Chapter Eight
Massimo sat in the changing room and waited for Lily-Mae to make her appearance.
His patience was growing thin. After the party three nights ago, Isabella had come to him.
Adelina was unaware that his sister had gone to the bathroom just moments before her and had been about to step out of one of the stalls, when she heard Lily-Mae.
His sister had told him everything Lily-Mae had said to his wife.
It had taken him three days to get himself under control, and during that time, he had waited for the right moment to talk with Lily-Mae.
There had been several talks with Lily-Mae’s family, the Ricardos, about there being a possible union.
The Ricardos and Salvatores were very wealthy.
It would have been a powerful union. The only problem was, he couldn’t fucking stand Lily-Mae.
Sure, she was a beautiful woman, but that was all.
Beauty on the surface. He couldn’t stand her laugh, or the way she talked, or even the scent of her.
Whenever he was near her, it was like it was choking him.
There was a lot about her he couldn’t stand.
He teased the ring on his wedding finger. He had known there was something wrong with Adelina when she came out of the bathroom, but he didn’t know what. She had been tired when they got home, and he had seen her withdraw.
Hearing what Lily-Mae had said to her, he could understand, and he didn’t like it.
He had no choice but to deal with it. His father had wanted to go to her father, but Massimo felt the only way to deal with Lily-Mae was to go to her.
She’d release the waterworks to her father.
There would be no lies between him and Lily-Mae.
“You know, I don’t think this is right. Can you not get anything fucking right?” Lily-Mae stepped out, and it looked like she had raised her hand, as if to slap the sales assistant.
The outfit looked fine to him. It was a pair of pants, with a matching vest over a white shirt. It actually looked elegant.
She paled and then smiled when she saw him.
“Hello, Massimo. I had no idea you were here. Is there something you’d like to talk to me about?” She started to go all flirty.
“You like this life, don’t you?”
She frowned.
“Being able to buy clothes you don’t need. Expensive designer bags, jewelry, beat the staff that is only intent on helping you. You like it all.”
She didn’t say a word.
“And if you dare come to my wife, I will make sure that never happens again.”
Lily-Mae laughed. “Please, I know you’re powerful, Massimo, but you and I both know you can’t take my family’s wealth.”
He struck quickly, moving with a speed she didn’t anticipate, and he had his fingers wrapped around her neck, squeezing off the air.
“Do you think you’re so powerful that you’d be able to stop me?
” He tutted. “You’re a foolish girl, Lily-Mae.
Do you not know what I am capable of? How easy it would be to strip down you, your father, your mother, and every business he has his fingers into.
With a simple phone call, I can stop all funds coming your way.
I can squash you all without even lifting a finger.
The Ricardo name has been failing for quite some time.
It is just a name. Your brothers do not have what it takes to surge the family forward.
” He squeezed her throat even tighter. “You talk to my wife, say shit to her like what you did at that party, and I will take great pleasure in watching you suffer. I will make it my personal mission to create a life of misery, and I will not allow you to die quickly. You’ll die when I say, is that understood? ”
He saw the panic and fear in her eyes, and he waited for it to dance merrily within her, and only when he knew she had gotten the message completely, did he finally let her go.
“Have a good day.”
Stepping out of the dressing room, he pulled out his cell phone, and to make the message even clearer for Lily-Mae when she got home, he struck a deal that would weaken the Ricardos in an instant.
Once that deal was done, he then pulled out her father’s number and let him know his current predicament was because of his daughter, and it was about time he pulled her in line. If she stepped out again, he would end the whole lot of them.
Hanging up the phone, he called his own father to let him know what he had done.
They were in agreement that Lily-Mae’s insult to Adelina couldn’t go unpunished.
Now, he picked up some roses from a nearby florist, along with a book he heard her talking about.
It was the latest romance by one of her favorite authors, and he made his way home.
Isabella came downstairs, holding her cell phone. “I did what you asked.”
“Thank you.” He nodded toward her.
He had told her to spread the word of the Ricardo troubles.
No one could spread gossip better than his sister.
