by T L Swan
Giorgio frowns. “Why?”
“I want to go shopping. Olivia needs a new wardrobe and I could use your help.”
Giorgio clasps his hands together. “She does. I’ll cross myself off for the afternoon.”
“Meet me in the foyer in ten minutes?”
Giorgio winks and blows Olivia a kiss. She gives him a wave, and he disappears out the door.
“Goodbye,” she says, ending her call.
Her eyes find me again. I close her office door and take her in my arms.
“Rico,” she whispers. “I’m at work.”
“I know.” My lips drop to her neck. “But, as the delivery driver, I didn’t get a signature yet.” I take her lips in mine, my tongue slowly sliding through her mouth. I feel my arousal begin to flutter.
She pulls back from my kiss. “Rico, not now.”
I smile and give her behind a hard squeeze. “It has come to my attention that delivery drivers are seriously underpaid and underfucked. Where is my motivation to deliver more packages?”
She giggles. “Well, one would hope that you don’t expect sex for every parcel you deliver. What kind of delivery man are you? Go home, I’ll see you tonight.”
With one last kiss, I turn toward the door.
“Rici.” I turn back and stare into her eyes. “Ti amo.” She smiles.
My heart somersaults, and I move to take her back in my arms. “Let’s go home now,” I breathe.
“No, I’m working.”
“Resign, you don’t have to work here.” I kiss her again.
“You are an awfully distracting delivery driver.”
I stare down at my beautiful girl, she brings me a happiness that I never knew was possible.
I kiss her one more time. “Until tonight, my love.”
I walk down the corridor toward the elevators and my phone rings. It’s Sergio. He’s in Sicily.
“Hey,” I answer.
“We’ve got a problem.”
I roll my eyes. I don’t need this shit today. “What is it?”
“Lombardi has been going around town stating that he owns Sicily and Roma now—that he has run Ferrara out. He’s boasting that we have retracted with our tails between our legs. People are beginning to stop and take notice of him. His cocaine is top quality.”
I exhale heavily. “We know that’s not true, don’t we?”
“My intel tells me that he’s coming to Milan.”
“Why?”
“He wants our brothels. He’s coming to scope them out.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“We need to take back the blow, Enrico.”
“No.” I feel my anger rise. We have been arguing about drugs for months.
“We need the cocaine market. We cannot pick and choose what we own. We either own everything, or we have nothing. You know that it’s only matter of time before he becomes so powerful that nothing will stand in his way. He has five hundred men on his team now, and that number is growing every day. If he gets even more power, if he takes the reigns, we know what happens next.”
I clench my jaw.
“What happened last time when someone became power hungry, Enrico? What happened when they tried to take the crown?”
I close my eyes.
My father was killed in cold blood.
“I’m not a drug dealer, Sergio. I will never be a lowlife fucking drug dealer,” I whisper angrily.
“Ferrara has fought for thirty fucking years to hold our territory, and now you are going to just let them waltz in and take it without a fight?” he growls.
“We are smarter than that.”
“You are not being smart. You need to fucking level up, Enrico. Our girls are living in fear of him coming into our brothels. We have all but handed him our cocaine racket. What’s next? The gambling? Then what? Then what’s he going to fucking take?”
I clench my jaw as I stare at the wall. “Barr him.”
“What?”
“He and his staff are not to step foot in our brothels or gaming lounges again.”
“He’ll go crazy. His favorite girl is one of our high-end units. He won’t not see her without a fight. You’ll start an all-out war.”
“Then we go to war.”
I sit in the parking bay outside Olivia’s office.
It’s after 6:00 p.m. now, and she’s finished work for the day. I watch for the moment she sees me. Her eyes light up before she makes her way to the car.
“Hi.” She beams as she bounces in. “You finished work already?” She leans over and kisses me.
“I took the afternoon off.” I pull out into the traffic.
“Oh.” A frown mars her face. “What did you do?”
