Love's Precious Surprise (The women of Landry's Landing and the Fabrizio men)

by Quinn, Shelli

  Love’s Precious Surprise

  Chapter One

  Antonia Kristine Landry, Toni to her friends and family, had been through a lot in her twenty-two years. After losing her mother when she was younger she was left in the care of an abusive stepfather. A man that was supposed to care for and protect her he’d hurt her in more ways than anyone ever could. If it hadn’t been for London Landry she’d probably still be with that abusive man, or worst he probably would’ve killed her by now.

  But fortunately London had rescued her and since then her life has gotten so much better. Not only did she have London and the rest of the Landry sister’s she also has the Fabrizio’s. She has a real family for the first time since her mother died and she couldn’t be happier.

  Everything was going just fine in her life well it was until that annoying Daniele Fabrizio showed up and started causing her all kinds of grief. Every time she turned around he was there pushing her buttons and driving her crazy. So what if he was one of the best looking men that she’d ever seen after all he was a Fabrizio man.

  Daniele’s soft brown eyes seemed to see right through her at times, that fact alone was disarming to her. His dark brown, wavy hair which he wore in a short crop style looked soft enough to run her fingers through. And his dark naturally tanned complexion made his skin-tone appear even darker than hers, which to her was unusual since she was bi-racial and he was Italian.

  Toni couldn’t help noticing that he wasn’t quite as big as the other Fabrizio men but nevertheless his size was still impressive. His slightly muscled but well toned six foot six body always seemed to do crazy things to her senses. She’d never experienced any of the things he made her feel when he was near her.

  But thanks to her filthy excuse for a stepfather she was fairly certain she’d never trust any man enough to be intimate with him. So no matter how appealing Daniele was to her nothing could ever become of it. Just the thought of allowing a man to touch her intimately terrified her to the point of full blown tremors.

  She has gotten better thanks to her new family, she’s learned to be a strong, and never say quit, fight-til-the-end Landry woman. She’s also learned that the Fabrizio’s were fierce when it comes to protecting their family.

  Toni was no longer looking over her shoulder waiting for her stepfather to pounce no she’d be ready for him if he was stupid enough to show up here. He’d find out really fast that she’d learned how to fight back. She couldn’t wait to kick his ass from here to the gates of hell where she knew he had an open invitation. And she’d be more than happy to deliver him to the front doors of the fiery pit.

  “Toni, have you finished proofreading that marketing article? I need to get it to the printers as soon as possible.” Daniele yelled as he walked into the office that they shared.

  “Boy, I know you’re not walking up in here yelling at me, have you lost your damn mind?” Toni yelled back.

  “Sorry about that but Pierce wants me to get it to printers like yesterday.” He said in way of an apology.

  “Then you should’ve given it to me yesterday and not a couple hours ago expecting for me to speed read it while I’m trying to get my own work done, you moron.” She replied sounding irritated.

  “Well if you didn’t want to read it for me you could’ve said so when I asked you, and do you really have to call me names every time I ask you something, it’s been ten months since that stupid article are you going to stay mad at me forever?” He asked gazing down at her as she sat behind her desk glaring up at him through narrowed eyes.

  “Boy you’ve earned every name that you’ve been called, and you should have never added that crap to the article in the first place you big dummy. Now here’s your article stupid, I indicated the changes you need to make before it goes to the printers, can you handle that?” She asked as she passed him the folder containing the article she’d proofread.

  “Thanks Toni you’re the best.” He said as he reached for the folder she was handing him but before he could take it from her hand she hurled at him hitting him in the chest with it.

  “Don’t you ever say that to me again!” Toni yelled as she jumped up from her seat behind the desk glaring at him with her chest heaving.

  “Now what did I do, all I said was…” He began but she interrupted him mid-sentence.

  “Don’t you dare say that again, or I swear I will dive across this desk and strangle you to death.” She shouted angrily.

  “Strangle me for what, I didn’t do anything.” He shouted back.

  Moments later London and Gabe walked into their office after hearing all the yelling and shouting.

  “What in the hell is going on in here you can hear the two of you all the way on the other side of the building.” London asked looking from Toni to Daniele.

  “Don’t ask me one minute I was telling her thanks for proofreading my article for me and the next thing I knew she was throwing it at me.” Daniele said sounding confused.

  “Thanking me wasn’t the problem it was what you said after that. I don’t ever want to hear those words again for the rest of my life.” Toni yelled before storming from the room.

  London turned to watch her dramatically storm out the door. “That girl has been spending too much time with Asia.”

  “Danny what did you say to her?” Gabe asked with concern.

  “All I said was “Thanks Toni you’re the best.” He said repeating what he’d said earlier.

  “Oh no please don’t ever say that to her again. That’s what her stepfather use to say to her every time he drunkenly beat and violated her.

