Amore (3 page)

“Gio?”

“Out here,” he answered.

Mirabella lifted Gino up above her head. He grinned down at his mama. She then started to climb the stone steps out of the water with him on her hip. In her white bikini she redefined beauty. Her brown skin was slick and bronzed thanks to the hours spent in the sun. All of which reminded him of the melting softness between her thighs. Mirabella had a body made of curves. She was a walking fucking fantasy for any man. He loved everything from her round ass, heart shaped hips, shapely thighs, slender legs and firm high-perched breasts. And that included the little imperfections of belly fat left from birthing three
bambini
. She carried Gino in her arms. Her hair was slicked to her scalp in deep waves that lay against the sides of her face, and reached just past her shoulders. She kissed his son’s face and walked around the pool.

“Ah, here you are,” Lorenzo said. His cousin stepped to his side. “I thought we were going to meet in Villa Rosso? Dominic has returned with Carlo. They are ready to see you.”

“I was headed in that direction,” Giovanni replied.

Lorenzo’s gaze narrowed on the girls. Marietta, his wife, lounged in a chair under a large floppy yellow hat and oval shaped sunglasses. She wore a yellow bikini that was a bit more string than bikini. Giovanni glanced up at his cousin. Lorenzo looked upon his wife with the same adoration Giovanni expressed for his Bella. At first he doubted the two of them as a couple. And if one were to consider how they came about, the doubt would be deemed justified. However, Giovanni had seen a different side of Lorenzo as a married man. His cousin even boasted at fidelity to him and the other men. Possibly the saints’ prayers for them both had shown the Battaglia men favor with the Mancini sisters.

“How did your meeting go?” Giovanni asked.

Lorenzo shrugged his broad shoulders beneath his tailored blazer. “Armando is a bitch. How do you think it went?”

“You still play this game with him?” Giovanni shook his head and half-smiled.

“Whether he likes it or not. We play this game.” Lorenzo chuckled.

“Come, let’s get it over with. I don’t want to be late for dinner.” Giovanni stepped away.

“We really are blessed,” Lorenzo said. He hadn’t moved. He continued to stare out toward the pool. Giovanni glanced back. Mirabella sat in the chair next to Marietta. The women side by side did resemble each other remarkably.

“I want a son,” Lorenzo announced. “Like you, I want to be a father.”

Curious, Giovanni eased his hands in his pockets and stared at his cousin. “Then make one.”

Lorenzo leaned over the balcony when he spoke. “She and I try, but she isn’t pregnant. What if my mother’s curse is true? What if I can never be a father?”

Giovanni returned to his cousin’s side. The differences between them had passed. Lorenzo was his trusted council, his left hand. He deferred to him often on matters of business, or the family.

“See a doctor. It may be something simple, something correctible,” Giovanni advised.

Lorenzo scratched his chin. “I’m a man, Gio. You think I want a fucking doctor to tell me I can’t use my cock?”

“Maybe it’s her,” Gio said.

“It isn’t her!” Lorenzo said his voice was low with malice. He glared at Giovanni with the temper of a cobra. “Don’t dismiss her like that.”

“I wasn’t trying to dismiss her…”

“She’s perfect. Just like Mira. They’re fucking twins!” Lorenzo shouted.

Giovanni shrugged. The subject was far tenderer with his cousin than he first considered. If Mirabella were sterile at the beginning of their marriage it would have broken his heart. And even now it makes him uneasy with the doctor’s prognosis about the scarring of her uterus, and the slim chance she could conceive again. He loved his wife being pregnant, being his. He loved seeing her swollen with life that they made. He understood Lorenzo’s pain. “You need to get to the bottom of it, Lo. See a doctor. Get answers.”

Lorenzo looked back out to his wife. He let his temper cool before he spoke again. “You’re right. I will talk to Marie,” he said under his breath.

“Come, we have work to do.” Giovanni patted his shoulder.

Lorenzo followed him out.

**

“So I have a request,” Marietta removed her large floppy sun hat. She gestured for Eve to come over so she could fix her swimsuit bottoms sucked in to her tiny butt. All the while Mirabella struggled with calming her rebellious son Gino. He was now banned from the water.

