Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
THEA
When Massio told me he was serious about getting me pregnant, my mind whirled with dozens of questions.
Where would we live? When would we tell my parents?
How are we going to make this work? But I didn’t ask a single one.
Maybe I’m a coward or na?ve, but I’m so consumed by our relationship, I don’t care about the wheres and whys. Not yet, at least.
It’s been over five weeks of bliss living with him, and we’ve quickly become ingrained into each other’s lives.
“Are you nervous?” he asks as we turn into his family’s estate. “You’re quiet.” He lifts my hand and kisses it.
“A little. You haven’t really mentioned your family to me or what exactly you do for a living.”
He clears his throat. “Well, my parents died when I was a small boy, so my uncle Sal stepped in to raise me. Along with some of the other Mafia kids who would have been orphaned otherwise. Sal offered us a home and stability.”
Tears well in my eyes, and I swallow down the emotion building inside me. “You didn’t have a family?”
“I had these guys.” He points toward the house, and a smile curls his lips. “Sal, three brothers, and a little sister.”
“He sounds like an incredible man.”
He leans away and his eyebrows knit together. “Not too incredible, though, right?”
I scan his face, searching for what he means as he puts the SUV into park.
“Oh, trust me, you’re about to discover what I’m talking about. Come on.” He hops out of the SUV, and before I can unclip my seatbelt, he has the door open and is doing it for me.
Always so ready to take care of me. I step out of the SUV and stare up at the huge white house with pink flowers trailing up the front. It already looks like the perfect family home, and I can’t wait to discover more of it and learn more about the man who raised Massio.
He’s handsome.
He smells incredible.
His olive skin makes him appear more youthful than I think he is, but it’s his personality that really draws you to him.
Salvatore Marino is the epitome of a silver fox, and I can appreciate why Massio appeared so concerned. If I hadn’t had a daddy kink before now, I sure would have one the moment he stepped foot in the room.
He commands attention, emanates power, and is hotter than hell.
“You have some drool on your chin,” his daughter, Winter, whispers from beside me. “Don’t let Massio see. He’ll be jealous.”
My eyes widen, and I quickly swipe at my chin, causing her to giggle.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.
Besides, everyone falls in love with Papi.
” She winks. She’s older than me, but only by a couple of years, and she’s beautiful, with a warm personality that makes me think everyone who meets her must instantly like her.
“What are your plans after graduation, Thea?” I love the fact he calls me Thea, like I’m a part of the family already, which is crazy, given the hard time I gave Massio about me it.
“I don’t really know,” I admit with a grimace. “I enjoy design; I’m just unsure of where to go with it.”
“That’s okay. You don’t need to plan every detail of your life.
You’re still young and have plenty of time to decide how you wish to spend it.
” His words are more meaningful than he could ever know.
After growing up and being told the course of my life without any input of my own, to hear someone tell me I have options is incredible, especially in the society we live in.
“I thought the Mafia world insisted on arranged marriages?” I counter, then regret it, hoping he doesn’t take my question as rude.
Winter snorts. How the heck does she look so beautiful when she makes that noise? Sal’s eyes sparkle, and it’s impossible not to see the pride shining back in his eyes as he stares at his daughter. Something I’ve never received from my father.
“Well, we’re not as important as the prominent figures. Papi’s brother was a Mafia don, but he retired and his son Raf took over. But before his recent marriage, he was in an arranged marriage. Isn’t that right, Papi?” Winter says with a bright smile.
Sal flicks his cigar ash into a bowl and grunts.
“Raf was fucking his nanny. She was young too,” Winter explains, pointing her drink toward me. Then she hiccups, and I stifle the laugh bubbling inside me.
“How much champagne have you had exactly? And can you stop with the cussing? It’s not very ladylike,” Sal chastises.
She waves her hand in his direction. “Oh, I’ve had not nearly enough champagne.”
“You’re not even old enough to drink,” he says, but it lacks any bite.
She rolls her eyes. “So spank me,” she sasses, and I splutter on my water, then quickly dart my eyes away from her.
Sal rounds his desk and snatches the glass from her hand.
She opens her mouth on a protest, but he places his finger on her lips.
“Say another word and I’m taking your black card.
” Her dark eyes sharpen, and when he removes his finger, she twists her lips.
As if she’s unable to help herself, she opens her mouth but is cut short from speaking when the door to the office opens and Massio fills the space.
“Dinner’s ready.”
Winter clucks her tongue. “He announces it like he prepared it. He didn’t do shi—”
“Say that word and every item you purchased this week will go back,” Sal snaps.
Her shoulders droop, and she pushes out of her chair. “Come on, Thea. I’ll show you where to go.” She grabs my hand and pulls me out of the library and down the corridor.
She inches closer to my ear. “He’s always so bossy. You should hear him in the bedroom.”
I rear back; she means she’s heard him with other women, right?