DeLuca (Mafia Romance)

Carlo

“They’re here,” Al announced as he stood in the doorway of my office.

“Thank you,” I said as I stood from my desk, buttoning my suit jacket and heading out to the foyer to greet Mia. I hadn’t seen her in months. Although she hadn’t come home often during her time at college this was the longest I had gone without seeing her since we met over three years ago. I was startled to realize that I had missed her. I hadn’t missed anyone since I was a child, but the nervous squeeze of my stomach and pang of hollowness in my chest whenever someone mentioned her was telling of just how much Mia had wedged herself past my hard exterior and into my heart. It was dangerous to care for her the way I did, I knew that, but I couldn’t bring myself to let her go.

I came around the corner to the foyer just as the front doors opened and Mia stepped through. She was magnificent, not that she hadn’t always been beautiful but she had become confident in her time away. Now, just a week shy from her twenty-first birthday, I could barely reconcile the scared and feisty teenage girl she had been when I first met her with the elegant woman before me.

I felt my feet unglue from the floor where I had stopped as soon as I saw her and take me forward to meet her. When she saw me she broke out in a smile that I knew matched my own and ran full force at me. I caught her up and spun her around as she giggled.

The smell of orange blossoms engulfed me and I squeezed her tighter. I had no idea what her plans were now that she was finished with school but I knew with certainty that I didn’t want her leaving again. I had allowed her to move half way across the country for school because it had been her dream but I would do whatever it took to keep her here with me now that she was back in my arms.

“How’s my college graduate?” I asked as I set her down.

“Glad to be home,” she said with a sigh.

“Good,” I said smiling down at her, “Now come, let’s have a drink and you can catch me up.”

When I lifted my head to lead her to my office I noticed Al and Angelo still in the doorway. Angelo averted his eyes as soon as I looked up and headed up the stairs with a couple of suitcases. Al however, was staring at me with a curious look on his face. Ice slid down my spine at the realization that I had just shown my hand, I had let my guard down and allowed someone to see how much I cared for her. I exposed my weakness and I had no idea how I was going to conceal it again. I clenched my jaw at my thoughtlessness.

“What the hell are you waiting for? Go help Angelo with the bags,” I barked out at him, my tone much more fierce than the situation normally would have warranted.

“Yes, sir,” he said with a nod.

I would have to remind him what happens to people when they stick their noses in my business.

Mia

The next two months flew by. Carlo took me to New York for my birthday. We walked all over the city, eating the best food, seeing the best shows, and shopping at the best boutiques. Over the years I had gotten over my issue with spending Carlo’s money. It was a lost cause anyways, may as well enjoy it.

It was the perfect birthday and having a solid week of just Carlo and me was absolute bliss and absolute torture at the same time. If anything, the trip had caused me to fall even harder for him. He was so present and attentive. Since it was just us, there was no shortage of physical contact, something he avoided when we were around his men. A kiss on the crown of my head, a hand at the small of my back, or an arm on the back of my chair.

All the small touches when separate were nothing, completely inconsequential, but a full week of them had left my head fuzzy and my heart full of stupid hopes. While we were gone Carlo had seemed happy, light even, an easy smile on his face and kind eyes for me.

…

On our last night in New York Carlo, took me to Sparks Steak House, near Grand Central Station. The food was amazing and the wine flowed freely. Unlike so many times before, Carlo didn’t rent out a private room for our meal, instead we were seated on the main floor of the restaurant with a front row view of the hustle and bustle of one of New York’s best restaurants. We talked about everything and nothing, enjoying our food while we joked and laughed. If I hadn’t known better I would think it was a date, it certainly felt that way. We were having such a fantastic time we didn’t notice that the place had started to empty until we were the last occupants. We made our way back to the hotel and up to the penthouse where we were staying. The large apartment had a sitting room as soon as you walked in and two adjacent bedrooms.

I traipsed into the sitting room, still laughing about something Carlo had said, and collapsed onto the couch. Removing my shoes, I called out to Carlo, “Do we have anymore wine?” I asked, I was having so much fun with this relaxed version of Carlo I didn’t want the night to end.

“Yeah, it’s behind the bar, I’ll grab a bottle.”

He approached with an uncorked bottle of wine and two glasses, and we continued our conversation through two bottles of wine. At some point I had slid off of the couch and onto the plush carpet, now sprawled out, flat on my back in the middle of the room. Carlo was in the same position, our faces just a foot apart with our bodies stretched out in opposite directions.

“Tell me something. I’ve tried to figure it out over the years but I still don’t get it. You’re a completely different person when you’re with Gina, fun and carefree, but when I met you, well actually before I met you I noticed you were quiet and reserved. Which is still different from the way you are at home with me. I guess what I’m asking is why?”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

I laughed, we were both drunk at this point, which was painfully obvious by Carlo’s rambling line of questioning. “I grew up terrified of my father, so I tried to be as invisible as possible. I guess I thought that if he didn’t notice me, if I was perfect and quiet, I would somehow avoid his cruelty. It took me years of being friends with Gina and seeing how her family was together to realize that my home life wasn’t normal, and it took even longer to relax enough to let my long suppressed personality come out, at least when I was with Gina. She was my safe place for a long time, the only person I could be myself around. She gave me strength and confidence that I’d never been allowed before.”