  “What! Damn it I had no idea, I would never say or do anything to hurt Toni, I’d kick my own ass before purposely hurting her. Should I go find her and apologize?” He asked feeling extremely guilty for offending her.

  “No I think you should just let London handle Toni for now, you can apologize later, just give her some time to calm down.” Gabe said as he glanced at his wife before she left the room.

  “I really didn’t mean to do anything to cause Toni any pain.” Daniele said.

  “We know you wouldn’t.” Gabe replied.

  “How could anyone hurt her like that, I wish I could get my hands on that piece of scum for just a couple of hours. First I’d cut his tongue out of his mouth then I’d hang him by his toenails and slowly skin him like a possum then finally I’d douse him in gasoline and set a match to his sorry ass.” Daniele said through tightly clenched teeth.

  “I know Danny, believe me we would all like to get our hands on that creep and when we do he will never be heard from again. You know this family doesn’t let anyone get away with hurting our own, so believe me he’s going to pay.” Gabe said assuring him that the low-life that had hurt Toni so badly would pay for the things he’d done with his worthless life.

  “That’s all well and good you but guys just make sure that I’m in on that when the time comes. I want to make sure he knows that he may have bent her spirit but he didn’t break her will. Because of her new family she’s stronger than ever and she’s loved more than he’ll ever know.” Daniele said with determination in his eyes and conviction in his voice.

  “Don’t worry we won’t leave you out we know how much you care about Toni, just keep being patient with her it’s going to take time for her to trust any man intimately.” Gabe reminded him.

  “I know and believe me I understand why she feels the way she does and I’ll wait no matter how long it takes for her to trust me with her heart.” Daniele said with a slight smile.

 
“Spoken like a real Fabrizio man we know how to care for and love our women.” Gabe replied as he patted him on the shoulder.

  London found Toni standing on the patio at the back of the offices looking out over the gardens.

  “Hey kiddo, are you alright? I know certain things still bring back all those awful images

  as well as the terrible memories. But you do realize that Daniele didn’t mean to say anything that

  would make you feel bad, he also didn’t know that those words would bring back terrible

  memories for you.” London said as she put her arm around Toni’s shoulder.

  “I know he didn’t and it wasn’t my intention to get so angry but I couldn’t help it hearing Daniele say those words to me made me feel sick to my stomach.” Toni said with unshed tears in her green eyes.

  “Why do you think you felt that way? Could it be because you maybe have feelings for Daniele?” London asked sincerely.

  “London you know I can’t get involved with a man, there is no way I can trust any man not to hurt me after everything that I’ve been through.” Toni said defensively.

  “I know that you’ve been through more than any woman your age should endure in a lifetime. But at some point you’re going to have to learn to trust that not every man is as despicable as your stepfather. And you didn’t answer my question either, do you have feelings for Daniele?” London said as she turned Toni to face her.

  “I, I don’t know London, all I do know is that whenever I’m near him I get this quivery feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not only that but my heart starts to race and it gets hard to breathe.” Toni said nervously.

  “Whoa, no wonder you’re always so mean to Daniele, it sounds like you have it pretty bad kiddo. Asia was the same way with Luc but eventually he wore her down and she had a few insecurities to deal with of her own. Sometimes all it takes is the right man to help you get to the place you want to be.” London said with an encouraging smile.

  “All I’m sure of right now is that I never planned to have these feelings for any man and I definitely don’t like having these feelings for Daniele. It’s hard enough to get rid of him now if he knew that I actually liked him, he’d stick to me like a bug on fly paper. So let’s just keep this between us okay.” Toni said.

  “I guess that’s fine for now but I want you to be happy and call me crazy, I think Daniele could be the one to make you happy the way you deserve to be.” London said with a bright smile.

  “Yeah well don’t hold your breath sister I just think it’s best for everyone if he never finds out about the effect he has on me.” Toni replied.

  “Hey bambina, are you alright?” Gabe asked as he stepped out onto the patio to join Toni and London.

  “Yes, I’m fine Gabe now if you’ll both excuse me I need to get back to work. I’ll talk to you guys later.” She said as she left them alone on the patio.

  “So dolcezza how is she really?” He asked as he put his arms around London.

  “She’ll be okay she just needs some time to sort through things but she’ll be fine.” London said.

  “That’s good because Daniele feels really bad for upsetting her. He wanted to apologize but I told him to give her a little time before approaching her.” Gabe said.

  “Yeah, that’s probably the smart thing for him to do, give her a little time.” London said as she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

  “And space if he knows what’s good for him, because our Toni has definitely become a true Landry woman, and just as dangerous as the rest of your sisters. So it was also for his safety that I told him to give her some time to calm down.” He said kissing her gently on the temple.

  Toni walked into the office she shared with Daniele and was relieved to find that he wasn’t at his desk. She used the time she was alone to think about what London had said. The last thing she wanted to do was acknowledge the feelings she had for Daniele.

