by L. D. Davis
“Oh my goodness, my date is here!” Adam exclaimed as he held out his hands to Cora.
She giggled and threw herself at him. “Adam!”
“I think I’ve just been replaced,” Celeste said with her signature smirk as she watched the pair.
I shrugged. “You can’t blame him. Cora is slightly cuter than you.”
“It’s all those bouncy red curls and her freckles. I can’t compete with that.”
Earlier in the morning, Adam and Celeste offered to meet us in Central Park for a few hours while Marco worked. The kids had been restless even though it wasn’t even nine in the morning, and since we had an overnight flight to Italy, I thought it was a good idea to wear them out. My fights with my mom and sister felt like they’d happened in a nightmare, but I knew that wasn’t true, because my chest was still tight. The pain was very fresh. Going out with Celeste and Adam gave me something else to focus on for a little while, and I was grateful for it.
It had only been a couple days since the wedding, but already the pair seemed to be inseparable. As we walked through the park, following behind Adam and the kids, Celeste surprised me by confiding in me about her time with the doctor.
“After the reception, we stayed up all night talking in the lounge of my hotel. I have never talked so much in my life. Almost anyone else, I would have been sick of after a couple hours, but that wasn’t the case with Adam. I couldn’t wait to hear what he would say next. When the sun started to rise, he asked me if I would have breakfast with him at his hotel. So, I went up and changed my clothes, and we went back to his hotel room and—”
“He slipped his sausage into your pancake?” I asked and waggled my eyebrows. “Did he squeeze your melons? Did he add some cream to your coffee?”
She rolled her big beautiful eyes at me. “You are crude.”
“I am, and you’re avoiding the question.”
“If you must know, we did not have sex. We only ate breakfast and talked some more until we could barely keep our eyes open.” Her face went all dreamy. “Then we went to bed together—not sex. We cuddled and slept. Yesterday afternoon, I left Philly with him and we spent another night together.”
“Have you even kissed yet?”
She smiled warmly. “Just this morning for the first time.”
I grinned. “It’s about time. I haven’t known either of you very long, but I’ve been rooting for the two of you from the start. In the beginning it was because I didn’t want you to steal Marco, but then it was because I knew that Adam genuinely had feelings for you, and he is…well, to say he is a good man is an understatement.”
Her smile was the smile of a woman falling in love. I was happy for her and Adam, but it made my heart hurt. Their budding romance seemed to come so easily for them, and nothing had ever come easy for me.
“Anyway, as much as I would love to gush about Adam and me, there isn’t much more to tell. However, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about. It is the primary reason I wanted to meet with you today, without Marco.”
I was taken aback by that. While we were certainly becoming very chummy very quickly, I didn’t think Celeste would put me before her friendship with Marco.
“What’s up?” I asked carefully.
“You are going back to Lecco with Marco, and I think you should know what you will be facing.”
“What do you mean?”
I was already nervous about meeting his whole damn family and under the worst kind of circumstances.
“Celia Mangini,” Celeste said her name with disdain.
I stopped walking and stared at her. “What about her?”
“No matter how kind she is to you, or how dramatic she may be regarding Massimo’s illness, do not trust that succubus.”
My eyes widened. “Succubus? So, what, she seduces men and eats babies?”
“You have your mythology mixed up. Lilith seduced men and ate babies. The Succubi are sneaky and controlling. They know how to use their wits and bodies to manipulate men, and one of the people she has been successful at manipulating as of late is Marco. Between you and me, she is the reason I volunteered to return to Italy with him. I don’t trust her; I never have. I have to warn you…”
“Come on, Mommy!” Cora called. They were several yards ahead of us now, waiting impatiently.
“Come on, slow pokes!” Adam called out. “Just because you have a stupid bum leg doesn’t mean you can hold the rest of us up.”
Celeste put her arm through mine, and we began to walk again.
“Wasn’t that your warning? That Celia is a succubus?”
“No. The warning is that even with your presence, and the obvious bond you have with Marco, there is a strong possibility he may be ensnared in her deceptions.”
I almost stopped walking again. I was sure my heart skipped several beats and nearly stopped.
“But Marco isn’t an idiot. He’s smarter than that. He wouldn’t fall for any bullshit.” I felt like I was trying to convince myself more than anyone else, because if I had to tell the truth, I would have to admit that he was probably already caught in Celia’s web.
“He isn’t an idiot, and he is one of the most intelligent people I know, but when it comes to his family, Marco can be blind. He loves you, Lydia, but he may not choose you in the end. I hope I am wrong.”
I swallowed hard and remained quiet for a minute or so before I said, “Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
“You should still go.”
“But you just told me that a succubus might get her claws into him and he would choose her over me.”
“I did not say he would choose her specifically, I only stated that he might not choose you.”
I threw a hand up. “What is the difference?”
“In his mind, Celia is family, and he will generalize that he is doing something for his family, but really, she’s pulled all the strings to make it happen. Listen, it may not occur that way at all. Also, I should tell you he has a large family. You know he has several sisters, and some of them have spouses and kids, and he has a host of cousins, uncles, and aunts, and such. It can be overwhelming when they are all together, especially if you don’t speak the language.”
