30. Man Of His Word #2
“Ignore it,” he demanded as I broke the kiss and glanced towards the bedroom door. He captured my lips again, but when the relentless ringing wouldn’t stop, he threw his head back, gritting his teeth.
“Looks like someone wants you nearly as much as I do,” I murmured against his throat, kissing down the thick, veiny column while I flicked his piercing with my thumb. He let out a feral groan of frustration, and I giggled. I think I found my new favourite hobby. Teasing him.
“No, someone wants to cease to exist,” he growled, forcing himself out of the tub on the fourth incoming call. He grabbed a towel, slung it around his waist, and gave me a pointed look, dark with promise. “Wait there, beautiful. We’re not done.”
I sank beneath the bubbles, grinning like a fool when he answered the phone with blunt aggression.
“Si?” he snapped. “No. I was taking a bath with my wife. What’s wrong?”
There was silence, and I cocked my head, trying to listen more closely.
“What do you mean ‘you’re here’?” The shock in his voice made me sit up. “Alright. I’m coming.” He hung up and poked his head around the bathroom door, an apologetic look already in place. “My sisters and brother-in-law are here.”
“What?” I gasped as he handed me a towel. “In Rome?”
“In our living room because they’ve let themselves in.”
“They can do that? I thought you had security!”
“Don Alessio Barbieri answers to no one, Bella. They answer to him.”
I froze. Alessio Barbieri? I’d heard my papi mention that name.
He was the top dog, the Mafia King of Italy, as they called him.
He was here? I thought he lived in Sicily.
All the colour must have drained from my face, because Sani chuckled, wrapped his arm around my waist, and lifted me out of the bath.
“Don’t look so worried. He’s a big softy beneath the bite.
” He kissed me, then stormed out of the bathroom and into the dressing room, throwing on some smart trousers and a shirt.
“Take your time, get dressed, and come and meet them. Elle hasn’t stopped messaging me about you, and it seems she’s tired of waiting.
Impatience runs in the family.” He winked at me as he did the last few buttons on his shirt, then sauntered out of the room to greet them.
The shock wore off, but the nerves didn’t.
I raced to my side of the dressing room and sifted through my clothes to work out what to wear.
The mafia always wore suits, right? What about the women?
Were they always dressed just as formally?
Fuck, I had no idea. I’d only met some of them at our wedding, and they were dressed to kill. No pun intended.
I grabbed one of my favourite cute yet casual sea-green dresses with long sleeves and a short ruffled skirt.
I brushed my hair and applied some quick makeup.
I hated feeling flustered, but it made me realise how much I cared what his family thought of me.
Now that I was choosing to stay as his wife, I wanted to make a good impression.
Definitely a better one than the one I made on our wedding day.
Brushing my hands down my dress nervously, I stopped before walking around the corner into the living room and heard their voices speaking in rapid Italian. They were discussing Cecilia and what had happened last night.
“Did Arianna really manage to calm her down?” one of his sisters asked, but I didn’t know which.
“Si. She was amazing,” Sani gushed, and I smiled, feeling my chest inflate. “She has experience with dementia patients at the hospital she works at, and she knew exactly how to handle it. When Mamma gets stuck in the past, the best thing to do is go along with it.”
“Easier said than done,” another female voice muttered. It was softer, quieter, and filled with pain. Soraya. It had to be.
I stepped out of the shadows and walked inside, making it clear I was there. I recognised Soraya first; her long, beautiful ringlets were piled on top of her head and fell around her heart-shaped face. But her hazel eyes flicked away from me before I could smile at her.
“Is this my new sister?!” The beautiful, dark-haired woman in the room launched herself forward, arms outstretched, her dark brown eyes, so similar to Sani’s, taking me in.
She beamed at me, radiating only warmth and positivity, and I instantly relaxed as she pulled me into her arms. “Oh, Arianna, I’m so thrilled to finally meet you!
I’m Elle. I’m so sorry I missed the wedding.
I had an important event, and given that my baby brother only gave me twelve hours’ notice that he was getting married, I couldn’t get out of it. ”
I smiled at her as she stepped back, and Sani came to stand beside me, wrapping his arm around my waist. Her radiant smile brightened as she looked at us together.
“It’s fine,” I offered. “At least you had more notice about my wedding than I did.”
She laughed and glanced at Sani. “I would apologise for my reckless brother’s wild behaviour, but I stopped wasting my breath years ago.
