He rolled off her, snuggling her up against him. The length of her was pressed against the length of him. He couldn’t imagine being anywhere else right now. Is this what marriage was like?
*
Back at work, Violet made dinner plans with Kalia for that night. She was still a little sore from the accident, but she didn’t want to go home to an empty house. Amedeo was off seeing his mother and she wasn’t invited.
Something about the situation bothered her, but she couldn’t articulate it. She shouldn’t be bothered by it. They weren’t in a relationship. Just sex. That’s all it was. Why would his mother want to meet the mother of his child? Or hadn’t he told his mother about her?
Either way, she would go out with Kalia and have a good time.
She was getting closer to her own hacker and she’d seen no ramifications from the system she hacked into. That was stupid on her part. She was just flexing her muscles. Letting herself know that she could still do it. She still had it.
Lately she’d been feeling that her skills were going downhill. Must be pregnancy brain. She sighed. She didn’t like feeling useless and Amedeo’s hacker wasn’t proving too difficult. She’d set a trap for him and now they had to wait until he or she sprung it.
Waiting was not part of Violet’s repertoire. She wasn’t a patient person. She wanted everything yesterday. At least the day finally ended and she and Amedeo went their separate ways.
She met Kalia at a restaurant halfway between her apartment and Amedeo’s house. Violet knew she’d be tired, but didn’t want to ask her friend to drive a longer distance.
They were seated in the back, but not by the kitchen. Violet knew she could eat a horse. Lunch had only been soup. Nothing had appealed to her and now she was regretting not having more. Amedeo had suggested she get a sandwich, but she couldn’t choose so she didn’t.
They ordered, then Violet told Kalia what had been going on. “So, he wants to talk about the baby. I didn’t know men like this existed.”
“Not sure if it’s an Italian thing or a white man thing. Could you imagine having a conversation like that with a brother?” Violet said.
“Not at all. You just think about being pregnant and they run away.”
“We talked for hours about what we wanted for our child. It was really kind of neat. Bonding in a way.”
“You’re in love with this guy,” Kalia said.
No. she wasn’t. “I can’t be. No. I’m not. We’re having awesome sex and that’s it,” Violet said, but something niggled at the edges of her brain. What if she was?
She shook her head.
“You are, Violet. He’s all you talk about.”
“We are having a baby together. I do spend a lot of time with him since I work at his company and I’m currently living with him. I’m bound to have a lot of stories about him.”
“It’s not just that you talk about him. It’s how you look when you talk about him. You’re all dreamy-eyed.”
Violet frowned. “I don’t get dreamy-eyed. Certainly not about a man. Must be my pregnancy glow.”
“There is that, but this is more. This is the look in your eye.”
“I do like him. He’s a good man. He is the father of my child and we need to get along.”
“You’re doing so much more than getting along. You’re sleeping with him.”
“Yes, it’s sex. That’s it.”
“I think your pregnancy brain is making you deny your feelings for him,” Kalia said.
Violet sighed. When Kalia got something into her head, she wasn’t going to let it go. Arguing with her was going to make it worse. “Can we drop this?”
“Why? Because you don’t want to face how you feel? You need to think about it, Violet. If you know that this is going to end, you have to protect your heart. He’s going to break it and you’ll still have to deal with him. He’s going to be in your life for a very long time. So either admit it and get over him or protect yourself.”
Violet shook her head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just amazed at his behavior. I had no idea that someone could be this nice. That’s all. Each day he does something sweet. It doesn’t mean anything. He just feels responsible for me.”
Kalia shook her head. “You are way into denial. You love him. It’s so clear. I wish I could save you from the train wreck that this will be.”
Violet had to change the subject. This one made her uncomfortable. She cleared her throat. “Enough.”
Kalia frowned. “Fine, but I’m going to say ‘I told you so’ when this all ends badly.”
“Fine.”
“I got a new job.”
“I didn’t know you were looking?” Violet said.
“It’s in an office. It’s a real job finally. I’m not doing much beyond filing, but it’s a good paycheck and health benefits when I’ve been there three months.”
“Oh, that sounds great, Kalia. This is the beginning of you getting out of that apartment. You’ll never have to see Reggie again.”
“That will be wonderful. I cannot wait until I’ve save for a security deposit on another place,” Kalia said.
Violet couldn’t help but be happy for her friend. Things were looking up. “I did some hacking while I was bedridden.”
“Anything good?”
“Nothing that would have breached national security, but I may have left a trail. Amedeo came back early and I lost my focus.”
“That isn’t good, right?”
“No it isn’t. If I’ve left a trail the IT department may find me. I haven’t heard anything, so I’m hoping it’ll be fine.”
“That’s kind of scary. Couldn’t you go to jail?”
“Yes, I could. I was bored. I shouldn’t have done it, but I was sure I could get out without leaving a trace.”
“How about your job now?”
“I’m just waiting for the hacker to come back and set off the trap I set for him,” Violet said.
“Wow. Cool stuff.”
***
Amedeo loved his mother. He loved that he had this family. He wouldn’t want to see them every day, but seeing them once a month or so was perfect. He could catch them up on what was happening and they wouldn’t have time to ask too many questions.