It was hard to understand her little boy’s daredevil acts. Gianni was far more docile and accepting of the rules. Gianni was the stronger of the two when born, Gino fought for his life. And since then it has been Gino who defied her, challenged her. Her baby boy refused to be mommy’s little panda anymore. Now he wanted to be daddy’s tiger.

A nice afternoon swim turned disastrous when her son ran from Cecilia and dove off the poolside to the deep end of the water. He did so without his floaters. Gino sank like a stone. Mirabella had to go in after him and it scared the shit out of her.

“Hush now, Gino. Mama is very upset with you,” Mirabella said in her sternest voice. Gino fought against her holding him like a baby. Despite the fight she managed to keep him on her lap.

Marietta kissed Eve and then popped her on the butt. “
Va bene!
Show auntie what you can do!”

“Grazie, Te-Te!”
Eve said. She hurried over to the side of the pool where Cecilia played with Gianni. She eased in the water and splashed around trying to swim on her back. “See? I can do it! Just like Daddy!” Eve laughed.

“Brava!”
Marietta clapped. Mirabella smiled with pride. Gino’s face rested against his mother’s breast. He held back his tears and let his mother calm him.

“What is it you have to ask?” Mirabella asked her sister.

“Huh?” Marietta answered. She never took her eyes off Eve as she began to doggy paddle around in the water. Marietta got to her feet and began to remind Eve of the rules to stay closer to Cecilia. Often Marietta stepped in as a surrogate mother with the kids. She and Eve had the most special of bonds.

“You said you had something we needed to talk about?” Mirabella reminded her when Marietta sat back down.

“Oh, yeah. The party. We’re turning thirty. That’s huge.”

“I suppose. Some days I feel more like I’m forty,” Mirabella smiled.

“What? Please! Honey, I feel twenty-two.”

“You look it! Lorenzo comes home and sees you in that bikini around his men he’s going to go for his gun.” Mirabella teased.

“What? This innocent little thing? You think this would get his attention?” she posed. Mirabella laughed. Marietta loved pushing her husband’s buttons. Mirabella not so much. She learned early on that pissing Giovanni off was never fun for either of them.

“How has it been for you? I mean with them gone? I’m about to climb the walls,” Marietta shivered.

“Me too. Sometimes I have to call him to… you know, talk me to sleep,” Mirabella winked.

“Oh yeah? The Don talks dirty to his wife?” Marietta laughed.

“You have no idea, the man… never mind. I’m just glad he’s coming home. I’m about crazy.”

“Me too.” Marietta agreed.

“Go on with your request,” Mirabella said.

“What request?” Marietta stretched out in the sun.

“You said you had a request?”

“Oh! Shit! Ooops, sorry, Gino,” she chuckled. “I forgot. It’s our first big party together. We are going to burn Italy to the ground with everything I’ve got planned.” Marietta rubbed her palms together.

Mirabella shook her head. “I don’t know about that. Nothing too flashy. Gio is grumbling about having it in Bellagio. I agree with you it’s the best location since we have my show in Milano. The man trusts nothing unless he’s the organizer.”

“Which is exactly why I planned it.” Marietta grinned. She turned on her chair and faced Mira. “Catalina and I will handle everything. It’s going to be huge. Everyone’s coming.”

“I don’t like the sound of this,” Mirabella chuckled. “We said a private intimate affair. Close friends and special guests.”

“Girl? What the hell are you complaining about? We’ve closed the New York offices. We’ve just launched our Parisian line. And you, Ms. Sassy, are officially hot shit again. The world gets to see you in Milan in two days. After what? Four years? Seriously! This is big!”

Mirabella chewed over the news. She glanced to the upper level of their home. She wondered if Giovanni was back from his business. His final stop was in Naples so he was close. He had been short with her on their call last night when she mentioned her desire to do a few interviews with the press. She had to temper her excitement around him. And then came the guilt. Yes, they agreed the kids were older, but her babies had her at every turn, and so did her husband. How could she manage to juggle them and work full time?

