As she slept in my arms, I stared at the ceiling, my mind already working through the logistics of extracting her sisters, fortifying our defences, and preparing for the war that was coming. Vincent Carminatti had made a fatal mistake when he'd hit his daughter. He'd underestimated her, dismissed her as weak, as controllable.
But Emilia wasn't weak. She was a survivor, a warrior, a queen. And she was mine.
Tomorrow, we'll start building our empire together. Tonight, I held her close and let myself feel something I hadn't felt in years.
Hope.
CHAPTER 28
EMILIA
“I can’t believeI pulled it off,” I sighed, only speaking to myself as I looked around the tables in the ballroom. The smell of the turkey wafting through the house made me stop in my tracks and just take in the aroma. It was like a warm hug wrapping around me, and the spices blended to make my mouth water in anticipation of the supper I’d created.
“You’re going to need to sleep for a week after this,” Cecilia said quietly in my ear as she put her arm gently around my shoulder. Smiling, I turned to look at my mother-in-law.
I wished the feeling of dread and loss would go away, but it settled there in my chest as I thought of my family. We never hosted the people who worked for us; my father never even acknowledged them during the holidays.
“This is all so amazing,” I whispered, as I looked at her.
“It was important to my mother-in-law that we made people feel important. It’s helped over the years with people feeling loyal, and like they are a part of our family.” She gently moved me, and we wandered around the room. “When you’re in the business we are, people know the dangers, but making them feel like we’ve got their backs as they have ours is how we’vesurvived. How all the major families have actually.” Her voice trailed off.
She hadn’t come right out and said it, but I knew the meaning. My family wouldn’t survive, because not enough people were loyal to them.
I wasn’t even loyal to them.
Sitting at a table, my eyes scanned the room, making sure everything was going well, and nobody needed anything. “Relax, everyone is fine,” Nico whispered as he ran his hand up my thigh. “Tonight is perfect.” Glancing down at his hand, I smiled before looking up to him.
“Nico, could I have a word?” Lorenzo asked gently, putting his hand on Nico’s shoulder.
“Of course. I’ll be right back, amore.” He kissed my cheek, and the men walked out of the room.
“What’s that all about?” Trixie asked as she took the seat my husband had vacated, looking at me with wide eyes.
“I don’t know.” I looked over my shoulder again, but just saw a closed door.
Trixie wrapped her arm around mine and pulled me in close. “This is just like when we were kids. Everyone here is celebrating Christmas, the laughter, the cheer. It’s been a long time since this house felt like a home.” She rested her head on my shoulder and sighed.
“I’m not drunk if that’s what you’re wondering,” she said, answering the question I had rolling around in my head. “Things have been different since you came. A good different. Nico’s more relaxed, we like being here again, and I think Mom is considering marrying Lorenzo. I hope she does, she deserves to be happy too.”
“So, do you? Trix, is there anyone special? We’ve never really talked about it.” I looked at my sister-in-law and smiled.
“No, there’s nobody. I guess I never stay in one place long enough to even think of finding someone.” She sat up and reached for her glass of wine. “Besides, how would I bring anyone home to this?”
Trixie wasn’t wrong. How do you bring someone into the mafia world that has no idea it even exists? “What about Antonio?” I whispered.
“He’s basically my brother, eww no.” She scrunched up her face and made a gagging sound.
“Ok, so no Antonio. I looked around the room, and while a few single men were working for Nico, I realized for the first time that he’s employed mostly people with families.
“Your silence is speaking volumes, Em.” Trixie rolled her eyes and tipped back the last bit of her wine.
“We have to be able to find you, someone.”
“I need to go on a holiday, maybe I could find some rich, debonair man, with a castle, looking for someone like me.”
“Trixie, if he’s out there, I have no doubt you’ll find him. Time to book you a holiday … where would you like to go?
“Ireland. I’ve always wanted to go,” she said as she reached for her phone. “See, I even have a Tacked board about it.” She opened the app and scrolled through her saved photos.