He figured since his mother didn’t know about Violet that he could gloss over that until next month. Or maybe the month after that. He wasn’t sure why he was so hesitant to tell his mother about Violet. She wouldn’t judge. She’d accept what had happened and rejoice in another grandchild.
Was it because he knew his mother wanted at least one of them to marry an Italian girl? He shrugged as he pressed the doorbell to his mother’s house. He’d bought some flowers. Dante would bring wine. Salvatore would bring dessert.
His mother would cook the dinner because, well, she was Italian. They would all go home with the extra food. Violet would appreciate that.
Dante answered the door. The two men hugged. “No Violet?”
“Not ready to bring her into this yet. Besides, she’s not my wife or girlfriend. She’s just a baby mama.”
Dante gave him an odd look. “Baby Mama?”
“Apparently that is the term,” Amedeo said.
“I think you’re underestimating what she means to you.”
Amedeo had been heading for the kitchen, but he stopped in the hallway. “What do you mean?”
“If she was just a baby mama, then you’d have brought her. You wouldn’t care what Mom thinks.”
Amedeo blinked. “No, I just don’t want our mother hassling me.”
Dante shook his head. “Fine. Think what you want.”
He brushed past Amedeo who was still puzzling over what his brother said. He didn’t love Violet. He enjoyed her company. He liked having sex with her. Some of the best sex he’d ever had. Sex that he would miss when she was gone, but that didn’t mean he loved her.
Nope. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t fall in love again. No, he wasn’t in love wit
h Violet
Sure of his feelings, he strode into his mother’s kitchen. She was, of course, at the stove. She loved to cook for her boys and they all loved to eat her cooking. He kissed his mother on both cheeks. Then he kissed Gwen on the cheek, patting her tummy. “Not long now?”
“I can’t wait. I’m ready to stop being huge,” Gwen said.
“You look beautiful,” Amedeo said.
Which made him wonder what Violet would look like when she was close to giving birth. Would she have that glow about her? Would he want to talk to her stomach the way he knew Dante did to Gwen? Time would tell.
“Thank you. I don’t feel beautiful,” Gwen said.
Dante rubbed her shoulders. “I keep telling her that she just glows and she doesn’t listen to me.”
The baby chose that moment to kick. Amedeo had to smile. “He knows its Uncle Amedeo. I’m the fun one.”
“You are not,” Salvatore said. “He kicked for me, too.”
Amedeo hugged his brother. “Hey Salvatore. How are you?”
“Good of course. There are always bad guys in the world so I have job security.”
Amedeo laughed. His mother put the flowers in a vase, placing them on her counter. “Dinner will be ready in five minutes, but I think someone is missing.”
“Who?” Amedeo asked.
“That woman living at your house.”
His brothers gasped. Amedeo’s mouth fell open. “Uh, what woman?”
“I think her name is Violet?” his mother said.
How did she know? He looked at his brothers. Both shook their heads. They hadn’t ratted him out. Gwen put her hands up. She didn’t tell his mother.
He sighed. “How do you know about Violet?”
“Tory called me. Desperate girl. Glad you didn’t marry her.”
Amedeo didn’t know if he should be more surprised that Tory had called his mother or that his mother hadn’t been on the phone to him right away. “Tory called you?”
“Yes. She thought that I could help her get you back. I hung up on her.”
Amedeo smiled at his mother. Of course she would have his back. “Well, I wasn’t ready to tell you about Violet.”
“I know she’s having your baby. Why would you think that I wouldn’t want to meet the mother of one of my grandchildren?”
“I’m only just wrapping my brain around the idea of a child. I needed a little more time to get used to the idea.”
“Well, I’ll take all of the grandchildren I can get. I have enough love for all of them.”
Amedeo pondered the situation. If Violet were home he’d go get her, but she was out with a friend. “I guess I’ll bring her next month.”
“No, bring her Sunday. We’ll all have dinner again, barring the arrival of my first grandchild.”
Amedeo glanced at Dante who nodded. “I can make it. Salvatore?”
“Yeah I can make it,” he said.
Amedeo was stuck. “Okay. I’ll bring her Sunday then.”
“Good. I want to meet this woman who has stolen your heart.”
“Mama, I’m not in love with her. I’m just taking care of her because she’s having my child. She was thrown out of her apartment and I gave her a place to live until the baby is born.”
“Not in love? What’s wrong with her?”
“Nothing is wrong with her.”
“Then marry her, Amedeo. It’s the right thing.”
Amedeo laughed. “She won’t marry me. I asked her.”
“Then you’ll have to use that Killiano charm and get her to marry you. We’ll soften her up when she’d here.”
He put a hand on his mother’s arm. “You will do no such thing. You will stay out of this. It’s between me and Violet.”
His mother frowned. “Fine, but I bet she’ll love us so much that she’ll want to marry you.”
“I’d like someone to marry me for me, not my family.”
His mother waved her hand as she put food on platters. “We’re part of the package.”
