by Bethany-Kris
Val huffed. “Maybe they should learn her second language.”
“I’m in the process of donating enough that they’ll have a year-round class of Spanish and a summer program. In the meantime, French will be her third language. What’s wrong with that?”
“Well ...”
He gave her a look.
Val only rolled her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Never thank me for loving you two, yeah?”
“I know. Still will.”
Probably.
He’d still remind her that she didn’t have to.
“Thanks for taking her this morning,” Val added. “I can’t believe they changed the time of my doctor’s appointment that late last night.”
“It’s fine. I got it. And the doctor ... that’s all standard stuff, right?”
“Just getting the IUD removed and switching to the shot once everything settles.”
Chris cleared his throat. “Do you want to change birth controls, or ...”
“We need something.”
“Do we?”
Val stilled. “Are you asking me not to get a new birth control?”
“I’m saying we didn’t really talk about it, and maybe I would like to. Or perhaps you would, but since we didn’t take a minute to sit down and chat, neither of us know what the other wants. That’s all.”
“When do we have time?” she shot back, grinning.
Chris laughed. “Point taken. But I’m taking the time now.”
“Yeah, right now when you’re late taking our daughter to school, and I have forty-five minutes to get to the city for this damn appointment. Probably not the best time, Chris.”
“Maybe I’m giving you forty-five minutes to think about what you want, then.”
“Daddy! Now we’re fifteen minutes behind!”
“I’ll bump the speed up to fifteen over the limit,” he told Val.
She gave him a cocked brow.
He winked right back.
“Think about it, okay?” he asked.
Valeria wet her bottom lip. “I will.”
“Good.”
One more kiss to his wife’s lips, a quick I love you, and he was chasing Maria’s calls to hurry up before the two slipped out of the house into the cool October air. It felt like it was going to be a good day, though.
It always did with them.
11.
Valeria
“BAD traffic?”
Valeria smiled tiredly as she pulled the book bag from her wiggling daughter who was already trying to run toward the woman who asked the question. Chris’s mother, Cara, waited in the middle of the large Guzzi mansion’s entry in front of the winding staircases.
“Bad accident on the highway,” Val explained, standing straight with a dangling, pink book bag in her hands. “Ended up sitting there for almost an hour before we could pass, and by that time—”
Cara laughed. “The highway was so backed up with cars, yeah. That drives me crazy, too. The only bad thing about living in or near a major city.”
“Nanna!”
“Hey, pretty girl! Come give me some love.”
Val took the chance with her daughter’s distraction to set the girl’s bag, shoes, and jacket aside. Across the entry, Cara greeted Maria as though she had known and loved Val’s daughter for her entire life. The second after the girl asked Cara if she could be her nonny, though she mostly used nanna, Chris’s mother took her new role seriously. Playdates, movies, special dinners, and visits every chance she could. Maria loved every single second of it.
It warmed Val’s heart because it was everything her daughter hadn’t even known she needed. Chris gave them an entire family. Maria had more uncles and aunts than she could keep count of between the Guzzi family and Haven’s new family with the Marcellos. It also kept them busy running from one country to the next, but she wasn’t about to complain, either.
Sometimes, a person didn’t realize what they were missing until they finally had it. Valeria had never been more aware of that fact until now. Not that it made a difference to how she felt—all she could ever be for what she had now was grateful. This life she had was only possible because of them. She would do anything to protect these people.
Always.
“Did you finally do it?” she heard Cara ask.
Maria nodded, her excitement practically filling the mansion full. “I did. I sang it all and didn’t make one mistake.”
“See, I told you. Well done, Maria.”
Val smiled.
Maria had been practicing the French version of Canada’s national anthem ever since she started at the new school. Over the summer, she had every single person she could singing it back to her, so she could sing along with them.
Finally, she got it.
The kid might as well have her moment.
She worked for it, after all.
“Guess what I’ve got to celebrate?” Cara asked.
Maria glanced over her shoulder and her eyes went wide in her joyful anticipation. Just as fast, her attention went right back to her grandmother. “What?”
“The special candy-coated popcorn we found the last time we went to the—”
“Yassss!”
Cara laughed, standing straight and giving Maria a kiss to the top of her head when the girl hugged her legs as though she might never let go. “You’ll find it in the kitchen. Be careful, it’s next to the teapot.”
“Oh, is the tea for me?” Val asked.
“I had to do something special for you, too. Even if it is only tea, Val.”
“You are special enough, Cara.”
The older woman only shrugged and smiled. With one more order for Maria to go find her treat, the girl left the grown-ups alone as she headed for the kitchen. Valeria finally took the time to take off her own coat and shoes before hanging her purse from a waiting hook near the door. Cara crossed the floor to stand close enough that she could pull Val into a hug.
“And how was your day?” her mother-in-law asked.