  Toni had accepted a long time ago that she’d never experience what it was like to be loved by a real man, to be held in the arms of a gentle man, to know what it feels like to be a woman that’s made love to thoroughly and completely. But if she ever had the courage to be with a man then Daniele would definitely be her first and only choice.

  She knew that deep down in her heart that she could trust him just by the look into his eyes when he gazed her. It wasn’t lust that she saw in his light brown eyes it was affection and concern. The way he looked at her gave her the strangest sensations Toni could feel her blood heat up as it flowed through her veins and rush straight to the area between her legs.

  Toni closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the headrest of her chair as she took several deep cleansing breaths to calm her frazzled nerves.

  Daniele entered the office and stopped just inside the door. He stood with his shoulder against the door jamb and his arms folded across his muscular chest as he watched Toni while she sat there with her head back and her eyes closed. All he wanted to do was ease the frown that marred her forehead causing wrinkles on her gorgeous skin.

  He was determined to find a way to erase the sadness he sometimes saw in her lovely green eyes. He wanted to be the man to make her forget all the bad things that have happened to her in the past. Daniele would give everything he owned to give her the happiness that she deserves.

  “Is it alright with you if I come in? I promise not to bother you or get in your way while you’re working.” Daniele said from the doorway.

  Toni slowly opened her eyes as she raised her head to glance at him. “It’s not like I can stop you since we both share this office.”

  “Even though we share this office I’ll leave if you ask me to I’ve caused you enough trouble for one day. So you tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.” He said as he moved to stand in front of her desk.

  “I seriously doubt that you’ll do whatever I tell you to do.” She said gazing at him skeptically.

  “Well then I guess you seriously don’t know me, if you haven’t figured out by now I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.” He said as he stared down at her.

  “Boy please, I am not going to play this game with you so go to your desk and get to work.” She said turning back to the work on her own desk.

  “I’ll get to work but first let me make something very clear to you I am a Fabrizio man and we don’t play games. We say what we mean and mean what we say, so if I say something you can trust and believe that I mean every word I said.” Daniele told her before walking the short distance to his desk.

  Toni turned in her chair to look at Daniele as he sat down in his chair. “What in the hell is with you Fabrizio men? It’s like a spell has been cast on all of you when it comes to the Landry women. With you I don’t know whether it’s just a deep case of lust or if you’ve just lost your damn mind, but whatever it is you can forget it.”

  Daniele glanced at her and smiled. “You know the rest of the Landry women said the same thing but you see how that turned out, so I think I’ll just be patient and give it some time. I’m sure you’ll come around eventually.” He said turning back to his computer and the work on his desk.

  Toni gaped at him wide eyed as he turned his attention to the work on his desk. “You know I think you really have lost your mind. Just because the other Landry women fell for Fabrizio men doesn’t mean that I will besides they haven’t been through the things that I’ve been through. Believe me intimacy is not in my future so stop wasting your time on someone like me Daniele. Find yourself a nice girl that can be as affectionate to you as you are to her.”

  She said as she attempted to turn away from him and back to her desk but before she had the chance he was standing over her. He bent towards her and placed a hand on each of the armrests of her chair as their gazes locked.

  Daniele wanted to tell her that the only thing that he’d lost was his heart to her but he knew that she wasn’t ready to hear that just yet. In the several months that he’s known her his
feelings for her have grown from mild interest to admiration to full blown head over heels deep affection. He’d never been so impressed by a woman in his entire life the way she’s overcome all the things she’s been through to become the amazing woman that she was today.

  He wanted to tell her just how blown away he was with her but he knew that wasn’t a smart thing to do, not yet anyway. One day very soon he wanted to be able to tell her all the things he couldn’t tell her right now.

  Daniele wanted to be the man to show her how much she deserved to be loved and he planned to wait as long as it took to do just that.

  “I don’t know what it is that I have to do to make you understand that I’ve already found the only girl excuse me I meant to say woman that I want to be affectionate with. You may not think so right now but one of these days you’ll want someone that you can be intimate with and I plan to be right here when that happens. So if you think I’m going anywhere you can think again il mio amore prezioso.” He said as he took one of her hands in his and placed a gentle kiss to the back of it dragging his lips slowly across the smooth flesh before releasing it to move away.

  Toni sat stunned watching his retreating back as he went back to his desk and while she trembled inside. Her entire body felt tingly and her heart was pounding so hard she was sure that it would pound right out of her chest. She could barely catch her breath because of the affect that his simple kiss to her hand was having on her senses.

  “Daniele, wh…why did you do that?” She asked softly as she glanced over at him.

  Daniele slowly raised his head and glanced in her direction. “Why did I do what, Toni?” He asked as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Don’t play dumb with me, you know what you did.” Toni said just above a whisper still trying to catch her breath.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He said acting as if he didn’t kiss her on the hand.