***
Violet had no idea what she was going to think of Amedeo’s family. It had taken him the better part of the week to convince her that she should come meet them. Now Sunday had arrived and she was sitting in Amedeo’s passenger seat as he drove his Bentley to his mother’s house.
Not only was she meeting his mother, she was meeting his brothers too. No pressure at all. She hadn’t expected to be this involved in his life.
“It’s going to be fine,” Amedeo said. “Chewing your nails isn’t going to make it all better.”
“You can’t expect me not to be nervous.”
“It isn’t as if you have to impress them. Nothing will change the fact that you are the mother of my child. No one can take that away from you.”
He made it sound so logical and he was right. She didn’t need to impress these people, but if she did all of their lives might be easier. She wasn’t his girlfriend. They were lovers, yes, but that was it. She might never have to see them again.
Why was she so nervous? Why was this so important to her when it shouldn’t be? She wasn’t marrying Amedeo. She was merely having his kid. She tried to relax. She could get through this. Just a couple of hours.
“My family aren’t ogres, either. I came from that environment and I’m a pretty nice guy,” he said.
He had a good point. Amedeo was a good man. He’d taken her in when she was down. He could have turned his back on her. Not believed her. Instead, he’d opened his home to her. That he came from this family made her feel a little better.
She settled back into the seat. “Dante is the one who is married to Gwen. She’s due any day now.”
“Yes. Salvatore is single and no girlfriend. He’s my mother’s last hope of having an Italian daughter-in-law.”
“You aren’t married. You could still have one.”
He shrugged. “Been engaged and don’t want to do that again. I don’t want to marry or fall in love.”
She could understand that. With a kid in tow, she was pretty sure her prospects for a husband were slimmer. The men she dated weren’t interested in raising their own children, let alone someone else’s.
Marriage probably wasn’t in her future anyway.
“What about you?” he said. “Will you marry?”
“I doubt it. The men in my circle don’t want to raise children.”
“You need to find a better circle,” he said.
Like it was that easy. She’d go back to freelance work when this was all done. She couldn’t’ imagine working in an office, though she might have to consider it. The baby would need so much. Amedeo would provide a lot, at least he’d agreed to. Would he get bored and leave her in the lurch? She didn’t think so, but she had to prepare for that eventuality. Or maybe it was only a possibility.
He pulled the car into a large house. Not as large as his, but still impressive.
Amedeo rang the doorbell and a small, round woman opened it as if she’d been waiting. “Amedeo.” She hugged her son. He kissed her cheek and Violet couldn’t help be jealous at the easy affection they shared.
“Mama, this is Violet,” Amedeo said.
The woman with the darkest eyes she’d ever seen on a white woman turned her gaze toward Violet. “Hello, Violet.”
The woman pulled her into a hug. Not what she was expecting, but she responded. “Hello, Mrs. Killiano.”
“Call me Cara,” she said.
“That’s a beautiful name,” Violet said.
Cara had let her go and was looking her up and down. Violet knew she wasn’t showing, but her face held some trace of the fat it would hold when she was further along.
“Thank you. Come in. Meet the rest of the family.”
A very pregnant black woman waddled past the door to the kitchen. She smiled at Violet as if she knew exactly what the woman was entering into. “I’m Gwen. I’d hug you, but it’s a little hard these days.”
Violet shook Gwen’s hand and felt like she’d already
found a friend. The woman’s smile was warm and inviting. “Hi.”
“This is my husband Dante,” she said, indicating man who was clearly related to Amedeo. They had the same color eyes and very similar features.
Dante leaned down and kissed her on both cheeks. She couldn’t help smiling at the affection. These people loved to kiss. Amedeo was often kissing her head or her hand. “Hello.”
“Welcome, Violet. You have that glow about you.”
“Thanks, I think.”
A slightly shorter man though by no means short stepped up to kiss her cheeks. “I’m Salvatore. The younger and hotter brother of these two lunks.”
“Nice to meet you, Salvatore.”
The conversation began to swirl around her and she was able to see the love the three brothers had for each other and their mother. Gwen stayed by her side, albeit on a stool. So that’s what she would look like in a few months’ time? The poor woman looked so uncomfortable.
Finally they sat in a dining room and ate the meal Amedeo’s mother had cooked. She’d answered questions as she was asked, but she observed more than anything. She liked his family and the warmth they conveyed in their jibes at each other.
Later in the car, she smiled, thinking back on the afternoon. “Your brothers don’t let you get away with anything.”
“True. Did you like my family?”
She shifted in her seat to look at him. Why was that important to him? “Yes I did. They were very friendly. And fun.”
He glanced her way. “Good. I’m happy you did.”
She stretched then yawned.
“You tired?”
“No, just full, really. Warm from the food.”
“Good, because I had plans for our evening,” he said.
Chapter11
Amedeo held Violet’s hand the rest of the way home. He liked that she liked his family and they had clearly enjoyed her. No one had to do that, but the situation would be easier if they did. Violet wouldn’t object if one of his siblings or his mother wanted to babysit.
As if his mother would even ask. She’d probably come over to his house and just pack up the child. The kids were going to have all kinds of family.
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