She didn’t think many women were as lucky as she was to have in-laws who cared about their children’s significant others as much as Cara Guzzi did. Well, even Gian was always calling to make sure Val and Maria had everything they needed whenever they might want it.
“A little uncomfortable when they pulled my IUD out, but other than that,” she said, “it was pretty good.”
Cara made a face. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, well ... it needed to be done. I knew when I had the stupid thing put in that at some point in time, it was going to have to come back out. Maybe if they were kinder about the fact it hurts, women wouldn’t feel so traumatized after the process.”
“Agreed,” Cara murmured. “But very little about women’s reproductive health is about making us comfortable, or so I have learned over time. Especially if you get an older man as a doctor—bonus points if he has white hair and opinions about things that are none of his goddamn concern.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
“The doctor gave me orders to come back for the shot after my first cycle resumed. That could take a couple of weeks or a month. Who knows?”
Everything was up in the air.
Cara clearly heard the off tone because she raised an eyebrow at Val, saying, “Did I miss something?”
Val took a second to think if she wanted to respond honestly to Cara’s question, or just brush it off because it was something personal between her and Chris. Honestly, though, she needed someone to talk to. And not someone who was currently pregnant—like Ginevra, or Haven—because they were biased.
“I never thought I wanted more kids after Maria,” Valeria said quietly, “but I think that was more because of my circumstances and, you know, how she came along to be mine.”
“And now?”
Valeria laughed lightly. “Chris said something to me this morning as I was getting ready and he was leaving—to think about it. Now, that’s all I’ve done all day. I feel like I’ve talked mysel
f in a million circles. How do you know if you’re ready for a child?”
“You have a child, Val.”
“Another child, then.”
Cara gave her a look. “Or do you mean a child you willingly create.”
“I never use those words for my daughter. I will never call her a product of—I love her, Cara. And I know my life now isn’t anything like what it used to be.”
“But that doesn’t change the trauma, or what used to be. And nobody—including my son—expects you to wake up one day and forget everything that came before him. I promise you that.”
“Maybe I worry, too.”
“About what?”
“That I’ll feel differently this time around ... or more. Maybe that the glass ceiling over my head will shatter. I don’t know. Everything?”
Cara reached out and cupped Valeria’s cheek with a soft touch that only a mother could have. She patted her with the same kindness, saying, “And no matter what, you’re a wonderful mother. She knows that—we all know that. The rest is all up to you, Val.”
Yeah. She was right.
“After our tea,” Val said, “would you mind watching Maria for the night? I think I kind of left Chris hanging even if he just said for me to think about it ... I don’t want him to assume that I don’t have an answer for him.”
Because she did. He was right. She’d just needed to think about it.
“Not a problem at all,” Cara assured.
12.
Chris
“TEN percent,” Kevin, a more recent addition to their Capos, offered.
Chris scoffed. “You’re being fucking offensive to my sensibilities.”
“Thought you Guzzis didn’t have sensibilities?”
“Only when it comes to our money.”
“Fine. Fifteen.”
Chris gave the man a look. “Absolutely not.”
“Christopher, be reasonable. This new racket will bring in two-point-two million yearly. I made this deal a reality. Your father is only going to have to sit back and collect. Surely, just this once, we can lessen the tribute percentage for this cash flow.”
“How do you think any of our money is made?” Chris asked, leaning back in the dining chair so he could get a good look at the restaurant floor behind the other man. He always sat with his back towards a wall without windows, never failed. He knew better than to be the fool with his back to a room of people he wasn’t sure he could trust. “Men like you, and a lot of others like you, go out and make deals. Or widen your illegal businesses through our other lines of power and control. This is how the mafia works, Kevin.”
“Yes, but—”
“And do you know what you get in return for your hard work and monthly tribute to our family?”
The man across the table sighed heavily. “No, but I am sure you’re going to tell me.”
“Of course. This is a learning opportunity for you, and I don’t want to waste it.”
“No need to be patronizing.”
Wrong.
It was always time for that.
There was a reason the Guzzis remained on top, and untouched. Chris had zero qualms with reminding the man across from him exactly what that reason happened to be. Kevin was new to his capo seat having taken it over after an older capo finally retired his position and specifically vouched for the man he’d mentored for years. Given Gian and the rest of the Guzzi men knew Kevin quite well and had worked with him at various points in his career over the years in their Cosa Nostra, there hadn’t been any objections to his new place.
There still wouldn’t be.
If the man shut his damn mouth.
“So,” Chris said, smiling a bit at the sight of a familiar woman nearing the windows of the restaurant, “allow me to make this quick because that right there is my wife coming in to see me. Since I wasn’t expecting her, she always makes my moods better, and I’m about over this conversation, listen closely, Kevin.”
The Capo said nothing.
Chris figured ... points to your favor, man.
