his eyes and a deep crease forms between his eyebrows.
Soon, that crease will become a permanent feature on his face, similar to the one our father had. I guess it just comes with the territory of being head of the family.
I used to envy the fact that Andre was born first, but the older I’ve become, the more that envy has turned into relief.
Whenever I catch myself feeling weighed down, I remember it’s likely nothing compared to the weight that Andre has on his shoulders.
“Is there something you need?”
Andre dips his chin as his eyes flick to Zoe. “As much as I hate to interrupt, we’ve got some business to discuss.”
I swallow a groan as I pick Zoe up and move to take a seat on the couch beside my brother.
As much as I want to ignore my obligations and spend the rest of the day playing peek-a-boo with Zoe, I also have a responsibility to Andre.
I’m just going to have to get better at balancing the two priorities.
“I’m listening.”
Andre sinks deeper into the couch as he rubs at his jaw. “The Costa brothers are making moves.”
My jaw clenches, and I instinctively tighten my arms around Zoe, pulling her closer.
Bruno and Carlos Costa are two slimy bastards with an axe to grind. They think they’re on the same level that their father was, but they’re stupid if they think they can take us on.
“They’ve officially made threats against Nox.” Andre shakes his head. “If we don’t make a move first, they’ll take it as weakness.”
I frown. “Levi hasn’t said anything. Is this legit?”
“Yes. It’s only a matter of time before word gets around. Even just the mention of the Costas will be enough to ruin the business, at least for a while.”
“Bruno and Carlos are a couple of meatheads. They shouldn’t even be on our radar.”
“I know. But with the entirety of their father’s men on their side, they’re a fucking threat.”
I mindlessly stroke my hand up and down Zoe’s back as she chews on her sleeve.
A full-on war is the last thing we need, but we can’t just ignore the threat and let Tommaso’s sons think they can walk all over us. But a warning? A reminder that they’re playing in our territory? That we can do.
“We have men following both of them. What if we take out a few of their guards, specifically the ones closest to them. It would send a message.”
Andre strokes his chin as he thinks. “Offense is the best defense sort of message?”
“Exactly.”
He’s quiet for a moment before finally nodding. “Do it, but only their guards. Bruno and Carlos are off-limits.”
“For now.”
Andre nods. “We need to scare them enough to back off without forcing them into a war.”
I pull my phone out of my pocket.
I scroll through my contacts for Vince’s number. Him and Enzo are the two we trusted most to keep an eye on the Costa brothers, and I have a feeling they’re going to be happy to finally shed some blood, even if it’s only their guards.
Vince remains silent as he picks up.
“It’s time. Take out the guards. Make it messy.”
“Just the guards?”
“Yes. Under no circumstances do you touch the brothers, is that clear?”
“Yes, boss.” Vince’s voice is laced with disappointment.
I end the call and let out a breath as I look at Andre.
His hands are balled into such tight fists that his knuckles are white.
He gets up. “Let me know when it’s done.”
I nod.
It’s almost eight already, and Clara needs to leave for her interview in less than an hour, so I get to my feet. “We’ll continue this talk later.”
I move quickly, balancing Zoe on one arm as I make my way into the kitchen.
If Clara is about to walk into one of the biggest opportunities of her life, she needs to start the day off right.
I set Zoe down into her highchair and give her some banana to keep her occupied while I get to work making a fresh pot of coffee and a big stack of French toast.
Zoe watches me the entire time, completely fascinated, as I whip up the eggs, soak the bread, and flip the slices in the pan.
It smells incredible, and I set the first slice aside to give some to Zoe when it’s cooled down.
When the food is ready, I arrange it neatly on a tray and top off the French toast with some fresh strawberries and whipped cream. No matter what happens at the interview, Clara has worked incredibly hard, and she deserves to be spoiled.
I pour a fresh cup of coffee and add it to the tray before scooping Zoe out of her chair, ignoring the fact that she’s completely covered in food, and balance her on my hip.