“You’re really convincing me this is a great idea, Celeste,” I said dryly.
“Well, I do have some good news on that front. There are two people who will help you navigate through the Mangini clan. Their names are Salina and Tessa.”
“Who are they?” I asked warily, thinking of several potential mean girl situations.
Celeste’s smirk returned. “They are on your side. Trust me.”
We reached Adam and the kids just then, effectively ending the troubling but informative conversation.
There was no hiding my anxious state from Marco. As we waited in the lobby of the apartment building for our ride to the airport, I rocked back and forth on my feet, something I hadn’t been able to do without pain in a couple years. I didn’t even realize I was doing it until Marco put his hands on my shoulders to still me. His brow was furrowed as he looked down at me.
“What is it? Why are you so nervous?”
I bit my lip and after a moment of hesitation, I gave him an answer. “Are you sure this is a good idea? To bring us while your brother is so sick? I mean…he could…” I didn’t want to say “die” but Marco seemed to understand.
“I am sure it is a good idea. My brother and the rest of my family are expecting you and the children with open arms. My mother was inappropriately overjoyed by the news that I was bringing you home.”
I gave him a sidelong look. “Does she know we aren’t technically together?”
Some of the light seeped from his eyes, but he nodded. “She knows, but that did not lessen her excitement.”
“What about everyone else? Your sisters? Your other family members? How do they feel about you bringing a stranger home at this time? Just because they’re expecting me doesn’t mean they approve.”
He shrugged. “Usually my family is
very welcoming, but for those who aren’t, I don’t care. You aren’t going for them. You are going for me, and again, I do not know how to express my gratitude. This is very difficult for me. I don’t know what we will walk into when we get there, or if he’ll…if he’ll survive long enough for me to return, but your support has made everything easier to face. I don’t think I can do this without you.”
If almost anyone else had spoken those words, I would have thought they were being manipulative. Gavin used to say similar things to convince me to stay, but Marco was not a manipulative person. He was rather straight forward and said what he meant. I was just beginning to truly understand that.
“Okay,” I said softly. “Okay.”
When he put his strong hand on my cheek and brushed his lips against mine, I didn’t push him away. I closed my eyes, and for a couple seconds, savored his closeness.
“Your transport is here, Mr. Mangini,” the doorman said, interrupting us before it could go any further.
Our flight was private, which meant we had a whole plane to ourselves. I wondered how much such a flight cost. I knew for a fact a private flight from Columbus to Philly was the cost of a brand-new car. The flight to Milan was probably astronomical. When I questioned Marco about it, he told me it wasn’t as expensive as I would think since the family owned the plane and employed the pilot and crew. That only made me blink stupidly. It was the first real indication of his family’s financial status, because most people couldn’t afford to fly, let alone have their own fleet of planes.
That brief conversation, conjoined with the long flight itself, only cranked up my anxiety. I couldn’t even take a Xanax if I wanted to, thanks to the bundle of joy that was throwing my whole body into chaos. Not even two hours into the flight, I started to vomit.
It hit me just as I retched for the second time how sick the pregnancy was making me. I had never been that sick before during my other pregnancies, which made me wonder if something was wrong with me. That question made me realize I hadn’t even seen a doctor yet, and it was a fine time to wonder if there was something wrong with me or my baby while I was thirty-five-thousand feet above the Atlantic.
“I didn’t realize you got airsick, Tesoro,” Marco said.
He sat beside me, rubbing my back and holding my hair out of my face.
“I don’t usually fly so far, or over the ocean. Maybe it’s just nerves.”
I was thankful the kids had all fallen asleep quickly. At least we didn’t have to deal with their shenanigans as well.
I threw up twice more, and dry heaved for another five minutes before my insides settled. My stomach and sides hurt from all the heaving, and I felt dehydrated and exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and die for a good eight to ten hours, but I somehow forced myself to my feet. Marco jumped up beside me and put an arm around my waist to steady me as I walked to the bathroom in the back of the plane. I rinsed my face, brushed my teeth, and gargled forever with the mini toiletries I’d discovered when I’d explored the plane earlier. When I came out, Marco was there waiting to assist me back, but he didn’t lead me to my previous seat. Instead, he slid into one of the other luxury seats a couple rows back from the kids and pulled me onto his lap.
Too tired to fight him, too tired to deny myself of that much-needed contact, I snuggled close. He needed to hold me just as much as I needed to be held. I had been able to move around it all day, but my grief surrounding the fights with my sister and mother was still present and was beginning to bleed to the surface. The fear and dread I felt about my pregnancy were there, too, on top of all my other anxieties. I wanted so much to tell Marco all of it, to once again bare my soul to him, but that required a deep amount of trust and…and…
And fuck. The truth was that despite all I’d told him about my marriage, I still hadn’t trusted him. While I did still believe his relationship with Celia was troublesome and potentially problematic, he hadn’t given me a true reason to be distrustful. It was okay for me to be afraid, I realized, to fear rejection and getting hurt, because that was normal. Not trusting someone who had repeatedly and consistently proven himself wasn’t normal. It was psycho. I was psycho.