“Picked up a few things, delivered a few parcels.”
“Well, I hope I’m the only parcel recipient.” She smirks.
I take her hand. “One and only.” I kiss her fingertips.
Her eyes hold mine, and she gets this dreamy smile on her face—the one that makes me want to be a better man.
We drive in comfortable silence for a while as I navigate through the traffic. Olivia eventually begins to chatter and talk about her day. She tells me about her new shoes giving her blisters, and a man at work who annoys her. A movie she wants to watch on Netflix tonight, also. Basically, anything that pops into her head. I smile as I listen to her. She’s so disarmingly normal.
“Have you been back to the apartment yet today?” she asks.
“Yes.” I pull into the underground parking lot. The two security cars pull in behind us. I park the car and take Olivia’s hand. We make our way into to the elevator. “Feels like ages since we came here.”
“Hmm,” I mutter, distracted. “Did you like your present?” I ask, noticing that she hasn’t mentioned it.
“Oh, I love it. I just didn’t open it yet.”
“How do you know that you love it then?”
“Because you gave it to me. Besides, you know material gifts aren’t really my thing.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Material things aren’t the type of present I want from you.”
Great. Now this night may not go the way I had planned. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing, sorry. I sound ungrateful. I’ll open my gift as soon as we get to the apartment.” She leans up onto her toes and kisses me. “Thank you. You’re very thoughtful.”
The elevator doors open, and I put my hand into my suit pockets and pause as I wait for her to step forward. Her eyes fly around in wonder. “Enrico!” she gasps. “What in the world…?”
I wince as I look around. Maybe I went a little too far.
There are bags and bags of designer clothes all around. Shoes boxes are stacked in two lots of ten. There’s Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik’s, Valentino, Jimmy Choo, plus a few racks with evening dresses lined up. Six huge bunches of red roses sit in large crystal vases, and there’s a sliver tray of chocolate covered strawberries beside a bottle of the best champagne money can buy.
Her eyes come to mine. “What did you do?” Her tone is clipped.
I shrug casually, trying to play it down. “I took the liberty of buying you a few things.”
She frowns as she looks around. “This isn’t a few things. This is an entire shop.”
“You had nothing.”
“I don’t need all this,” she scoffs. “And, I didn’t have nothing. I had you. That’s all I need.” She gives a disgusted shake of her head and walks up the stairs.
“You’re welcome!” I call as I survey the fruits of my shopping expedition.
“Yeah, thanks!” she calls out.
“Are you going to come and open them?”
“No, it’s okay. You do it.” She’s upstairs now. “These things are your jam, not mine.”
“You know, you could at least be a little excited,” I call.
“Cook me dinner. That will excite me. You know… like a normal boyfriend.”
I fro
wn. What? “I don’t cook, and I don’t do fucking normal.”
“Ha, funny that. I don’t speak Italian but I’m learning because I know you like it.”
I roll my eyes. Here we go. Smartass.
I hear the shower turn on, and I give the Louboutin box a subtle kick with my toe.
“Well, that fucking backfired, didn’t it?” I mutter under my breath. “Cook her dinner. What next?”
It’s just past 10:00 p.m. and I’m lying on the sofa behind Olivia. She’s in her pyjamas, watching a movie on Netflix. She’s makeup free, relaxed, and happy. Her blonde hair is splayed across my arm. The sound of her laughter makes me smile. I have no idea what she’s watching—some Jennifer Aniston movie.
While she watches the movie, I’m watching her.
Her smile is like a drug to me. Her soft soul has carved its way under my skin, and her body… God… it’s an addiction I have to feed.
I’ve never felt like this—never had any idea that I could be so intoxicated by a single person.
I’m drunk on the feeling she gives me. My heart is literally in her hands.
She told me tonight that she doesn’t need anything money can buy, and for the first time in my life, I actually understood it.
Being here with her is the ultimate prize.
