CHAPTERNINETEEN
Vivia
The restof the meeting goes off without a hitch. Timeo and Ricco leave abruptly, because they’re taking a red-eye flight home tonight to witness the wedding tomorrow. But before Ricco hangs up the call he leans in and says to Sergio, in front of everyone, “You have some work to do to make it up to her, and I won’t let you forget that.”
Sergio, to his credit, is the picture of repentance. “I won’t forget,” he says in front of everyone before he gives Dario the side-eye. “Pretty sure Dario will be on top of that anyway.”
“The word is grovel, I believe,” Dario says, rising and stretching his arms, as we disconnect the conference call with my brothers in Italy.
“And let the record show, Sergio, that one of the trademarks of true leadership is the ability to show humbleness. We do the work no one else wants to do, and the payoff is that we have more power and authority than others. But by the same token, our jobs require us to admit when we’re wrong.” Romeo scowls, lifting a stack of papers that are already straight before he tidies them even further. “Otherwise, we become nothing more than tyrants like our fathers before us.”
Sergio nods. I love my cousin Romeo, who looks up at me before we leave. “Vivia, a word please before you go prepare for your wedding tomorrow.” He holds a finger up to Dario. “And you. You both may have done this backward through no fault of your own, but we have traditions we uphold here. You two will sleep in separate quarters tonight.” Dario opens his mouth to protest, but Romeo holds up a hand. “I’ll give you some time together, but then you separate until you take your vows tomorrow.” His face softens. “And when you do take your vows tomorrow, you’ll relish being together again even more.”
Dario grumbles and frowns, and if I didn’t know any better, I think if I were Romeo I’d be taking an involuntary step back for cover, but Dario respects him.
“Got it,” he says. “Will do.”
“Wait outside for us, will you, Dario? It will only be a minute.”
Dario nods as the room vacates. Soon, it’s only me and Romeo left.
“Have a seat, little cousin,” Romeo says with a soft smile. He looks older than the last time I saw him, his hair graying around his temples and his face lined with the weight of responsibility. I do as he says and sit. Though both Sergio and Romeo are heads of their respective groups, I know that Romeo is more powerful. He has a much larger family to lead, and the majority of the men in his family are married with children, which gives him a decided advantage.
Romeo strokes his chin while he looks thoughtfully at the wall behind me. “Are you alright, Vivia?” he asks. “You’ve gone straight from a traumatic experience to being wed. And even though that was bound to happen, and the only smart choice next is for us to join the Montavios and Rossis this way, I want to check on you.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Am I okay? I can’t remember the last time anyone asked me that. “I don’t really know how to answer that.” He doesn’t push me or ask any more questions but has the decency to let me think before I speak. “I… it was hard. Running. Learning what I did about Gray. Somehow, I think I knew that it wasn’t going to work out with him. That my brothers would find out.”
“But you never thought it would work out quite the way it did,” Romeo finishes.
I give a little tired laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.”
He clears his throat. “Are you pregnant?”
I shrug. “There’s a chance, but I can’t deny or confirm that yet.”
He nods again. “Fair. Things have happened rapidly, haven’t they?”
“Yeah,” I say on a sigh.
“I’m going to make you a proposition, Vivia. And there’s no need to answer right away. Given everything that’s happened, and since you’ll be married to Dario, I think you two should stay here, right at The Castle, for the next year or two. While you’ve made amends with Sergio, that might be…”
“Uncomfortable?” I finish for him.
He nods. “Tavi and his wife are often in Tuscany, as are Santo and Rosa. Vittoria and I live here primarily, and Orlando and his family are here often as well, though lately he’s been spending more time in the North End. Mama likes this castle filled with people, but as our families grow, we’ve sprouted…”
“I understand. Romeo, I’d love to live here.”
He smiles. “Excellent. And I wasn’t joking when I said you could work with Gloria. She was a police detective before she joined us, and there’s none better. She could use an assistant.”
“I’d like that.”
“Good, then it’s settled,” he says, rising. He reaches for my hands before he pulls me in to kiss both cheeks. “Welcome home, cousin.”
Dario’s waiting for me outside. I can’t wait to see him, even though I know I won’t have the comforting warmth and weight of his body next to mine tonight. I agree with Romeo, that when we finally do have the benefit of being together tomorrow, it will only be that much sweeter.
That doesn’t mean I don’t reach for his hand and allow myself to feel that sense of protection in his rough, warm touch, or that I don’t long to burrow myself against his chest and feel his arms around me, to drink in the firm strength of him and remind myself that I’m safe and secure in the shelter of his arms.
Either he longs for the same thing I do, or he knows how badly I want the assurance of his physical presence, because as soon as we’re out of the war room, he tugs my hand and leads me down the narrow hallway past the pantry, past the dining room, and into the circular library at the furthest end of the estate.