I came here with every intention of rescuing you from him if he was holding you captive.
But…” She waved her immaculately manicured nail between us.
“I’m not sure you want to be saved. These men have a way of making us stay. Trust me, I know.”
She gestured to the man standing by Raya, smirking.
His light blue eyes were scrutinising me, even as he smiled with ease.
He was possibly the most intimidating man I’d ever seen.
He was huge, packed with bulging muscles and ridiculously good-looking, but in a way that only made him seem more lethal.
“She lies,” he said, taking measured steps forward as Elenora rolled her eyes. “She was the one who captured me the day I met her.”
“Exactly,” Sani agreed. “He gets it.” I giggled, and Sani’s fingers dug into my side, so I looked up at him. “She doesn’t need saving.” My heart fluttered. He kissed me quickly on the lips, then turned to his older sister. “But it’s nice to know where your loyalty lies, Sorella.”
“Pfft.” She waved her hand dismissively towards him. “I’m just checking that my new sister-in-law is happy, because that will make you happy.”
“Good save,” he chuckled. “But what are you all really doing here?”
“We need to talk,” Alessio said, his voice lower and sharper than a second earlier as he glared at Sani. Fear spiked beneath my skin at that look. As little as I knew about the mafia’s dynamics, it was clear Santino was in trouble.
“And I wanted to meet you!” Elle grinned, ignoring her husband’s ruthless aura as if it hadn’t just made the room shrink two sizes.
“Raya?” Sani asked, peering at his younger sister, who was leaning against the wall, watching the whole interaction with indifference. Raya’s eyes darted to me, then she looked down at the floor.
Elle exhaled heavily, lowering her voice.
“She needs a break from Verona, Sani. A change of scenery. Last night was really hard on her. I offered to have her come and stay in Sicily for a few days, but she wanted to stay with you. I know you’re newlyweds and probably want some alone time, but she’s really struggling without you, Sani. ”
Sani glanced down at me as if he wasn’t sure how I’d react. “Is that okay with you?”
My eyes widened. “Of course! This is your home. Your family can stay whenever they like.”
“It’s our home. But thank you.” He didn’t need to thank me. She was his sister.
“So…” Elenora clapped her hands. “I think you men should go and deal with your little work drama, and leave us to the girl talk that’s long overdue.
” She reached for my arm and pulled me away from Sani’s grasp, leading me into the living room where Raya was already sitting on a sofa, staring out of the floor-to-ceiling window.
“Work drama?” I asked, glancing nervously back at Sani, who gave me a reassuring smile before disappearing into his office with Alessio.
“Si. They’ll both wave their guns around, thinking they are both right and going round in circles until a new drama happens that puts that one to bed, and then it starts all over again.”
I swallowed, sinking onto the sofa. “Is Sani in trouble?”
“Sani is always in trouble,” Elle laughed.
“That’s nothing new.” When she saw the concern on my face, she reached for my hand and held it in her lap.
“Oh, he’ll be fine. Sani makes trouble just for the thrill of having to find his way out of it.
It’s like a sport for him. There’s nothing to worry about. Is there, Raya?”
I glanced at the awkward woman, who still hadn’t spoken, and she shook her head, leaning her chin against the back of the sofa.
“So, you can be honest. It’s just us ladies here now.
How are you really doing with all this? We love Santino, but we don’t always agree with his methods.
Forcing you to marry him was, well, a shitty thing to do.
But I can tell he is completely obsessed with you. His intentions are good, I promise.”
I smiled, fiddling with the locket around my neck. “Honestly, if you’d asked me that question two days ago, I’d have given a very different answer, but… I’m okay. I’m good, actually. We’ve… worked through some things, and we’re both on the same page.”
A knowing smile lit up her face. “Say no more!” She clapped her hands. “I am so pleased! I know this thing with your papi is stressful, but they have a way of working themselves out. Try not to let it get to you, okay?”
“Okay,” I breathed, feeling the tension drain from my body. Elenora was a breath of fresh air. It was hard not to be affected by her positivity and optimism. “Would you both like a drink?” I asked, realising I hadn’t offered them anything.
“Oh, I won’t be staying long. As soon as Alessio’s done, we’ll be on a plane to Verona. I’m going to spend a few days with Mamma. Thank you, by the way, for what you did last night. We are all trying our best, but sometimes it’s hard to know what that is.”