Ah, Dinora.Of course, my wife is making friends with her and finding out more about the family that way, no doubt. “I’m afraid she’s mistaken about my brother.” What I won’t tell Francesca is my brother enjoys fucking the lonely wives of a few businessmen and politicians we deal with, but he wouldn’t describe any of them as a girlfriend.
While she gets dressed, I head downstairs to find Dinora. She’s an excellent cook which was part of the reason I asked Father if I could take her on as my maid when I moved out years ago, but she also watched over me and my brothers when we were small. Thus, she has a different standing in our family than a typical servant.
As expected, Dinora’s in the kitchen, preparing savory sausages, fluffy pancakes and fresh fruit. “I don’t have time for a large breakfast today.” I grab a fork to pierce one of the sausages sizzling in the skillet.
“Those aren’t cooked through yet,” Dinora tuts at me. I raise an eyebrow, and she returns to flipping pancakes. “This is for your wife, to prepare her for her first day of class. Though I don’t know why a Don's wife needs college when she will have social responsibilities and babies to care for soon.”
“Dinora,” I say in warning. That my wife started taking the pill is no more the maid’s business than whether or not she attends college.
As Francesca is coming down the stairs, Dinora switches to Italian.“She will be around college boys all day. Will they treat her with the appropriate level of respect?”
If any are foolish enough not to, they’ll soon meet my monstrous side. “Finish the sausages. I want some with my coffee,” I clip when my wife approaches us.
Ignoring the sausages, Dinora encourages Francesca to take a seat, bustling over with coffee, pancakes and fruit, fawning all over her… which is precisely what my wife deserves.
“Did you argue?” Francesca whispers worriedly once Dinora returns to the sausages.
“She occasionally needs to be reminded talking back isn’t allowed.”
“Even though she used to kiss your boo-boos when you were little?”
“Christ, what else has she shared?” I mutter, sipping my coffee.
“Plenty,” she answers with a playful grin. “AndItalk back to you.”
Shaking my head, I take her hand in mine, ignoring Dinora’s smirk when she returns with the sausages, and tell Francesca, “Only you have that privilege now,mia moglie.”
33
Francesca
Things have been going well, I thought, so I'm mulling over Carlo's resistance to my idea to spend time with the girls. Does he not want me to get to know them better? Am I good enough for him to bed but not good enough for his sisters?
“We’ll need to make a stop. You won’t be late,” my bodyguard says, interrupting my spiraling thoughts.
Immediately, my fight or flight reflexes stir. Did they find out about Maeve somehow? Carlo would consider it betrayal because I didn’t tell him about the meeting or Ronan’s intentions.
Deciding my best option is to play it cool, I simply nod and release a relieved breath when we pull to a stop in front of a ladies’ fitness center. It doesn’t strike me as a place they’d dispose of a traitor.
A brunette dressed in workout clothes dashes out as Faro steps onto the sidewalk. She’s around twenty, but it’s obvious this is Faro's wife. The casual intimacy of her palm resting on his chest when he speaks in a low voice, the way his hand settles at the small of her back before he turns her toward the car tells me they’re comfortable around each other even if he’s not happy for some reason.
“You must be Mrs. Cucinotta,” I say with a friendly smile, getting out once it seems their discussion is over.
“Please, call me Aurora, Mrs. Vicini,” she says with equal friendliness.
My nose crinkles up, and she laughs when I reply, “In my mind, my mother-in-law is the only Mrs. Vicini. I hope you’ll call me Frankie instead. I’ll ride in the back so you may sit beside your husband.”
Aurora widens her eyes comically as she stage-whispers, “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll ride in the back, too, since I’m in trouble.”
“I’m not a goddamn chauffer, Rory. You'll ride up front. Both of you, get in.”
Despite our assigned seats, Aurora and I chat pleasantly until we arrive at the school. Noticing her fingernails, I ask if she has a favorite place to get them done before I get out. I want to get to know the girls better, but it would be nice to have a friend closer to my age, too.
***
I'm sitting at my piano, pecking out notes for a song I'm working on, when Faro says he'll see me tomorrow. "It's not even four yet, far too early to expect Carlo…" My words trail off as my husband steps out of the elevator.
Faro shoots me a smug look and starts to go. "Wait! Can I get Aurora's number? I thought maybe she'd want to have lunch."
