“Sure,” Maggie said, her gaze following my ma as she took the baby, making small, low sounds that only he seemed to understand.
“He is so strong and handsome. Reminds me of my Dimitri when he was little.” She rubbed Mateo’s cheek, her smile dimming as she moved her free hand away from the baby to smack me on the back of the head.
I jerked, not expecting the attack. “What the hell?” I said, rubbing the already throbbing injury.
“All my friends have grandbabies. I’ll be dead before you make me anonna, you selfish little…”
“Ma?” Antonia interrupted, nodding to Maggie. “Maria said you needed me?”
“Ugh, can she do nothing right?” Ma kissed Mateo’s cheek, all evidence of her smacking me gone before she turned and placed the baby in my arms.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” I asked, holding the kid out in front of me by his waist.
“Hold him. Find something to feed him.” She turned me around, taking the diaper bag from Maggie and ignoring the woman’s complaints before she hooked the bag on my shoulder. “Maybe spending time with abambinowill warm you to the idea of giving your mama and papa grandbabies before they’re dead in the grave.”
“Ma, you’re only sixty,” Antonia said, holding up her hands when Mama glared at her.
I exchanged a look with my sister, nodding toward the kid, but she laughed at me, turning to follow our mother as she led Maggie toward the stairs to Antonia’s old apartment.
“A little help here,” I called to my sister, waving the fussing kid at her.
“Don’t look at me. You’re the oldest. You gotta go first.”
* * *
“Let’s get one thing straight…” I kept my eyes steady. No blinking. No squinting. This guy could sense a bluff. He could smell fear. “I don’t like you.”
The gurgle thing again. He’d been doing that shit for half an hour. Maria said they did that when they were teething, but I knew dick about all this shit. I only knew the little shit just ruined a $1500 suit, and there wasn’t a damn person here who seemed willing to take him off my hands.
Not even my own men.
“Mr. Carelli, I’m sorry. Your mother left strict instructions…” Dino had admitted when Mateo puked all over my jacket and I told the man to take the kid to one of my aunts or cousins so I could clean myself up. “We aren’t to let anyone but you hold that baby.”
“My mother paying you now?” I asked, glaring at him.
Dino had frowned, shuffling his feet. “No, sir, of course not, but she’s… Well, I gotta say, between the two of you, I’d rather not be onhershit list.”
So, there I was, staring down a six-month-old, without my fucking jacket, sleeves rolled up to my elbows. I had a bowlful of mashed bananas Betty, the head chef, had whipped up for the kid in my hand, and I was glaring at the boy.
“You don’t even have to chew it.” The kid slobbered, using his tongue and lips to release a spray of saliva. He laughed, a deep, surprised noise catching in him as he tried the sound again.
The little asshole did it again, spraying banana across my cheek. I threw the bowl onto the table beside me, grabbing a towel to wipe my face clean. Mateo wasn’t concerned with anything but the new sound he seemed to have discovered, releasing one spit bubble after another over and over again.
Then, he laughed.
“Yeah, kid. You’re fucking hilarious.” I tossed the rag on the table, and I miscalculated my landing. The thing fell right across the baby’s face, covering it completely. “Shit. Sorry,” I said, jerking the towel off his face.
For some reason, the kid found the sudden appearance of my face fucking hysterical. The laughter returned, those giant black eyes disappearing as he cackled and giggled and, fuck me, I couldn’t help it, that little shit had me laughing too. It was infectious, that small, wild laugh, along with those deep-set dimples.
He only quieted when a loud hiccup unsettled him, and the smile disappeared from his face, like he had no clue what the hell that noise was that left his throat. Then, the scared, worried frown started up, and I grabbed him before the waterworks kicked in.
“You’re good,” I told him, standing with him, copying the same rocking motion I’d seen Maggie do earlier. It seemed to work, and Mateo calmed, reaching up to grab hold of my collar until he loosened the chain around my neck.
The crucifix was old, and he seemed fascinated by the small figure on the cross, so I didn’t take it from him. Instead, I just watched the boy, wondering what kind of asshole would let his woman and his boy out on their own to fend for themselves.
Mateo shifted his gaze, pulling his attention from the crucifix to look up at me, his smile returning when he caught me watching him. Like he knew what a liar I was when I said I didn’t like his tiny ass.
“What?” I asked him, adjusting the boy as I moved to the window along the back of the kitchen. The small staff continued to plate the food into serving dishes as I brought the baby to a quieter section, away from the ovens and the loud noise of conversation coming from the dining room.