He hated it, but to deal with Lily-Mae, he had to be brutal.
Adelina was hurt. She had withdrawn into herself in a way he had never seen, even at those damn parties when she was in those awful clothes.
He should have protected her. He’d failed.
“Where’s Adelina?” he asked.
“In the garden. She has spent a lot of time there today.” His sister put a hand on his shoulder, and then left.
He made his way out into the garden, going down the path and working his way through the small maze his mother had insisted had been created when he and Isabella were kids.
Massimo had lost count of the number of times she would chase them through the summer, and all the fun they would have.
When his father got home, he would join in.
He knew it was strange to have a happy family within the Russo Mafia. His parents had been the exception to the rule. They had tried to shelter him and Isabella as long as possible, until his training had to start.
Massimo had known he was going to be the man of the house one day. His father, even though trying to protect him, had told him there would come a time he wouldn’t be able to hold back, or pretend he was just a kid. There would come a time when he was going to have to grow up.
He found Adelina on a bench, her knees brought up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, as she stared out toward the bird feeders. His mother had loved to spend hours watching the birds. It was where she would clear her head, at least that was what she used to tell them.
“Hey,” she said.
Massimo moved toward her, and he crouched in front of her, stopping her from attempting to get up. “You don’t need to get up.”
She frowned. “What is this?”
“These are for you.” He handed her the red roses.
“They’re beautiful.”
“I saw them and I thought of you.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to,” he said.
The smile on her lips that reached her eyes made it worth it. Then, he presented her with the book. “Here you go.”
She gasped. “You remembered?”
“Of course I did.”
“I didn’t even realize you were actually listening to me.” She looked at the book, and then flipped it over to the back, before turning it back over, and then smiling at him. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to worry about Lily-Mae,” he said.
He instantly saw her tense and at that moment, he truly believed he’d let the other woman off lightly.
****
Adelina had been trying to forget all about Lily-Mae, but she hadn’t been able to get her cruel words out of her mind.
When they got home, she just couldn’t be with Massimo. Every insecurity came rushing toward her, and it felt like a plague which only consumed her with every passing day.
She should have been married to Diego. Massimo was supposed to be another woman’s husband. She hadn’t told him about her predicament in the hope he would intervene. Her love for him would have forever remained a secret, and she’d have taken it to her grave.
“Maybe she’s right,” Adelina said, looking up at him.
“Don’t, Adelina.”
“I don’t know who you were supposed to marry, but we both know it wasn’t me.
My family are not exactly the kind of people most want to be associated with.
” She sighed. “I get it. It’s hard being related to them.
Trust me, I get it more than you realize.
Wherever we go, people are going to comment.
They’re going to whisper. They’re going to think I manipulated you. ”
And he burst out laughing. “Manipulated me? Do you think I’m easily manipulated?”
“You married me.”
“Adelina, there was no one intended for me, okay? No one. Lily-Mae’s family had wanted a connection, but I couldn’t stand the bitch.
Do you think I don’t see the evil in her eyes, and I know I’m not one to talk, but that is beside the point.
I never wanted her. I certainly don’t want to have kids with her. ”
“What about anyone else?”
“None. The only person I ever looked forward to being with, is sitting on the bench in front of me, Adelina, and that is you. You made me laugh. No one has ever made me laugh, and yeah, the clothes you wore were fucking ugly, but they were also part of you.” He reached out and tucked one of her curls behind her ear.
She loved when he did that. The small touches that didn’t mean a lot to anyone else, meant so much. Each touch, each light caress. It all built to something quite amazing. The flutters in her stomach started to build, as did the pounding in her chest. These were the moments she treasured.
“You made going to those parties fun. If you weren’t there, I left.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, because I didn’t want to be anywhere else but with you. Don’t ever let the Lily-Maes of this world tell you anything different.”
He cupped her cheek, then kissed her, and that kiss was special, at least to her. She melted against him. All she wanted was to be with him.
“Follow me,” Massimo said, and she got up from the bench. Carrying the bouquet of roses as well as her new book, she followed him down to the back of the garden.