Page 80 of Texting My Mafia Boss

Cesare places his gun on the table. “In light of Ruggero’s decision to attempt to murder his daughter, I think we can waive the usual procedures, just this once. Does anyone object?”

“The only thing I object to is going another second without a whiskey,” Ottavio says, sucking his cigarette down.

“I’ve made myself clear,” I snarl, looking at the other Calvi men. They all avert their gazes.

I turn away and storm out of the room.

CHAPTER 29

MARA

“Do you think we’ll see Daddy today?” Sylvie asks, kneeling next to me in the grass as we dig weeds from my backyard.

“I’m not sure,” I tell her. “He’s very busy. But I promise, it’s for a good reason. And I believe him when he says he’ll have more time for us soon.”

Sylvie looks at me with that grown-up expression she often gets, her perceptive eyes looking deeply. She considers this, then nods. It’s been two days since he left us at the safehouse. A few hours later, Livia told us that we were able to return to the city, but we’d need to stay elsewhere while the estate was cleaned.

When I offered this old place, it was half a joke. But Livia touched me on the arm, lighting up like I couldn’t have imagined when we first met, and said, “I think it’s awonderfulidea.”

Now, we’re staying in the house my aunt left for me. I didn’t realize how wild the garden was becoming until we arrived. Sylvie insists on helping, bright and enthusiastic despite everything she’s been through. But I know what kids are like. Iknow it’s still in there somewhere. I just hope I’m around long enough to help her through it.

“Lemonade?” I ask.

“Uh, duh,” she says, winking at me.

I go inside, shaking my head in disbelief. “Is everything okay?” Livia asks from the table, focusing on her crossword.

“That girl is made from steel. Until she isn’t.”

“She’s a miracle,” Livia says. She suddenly looks up at me. “You’re a miracle, Mara.”

I try to laugh it off as I pour the lemonade.

“I mean it,” Livia says, ignoring my laughter. “Before you, they were different people. Sylvie has really come out of her shell. And Ettore seems to… to care, Mara. To deeply care. To care on a level I’ve never seen in a mafioso. It makes me wish I’d tried harder, all those years.”

I go to her, squeezing her arm. “You did your best, Livia. You protected them. You cared for them. That’s all we can ever do.”

“Will you stay?” Livia asks, voice breaking. She squeezes my hand. “For the long term, Mara. Will you?”

I swallow a lump. “If he’ll have me.”

Livia smiles. “He’s already chosen you.”

I return to the lemonade, glancing out the window. Sylvie is standing under the shadow of the tree, practicing one of her ballet stances. My phone vibrates in my pocket. It’s Ettore. It’s the first text he’s sent me that hasn’t been about logistics. The previous ones are?—

Ettore: I’m putting security on the house, though we’re safe now.

Ettore: I’m in the city handling business.

Ettore: The official story is a home invasion gone wrong.

Ettore: No police fallout.

Now, the text differently.

Ettore: I’m almost done cleaning up this mess. I’m almost ready to come home and be with you. I drove past a jewelry store, and it made me think of how this started, what’s at stake. Then I started thinking about going in there and getting an engagement ring. I imagined proposing to you in front of Sylvie. Imagined us all dancing around in pure joy. I wanted to do it, Mara.

I bite my lip, heart thundering. Part of me wants something like this too, a storybook brightness that makes everything else fade into the background, an adventure we can launch into and never look back.