“You see, this is how it has always worked. And in return for the money you make us, we offer you protection, respect, and a safe way to do your illegal business, Kevin. If for some reason you want the status quo to change because you think you deserve more for doing the same work better men have been doing for us for years, then I suggest,” Chris said, standing from the table and downing what was rest of his glass of whiskey at the same time, “that you make a choice to move on from our famiglia, or even, start out on your own.”
The man’s expression remained blank.
Chris set the glass down to the table, and pulled his jacket from the back of the chair he’d been using to slip it on at the same time that he added, “Although, do keep in mind with those actions also come consequences. Step out to someone else that isn’t an ally, and we’ll consider that a threat. Start out on your own, and we’ll see you as competition to remove.”
“Chris—”
“If you have something that is not an apology, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut as you’ve said more than enough to me. Thirty percent. That is the tribute. That will remain the tribute to my father for our business. Is that understood?”
Across the restaurant, Valeria finally laid eyes on Chris. She lifted a hand, smiled and waved. He did the same back, but his gaze quickly cut down to the man still sitting at the table while he waited patiently for an answer.
“My apologies,” Kevin muttered. “I understand how this famiglia works, Christopher.”
“Good. Keep it in mind. We’ll all be better for it.”
With his bit said, Chris left the table while he fixed the two buttons at the front of his blazer through their proper slits. He made his way toward his wife and enjoyed the growing smile on her face. He hadn’t expected to see her for hours—not until he made his way back home after his daily business was done.
As a Capo, and one that had a heavy hand in a lot of duties directly for his father and brothers ... well, his days sometimes felt never-ending.
This was a nice surprise.
“I’m not dressed for this place, am I?” Val asked when he was near enough to hear her.
Chris laughed. “I own the damn place, who cares how you fucking look? Besides, you look just fine, babe.”
And she did in her skinny jeans and a silk blouse. Never looked better. Then again, she always looked good to him. His walking wet dream with all those curves, and her brown skin that tasted of salt and sin when she was under him.
Yeah.
Perfect.
“Come here,” he said, arms already open.
The second she was in his hold, he kissed her. A long, lingering kiss. One that had their lips moving in tandem, the familiar rhythm soothing and yet still hot enough to make him harden beneath his slacks.
“How was the doctor?” he asked.
Val made a face. “About as you’d expect. At least, the cramping stopped and so did the spotting. Which means my night won’t be ruined. Did I interrupt something?”
“Pardon?”
She pointed over his shoulder.
Chris didn’t bother to look back. “Of course not. You could never interrupt.”
And the mafia?
It never touched his wife.
Chris made sure of it.
“Can I tell you something?” Val asked.
He smiled. “Always. Anything.”
“Sometimes, I still think all of this is a dream. Even though I know it isn’t and this is very much our happily ever after, I still sometimes worry I’m going to wake up and everything is going to change for me, or you ... or us.”
“Never.”
It was a promise.
He always kept those.
Valeria nodded, still locking onto his gaze and holding tight. “So, I did what you said. I thought about everything. Ended up thinking about it long after I had my IUD taken out and was told it would be a while before I could even get the shot.”
“Oh?”
“If everything changes, Chris, I want it to be because I chose for it to be different.”
“Everything is always your choice with me, Val. Even something like this.”
“A baby. Say it.”
Chris grinned, unashamed. “Yes, a baby.”
“I’m not going to have the shot.”
His hold on her tightened a bit. “Is that so?”
“Seems that way.”
Chris dragged in a quick breath. “Huh.”
“And just because, your mom is watching Maria tonight, so we have the house to ourselves whenever you get home.”
“Right now, you mean.”
Valeria laughed. “No, just finish your business. I thought maybe I left you hanging this morning, and I didn’t want you going one more minute wondering. I’m fine, and I will be waiting at home as I always am whenever you finish your work.”
“I am finished, Val. Nothing is more important than you.”
And that would forever be the case.
He’d make sure of it.
Pulling her in close, he wrapped his arms around her the same way she did to him. He found the soft, sweet-tasting skin of her neck with a kiss, murmuring, “Let’s go home, babe.”
13.
Valeria
IT was unusual for their home to be so quiet that they could hear the music floating out of the stereo system set up in Chris’s office. The noise he liked to constantly keep going because he swore that was how he focused the best.
Valeria didn’t argue it.
To each their own.
Usually, the house had some kind of noise between them, Maria’s three kittens, someone who was always coming in and out, or even her and Chris. Unless their daughter was sleeping or she wasn’t home—like now—the house had life.
All the lights were dimmed.
Soft music floated through.
Chris watched Val from where he leaned against the kitchen table while she drank her glass of wine, savoring the flavors that reminded her of Abril’s favorite bottle back in Mexico. She wasn’t really a wine fan, but at the same time, it allowed her a bit of nostalgia that didn’t also leave her feeling guilty, or worse, traumatized like everything else about her past did.