I tighten my arms around her and pull her close. She laughs out loud again.
“This is the most hilarious show ever,” she tells me.
I smile into her hair. “I know, bella,” I lie. “I know.”
Olivia
We drive up the huge driveway through the rolling green hills and I look around in awe. Just when I think that I’ve become accustomed to Enrico’s money, he brings me here to this next level mansion, his mother’s house.
“She knows we’re coming, right?” I ask nervously.
His eyes flick over as he concentrates on the road. “Of course, she does.”
I glance behind us to see the cavalcade of cars trailing us up the majestic road that pretends to be a driveway.
“What did she say when you said you were bringing me here?” I ask.
He frowns at my stupid question and he holds his hand up as it rests on top of the steering wheel. “Good, see you then.”
“Oh right.” I nod. “She knows I’m Australian, right?”
“Yes.”
I get a vision of her hurling abuse in Italian and chasing me away from her beloved boy with a rolling pin. “Because I just want to know what her reaction will be to me.”
“Olivia.” Enrico puts his hand on my thigh. “Stop worrying.”
I nod as I peer out the window at all the white horses in the paddocks. I turn to him suddenly panicked. “She won’t want to go horse riding, will she?” My face falls in horror. “Because I don’t know how to ride horses, Enrico. It’s just going to awkward and she’ll hate me forever.”
He breaks into a deep chuckle and squeezes my thigh. “You ride very well.”
“This isn’t funny,” I snap.
“Olivia.” He looks over at me. “My mother just wants to see me happy.”
My worried eyes hold his.
“And I am.” He smiles broadly. “Stupidly happy.”
I nod, mollified for the moment. “Okay.” We pull up to the house and my heart begins to pump hard.
Please let her like me. Please let her like me.
I don’t know much about Italy, and I don’t know much about mother-in-law’s. But I do know that Italian mothers are supposed to be crazy possessive over their children. Especially their sons.
I look down at myself and smooth my dress. “Are you sure I look alright?” I whisper. “Maybe I should have worn pants?”
He rolls his eyes and gets out of the car and I sit nervously as he comes around and opens my door. The property is huge and fancy, even the gates back at the road were gilded gold. There is security everywhere and this is next level fucking terrifying.
“I’m so nervous,” I tell him.
“Really?” he says with a sexy wink as he helps me out of the car. “I would never have guessed.”
“What if she doesn’t like me?” I whisper as he takes my hand in his.
“She will, but it won’t matter if she doesn’t.” He kisses me softly. “Because I like you.”
“I thought you loved me.” I frown.
“That, too.” He smirks.
It’s Saturday morning and we are at his mother’s house. He’s brought me here to meet them. His grandmother is away this weekend. I know he’s been strategically waiting for a chance to introduce me to them when she’s not here.
Hand in hand we walk up the front steps and as I hold my breath, he opens the door.
A beautiful woman comes into view. I remember her from the ball before Enrico and I got back together. She has long dark hair that’s perfectly styled. She’s wearing a black fitted dress with high heels. Not exactly what I would call Saturday loungewear.
She looks like some exotic Italian movie star, so glamourous and beautiful. Knowing her history, I was expecting a mousy woman of some sort, but this woman is a knockout.
“Hello, my son,” she says, her voice is soft, hushed and her accent is beautiful.
She kisses Enrico on both cheeks.
Enrico’s eyes come to me and he smiles proudly. “Mamma, please meet my Olivia and Olivia, may I present my mother, Bianca Ferrara.”
She smiles and holds out her hand. “Hello, Olivia. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“Hello.” I smile as I shake her hand, nerves tumble in my stomach, I feel like I’m about to swallow my tongue. “So, lovely to meet you, too.”
Enrico turns to the girl who has just appeared beside his mother. “And this is my pride and joy, Francesca.” He presents a young girl, his only sister. She’s young, beautiful in a crème tracksuit, she has long thick dark hair and the most unusual colored eyes I’ve ever seen. She looks like a fashion model.