“Hello!” Marietta snapped her fingers in front of her face. Mirabella smiled. Marietta continued. “Thing is, I ah, I’ve invited someone,” Marietta said. She squinted out of one eye as if expecting her sister to disapprove.

“Who?” Mirabella frowned.

“A girl from back home. Her name is Shae. Shae Dennis. She’s been my friend since I was sixteen. When I first ran away she took me in. We were the same age but she always had this hustle about her. Shae was in her own apartment and running her own business by then.”

“What kind of business?” Mirabella frowned.

“The kind a sixteen year old stripper could run,” Marietta said.

Mirabella nodded that she understood.

“She’s flying in tomorrow. I want her to stay here and go with us to Milano.”

“Oh? Okay, well that’s fine. It’s your house too.” Mirabella smiled.

“Please. This kingdom belongs to the high and mighty, and I know how your husband can be toward strangers. Either they’re an irritant or a threat, but never welcomed.”

Mirabella laughed.

“I’m serious. Clear it with King B please. Make sure it’s okay. She’s a little on the wild side. You know what I’m saying?”

“I’ll make sure Giovanni is aware of the house guest. Now can you please tell me what you and Catalina are concocting for the fashion show? I’m being kept out of the details. Even Kyra is quiet.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be tasteful and up to your standards. We have it under control. I have something else to tell you.” Marietta whispered. This time Marietta looked away. Mirabella wondered if her sister was finally pregnant. She knew Lorenzo wanted a child. He mentioned it often. But something about Marietta’s silence and reluctance to speak on the subject troubled her. Her sister was very strong willed and secretive, even now.

“I invited Armando to the party,” Marietta confessed.

“You did what?” Mirabella gasped.

“Wait for the explanation before you flip out!” She threw up her hands in defense.

“No! Absolutely not. Un-invite him. Now! Before my husband and yours find out,” Mirabella warned.

“Why? Lorenzo works with him.”

“Against him—” Mirabella insisted.

“With him, Mira! He’s trying to secure our future. We are Mancinis.”

“Are you out of your freakin mind?” Mirabella demanded. She covered Gino’s ears when she almost cursed. He bucked on her lap not liking the hold she had on his head. “We are not Mancinis, and don’t you ever say we are aloud again!”

“But?”

“No buts damn it! I don’t want my husband upset about something that doesn’t matter to me. And shouldn’t matter to you. Un-invite him!” Mirabella stood and put Gino on her hip. “I mean it. Call him and tell him to stay away.”

“Hold up! You always do this.” Marietta blocked her in. Mirabella heaved Gino up on her hip and faced off with her sister. “You always put Giovanni before you.”

“Are you crazy?”

“No! This is not about our husbands. It’s about us. We have a connection that we can’t just ignore!”

“Watch me,” Mirabella said.

“It’s been two years since our father died. Two years since we found each other. Enough time has passed for us to move on. To heal! Armando has no one. He—”

“Can not be trusted. The only reason he talks to you is to find a way to divide you and Lorenzo. He doesn’t want to be our big brother, Marietta. He wants his company back. The man tried to poison me.”

“That’s not true. He said Carmella did that without his knowledge.”

“You heard her on the phone with him!” Mirabella shouted. Gino gripped tighter to his mother in fear.

“I heard her talking to someone. I don’t remember who.”

“Lies! You knew. What is wrong with you?”

Marietta’s eyes began to tear. “I’m sorry. Maybe he is lying. But I think he’s doing it because he’s trying to start over. I make mistakes, I’ve made mistakes!”

“Not the same thing!” Mirabella insisted.

“I’m so frustrated with this! If we could all just sit down and start over we can be a family.”

Mirabella grabbed her arm. “You have a family. Hear me? Me and your husband. Gio, Catalina, Zia and Rocco, we’re your family. You can start a new family by giving your husband the child you know he wants. Stop reaching back in the past before it destroys all of our futures. We know these men, I know my husband. You keep this up and it will end badly. Not for them, but for Armando. Do you get it now?”