Marco wasn’t Gavin, and honestly, the more I thought about my husband lately, the more I thought how my own behavior and attitude may had affected his treatment and feelings toward me. Not to say our relationship would have been perfect had I been different, but maybe it could have been better. Maybe not—I’ll never know. What I did know was that I had the opportunity to change, to break the vicious cycle I’d thrown myself into. I could take not just one chance, but take many. I’d already taken some huge leaps in such a short time—going to therapy and becoming more independent. What’s one more? And one more after that? And one more after that? I might get hurt, but I didn’t want to be afraid anymore—or, I didn’t want my fear to hold me back any longer.
Eventually, we’d have to talk again, like really talk, about everything. It wasn’t a good time for that, not while we were on our way to possibly sit at his brother’s deathbed. As for the pregnancy, I would divulge that secret once we were back in the States.
When he spoke, I felt the rumble of his deep voice against my ear.
“When this all over, will you allow me to take you on another first date?”
I snorted indelicately. “You mean you’re actually asking me instead of showing up without notice and making all kinds of demands?”
He chuckled softly. “Yes. This time I will do it right. I will take you out to a nice restaurant and have you back home at a decent hour. I will walk you to your door and bid you a good night.”
“What? No kiss?”
“As much as I would want to ravage you right there in front of all your neighbors, I want to do this right. No kiss on the first date.”
“We tried that no-kissing thing before. You failed.”
“They weren’t kisses.”
“Yes, they were. Just like that kiss before we left today.”
“Wasn’t a kiss,” he insisted.
“It felt like a kiss.”
Without warning, he tilted my head, leaned down, and kissed me, truly kissed me. His lips against my lips, his tongue dancing seductively against mine. His mouth was warm and perfect. Everything about this kiss expressed his love for me, in the way he stroked my cheek with his fingers, how close and tight he held me, the desperation I felt in his movements, the eagerness, and hunger.
There was no way, there was just no way what Celeste said was true. No way Marco could kiss me like this and somehow be duped by Celia. There was no damn way he wouldn’t choose me over her, because this kiss…God, this kiss was everything. It broke me and put me back together and broke me again and put me back together again. He kissed me as if I were the only thing that could save his life. I would almost prefer to stay in the air an additional seven or eight hours if it meant that we could stay in this content bubble longer, kissing, touching, and behaving as if there weren’t headaches and heartaches waiting for us in Italy and behind us in America.
I had no memory of falling asleep, but when I woke up, blinking as I absently gazed out of my small window, it was daylight. We were somewhere over Switzerland if I had to guess, or maybe Northern Italy. The plane would be landing in a little more than thirty minutes, and for the first time ever, I would be setting my feet down on soil outside of North America.
It didn’t take long for me to shake off the grogginess. Excitement and nervousness coursed through my veins. Like the kids, I could hardly sit still in my seat as the plane descended mile after mile closer to our destination.
After we landed, just before we all left the jet, Marco took my hand, looked in my eyes, and asked, “Are you ready?”
The question seemed loaded with so many unspoken words. His expression was open, his feelings and thoughts on display, showing me his hope and his love.
I knew we had a lot to work out, and it would take some time for me to trust him again, and
to trust him fully, but I began to believe it was possible. My life hadn’t gone as expected, and I’d been so disenchanted, but that could change—was already changing. My perseverance had brought me this far, to a place I would have never dreamt of. As far as personal growth went, I still had a long way to go, but for the first time in too many years to count, I felt my possibilities were endless.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m ready.”
End of Book Two
Continue reading for a preview of Absolution, Book 3 in the Disenchanted Series
Preview of Absolution
Book Three of the Disenchanted Series
Coming Fall of 2019
Lydia
More of Marco’s family came forward, most of them with hugs and kisses. I never knew I could be hugged and kissed by so many people in such a short time. Most of them didn’t speak English, but Marco and Sofia were close enough to translate.
Most people had their eyes fixed on us, but I felt a cold gaze that made ice slip down my spine. I met the eyes of a beautiful woman with long dark hair, eyes the color of the sky before a thunderstorm. Green and brown, blue and gray. The corners of her mouth were turned up in a beautiful smile, but through those eyes, I felt her disdain. Her gaze shifted to my children and then to Marco before coming back to me. Her smile widened. My blood chilled.
I knew who she was without an introduction. Celia, Marco’s once fiancée and now wife to Massimo. For several minutes, she tried to weave her way to the front of the crowd, but it slowly dawned on me that Marco’s mother, sisters, and a couple other women I didn’t know were clearly creating a barrier between the woman and me. I saw how they let others through but always seemed to manage to push her back.
At one point, one of the older women barked something at her in Italian. Her shoulders dropped as she turned to speak to another woman by her side. There was no doubt the woman was her mother. They looked similar, both small boned with the same eyes and delicate features. The mother had frown lines around her mouth and as her eyes zeroed in on me, I had the icky sensation that she was cursing me in her mind. I had been on the fence before about whether or not to believe Celeste, but without even meeting these women yet, I knew her warnings held true.