Bianca holds her arm out in a welcoming gesture. “Please, do come in.” She turns and walks down the hall as if it’s a catwalk and I widen my eyes at Enrico. He smiles playfully and squeezes my hand. I’m glad he thinks this is so amusing, I’m beyond terrified.
We walk through the grand palace and out into the back area, the house is as big as Enrico’s but it has more antiques in it. It feels more formal and less house like. “Just out to the terrace.” She smiles as she gestures outside.
Enrico leads me through and past a beautiful white kitchen and out through concertina doors to a mosaic terrace that overlooks a huge pool. The house sits high and rolling green hills can be seen for miles, my mouth falls open in awe. “Oh my gosh, this is beautiful out here,” I gasp.
Bianca smiles as she looks around. “It is.” She takes a seat at the table and Enrico pulls out a chair for me. “We take it for granted sometimes.”
A young woman appears from the house wearing a traditional white maids uniform. “Marcella, puoi portarmi un caffé, per favore?” Translation: Marcella, can you bring some coffee and tea please?
The young woman’s eyes flick to Enrico and she nods her head nervously in a greeting. “Buongiorno, signor Ferrara.” Translation: hello Mr. Ferrara.
Enrico gives her a slow smile as he leans back on his chair. “Ciao, Marcella! È bello vederti.” Translation: Hello Marcella, it’s good to see you.
Marcella blushes and tips her head bashfully, she can’t hide her excitement that he addressed her, she rushes inside.
Ha…so his mother’s staff think he’s a bit of alright, do they? I look at him sitting there, legs wide and back straight, all confident and gorgeous…can’t say I blame them to be honest.
My eyes float over to my flirty boyfriend and I raise an eyebrow.
He smirks with a wink in reply.
“Enrico behave, stop encouraging her,” Bianca scolds.
He holds up his hands. “I said hello.”
I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from smiling at his mother’s comment.
; Bianca turns her attention to me. “How are you liking Italy, Olivia?”
“It’s beautiful.” I smile nervously.
“Yes. It is.” Her eyes hold mine for a moment. “Andrea tells me that you two met a few years ago.”
“Yes.” Oh shit, his brother has been talking about me.
“And how did you end up back here?” she asks.
“I brought her here,” Enrico replies sharply.
My eyes flick to him in surprise, I didn’t expect him to tell anyone that.
Bianca raises an eyebrow. “Really?”
Enrico’s eyes hold hers and I get the feeling he doesn’t like her tone. “Yes mamma…. really.”
Marcella returns with a tray of coffee. She puts them down on the table with a shaking hand as we all watch on. Poor girl, I feel sorry for her.
Enrico must too, because he sits up and helps her put things onto the table. “Grazie Marcello.” He smiles kindly.
She nods and disappears again as Enrico pours everyone a cup of coffee. He passes them to us.
“Where are you living?” Bianca asks.
“With me,” Enrico says as he sips his coffee. “We have moved into my lake Como house.”
Bianca’s face falls as she looks between us, a frown crosses her brow.
“Yes, mamma,” Enrico says flatly. “That’s right.”
What does yes, mamma mean? Did I miss part of the conversation? I look between them in confusion.
Bianca drops her head and clasps her hands on her lap. “I see.” Her back is ramrod straight and I don’t know why, but I get the feeling she isn’t happy about something.
“Olivia will be converting to Catholic this week,” Enrico says. “I have everything lined up with Father Delpini already.”
Huh?
This is news.
He seems to be putting out some kind of fire with her, one that I don’t even know about.
I think back to the conditions he laid out for us to get back together and I vaguely remember something about being Catholic.
I begin to perspire.
“Francesca, portala dentro,” Translation: take her inside. Enrico says with his eyes locked on his mother’s. I get the feeling that if I wasn’t here it would be all guns blazing.