She giggles as she smears her sticky fingers all over my shirt, but I don’t care. As long as she’s happy and having fun, that’s all that matters to me.
Somehow, I manage to carry the tray upstairs without dropping any of the food. There are no signs of life coming from my bedroom, so I gently nudge the door open with my foot so as not to startle Clara.
“Time to wake up, love.” I set the tray down on the bedside table.
Clara stirs beneath the covers. Her eyes slowly flutter open and at first, she looks surprised, but then it turns to excitement as she sees the tray of food.
“You did all of this?” Her is voice groggy. “While caring for Zoe?”
I press a kiss to Zoe’s forehead as she claps her sticky hands together.
“What can I say? My little girl has been an angel.”
Clara stretches her arms over her head before sitting up and taking the coffee off the tray with a grateful sigh.
Even with next to no sleep, and her blonde hair messy and loose around her shoulders, she looks so beautiful.
“What?’ She narrows her eyes at me.
“Just thinking of all those things I’m going to do to you later.” I flash her a wink.
Clara’s cheeks turn a deep shade of pink, and I chuckle under my breath.
I love how much of an effect my words have on her, which is something I’m definitely going to make the most of later.
“I could get used to this.” She takes in the overflowing plate of food.
“It’s already been pre-approved by Zoe, so you should find it up to standard.” I move to perch on the edge of the bed and set Zoe down between us.
“I’m sure it has.” Clara chuckles as she picks off a piece of strawberry and hands it to Zoe. “She’s definitely inherited my appetite, that’s for sure.”
I laugh as I have to physically hold Zoe back from grabbing all the toast off the plate, at least until Clara has taken a bite for herself.
She chews, and then lets out a satisfied groan that sends all the blood rushing to my cock.
“Okay, this is actually amazing .” She shovels more food into her mouth.
I smirk. “Told you.”
Clara eats quickly, her eyes anxiously glancing at the time on her phone every few minutes. Once she’s finished, she swings her legs over the bed and heads into the closet, which is now mostly filled with her clothes.
At some point, we’re going to have to talk about our living arrangements. Soon enough, Lila and Andre’s new baby will arrive and the house, despite its enormous size, is already starting to feel a little too crowded with the entire family living under one roof.
While it’s been great, I want to be able to fuck Clara on every available surface without worrying about being interrupted by my brother, or worse, my baby sister.
But we need to take one thing at a time.
Perhaps once Clara gets into fashion school, because she will, we can discuss moving back into the city.
I make a mental note to call my realtor to have her start looking at potential properties.
I put Zoe down on the floor so she can roll around, and head into the closet where Clara is flicking through her dresses.
I lean against the doorframe, watching her.
She’s wearing nothing but a pair of white lace panties and a matching bra, with her pale golden hair pulled back into a ponytail.
“I think you should go like that. You’re fucking breathtaking.”
Clara shoots me a look.
I grin as my eyes flick to her breasts, which are barely contained by her bra, and my cock starts to thicken.
I want nothing more than to lay her down on the floor of this closet and show her how incredible she is. I swear Clara has me acting like a feral animal, but I need to have some restraint. She needs to focus on her interview.
“Nervous?”
She exhales as she slips a pale blue dress off the hanger. “Yeah.”
I push off the frame and step up behind her.
My hands settle on her waist, and I bend my head down so my lips can graze the side of her neck. “You don’t need to be. You’re amazing, and you’ve got this.”
She relaxes slightly, leaning into me for just a second before she lets out a sigh. “I hope you’re right.”
I turn her around and place two fingers under her chin, tilting it up so she has no choice but to look at me. “I know I’m right.”
Her lips curve into a small, nervous smile, and I squeeze her waist.
“Now hurry up and get dressed. I don’t want to be late for your victory celebration.”
She laughs softly as she shakes her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And yet, you love me for it.” I bend down to kiss her.
“I do. I love you so much.”
“You can show me just how much once you’ve aced your interview.”