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1019 Words
It might have been the heat, or just my anger, but before I got back to Lena, my Galeto had almost melted all the way. But seeing Lena, still sitting gracefully beneath the umbrella, legs crossed, elbow on the table, and cheeks resting idly in the palm of her hand, I felt the tight coil in my chest begin to loosen.
She looked dazed, her eyes staring off mindlessly towards the other side of the street. I followed her line of vision, and then I saw the thing that I assumed had caught her attention. It was a*****e that had baby things. Clothes, shoes, strollers, toys. There was longing in her eyes. Her pregnancy had come as a pleasant surprise to me. But now, I was worried. Which was a strange feeling. I never worried, I acted. And if s**t got out of hand, I snipped it at the bud. But Malino presented a new kind of problem for me. I didn’t know what kind of man…or woman, they were. So, I wasn’t sure what to anticipate from there invitation.
You know what? f**k it. I’m not gonna make the same mistakes my father made. I’ll protect my own family. And that bastard, Sullivan, was just a cagnolino (small dog) hiding behind a cane grosso (big dog)
“Here’s your Galeto, sunshine.”
Her head snapped up, eyes lighting up the second she saw me. “Took you long enough.”
“Ran into an…old friend,” I said, handing her the cup of galeto as I took the empty seat in front of her.
She arched a brow. “Chocolate?”
I hesitated. “Do you not like chocolate?”
A slow, knowing smile crept onto her lips as she took the spoon and scooped a bit into her mouth. “Are you kidding? I love chocolate” she said with her mouthful. I let out a sigh, then smiled.
“Of course you do.”
“But,” she added, “I love vanilla even more.” she smiled at me. Her smile chased of the remaining dark cloud of uncertainty in my head. I’d protect this smile at all cost.
“You don’t say?”
“Yup. At least I know we have another thing in common.” she chuckled.
This woman was something else. The world around me seemed to slow down as I looked at her. Once I got myself back, I slid my cup to her. “Here. You can have mine.”
“Really?!”
“Hah, yes. You literally just finished that cup in less than a minute. I’m guessing it’s good?” I arched a brow.
“So good. But, are you certain I can have it? It’s yours after all.”
I reached out and took her hand in mine.
“What’s mine is yours, princess.” it’s true. Anything she wanted and it was within my reach, I would give it to her and more. “I want to know what you like, so I’ll give it to you. What scares you, so I can protect you. What you hate, and I promise you’ll never see it again.”
“Hah. Well, I-um.” she nervously pushed back her hair from her face, her cheeks blood red. I had her right where I wanted her. “Geeze. Take it easy on me, mister.”
“Really? Well I’m just being honest with my wife.” I kissed her hand before letting it go so she could get back to her frozen treat. “Better drink your soup.”
“Ha. Sure.” she put the spoon down and picked up the cup, bringing it to her lips while she maintained eye contact with me. She slurped up the white vanillian. Not stopping until the last drop. When she was done, she ran her tongue over her mouth, lapping up the ones that cut the corner of her lips with a smile.
She was taunting me.
“What was that, bella?” I leaned on the table.
“What was what?” she shrugged as she took a napkin and dabbed the corner her lips.
“Don’t play coy with me, Princess,” I murmured, my voice low and velvet rough. “You know exactly what you’re doing.”
She blinked at me through thick lashes, feigning innocence. “I’m just enjoying my gelato.”
“Like hell you are.”
Her smile widened, a touch of pride dancing in her eyes. I loved that—how she wasn’t scared to tease the devil and flash him that angelic smile like she wasn’t slowly unraveling him from the inside out.
“Speaking of which, you mentioned you ran into a friend?”
“Hm? Yes, I said that, didn’t I?” I leaned back.”
Lena shot me a cautious look. But didn’t say anything. I knew she wanted to say something to me.
“What?”
“Oh, It’s nothing.” she shook her head. Keeping her mouth tight.
“Len.”
“It’s nothing, I promise.” she raised her hand up in defense.
“You have that look in your eyes.”
“Well. I think we’ve come far enough for me to know when something is wrong. And I’m sure you know you can’t lie to me. Literally. Vincenzo has no friends.” she said firmly.
“Ouch. Right in the heart, dolcezza.” i placed a hand over my chest, and she rolled her eyes.
It didn’t really sting though. Because she was right. I didn’t have friends. I had allies, and even allies could turn their back on you or put a gun to your head. Far too many times, I’ve been on the other end of the gun…pulling the trigger, I mean.
“Come on, Vince. Humour me.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you. But first.” I stood, stretching my hand for her to take. “How about one more stop before we call it a day?”
She hesitated for a moment. But took my hand in the end.
- Writer
