After all, I need to be close to my doctor and, in Nico’s words, no fucking way is my kid gonna be born in some backwoods Italian country hospital with dirt floors and no electricity, which is a gross exaggeration but I chose not to argue.
There was a lot of work to do in the weeks leading up to now. Father’s funeral happened a few days after we returned home from our trip to visit Elise, and all his enemies came out in force not long later. Casso had his hands full dealing with the politics of getting the Famiglia under control, from unruly Capos to frustrated soldiers to the simple machinery of payments and money laundering and business licenses. Untangling the mess of Papa’s estate wasn’t easy, but the family’s lawyers are very well paid for a reason.
While Casso dealt with the internal problems, Nico, Gavino, and Fynn dealt with the external issues, from rival gangs that wanted to encroach on Famiglia territory to annoyed politicians and cops that wanted to make sure their bribe checks would still arrive on time. It was a struggle, and there was more blood spilled, but the danger always felt so far away and removed from my day-to-day life because Nico worked hard to keep me safe and sheltered. I suspect we visited Tuscany so often to keep me away from the worst of the violence.
But the last month or so has been good. Casso made Nico a full-on Capo and gave him his own crew of men to work with. That’s been eating up a lot of Nico’s time and energy, but he seems pleased with their progress. Most of the struggle is over and Casso’s in firm control of the Famiglia, though two Capos had to retire—which is the mafia way of saying they were shot in the head and their bodies were buried in the desert—but otherwise the Famiglia stayed together, which is admirable for a transfer of power so abrupt and violent. Nico managed to fight off any attempts at harming the Famiglia’s holdings, and in the end, the boys came out on top and with their strength intact.
Which is why I get to lounge around Villa Bruno all day, doing nothing.
Elise tilts her sunglasses down as I plop in a chair beside her. “Lovely morning,” she comments, eyebrows raised. “I didn’t expect you for another few hours.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” I grumble and cross my arms. I adjust the umbrella beside my chair to make sure I’m not in the sun—Nico would be pissed if I got burned right now, even though I never freaking burn. He’s just overprotective sometimes, and although I act like it annoys me, I feel that little excited spark in my chest when he gets all bossy.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better than I did a couple weeks back, but I’m turning into a whale.” I sigh and put my hands on my belly. “I mean, look at me, Elise. This baby is enormous.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “Darling, you’re barely showing. You’re, what, four months pregnant? You look like a model.”
“A model for maternity clothes.” I glare at her. “Stop trying to make me feel better and let me stew in my discomfort.”
“Whatever you want, darling. I’m here if you need me.” With that, she goes back to scrolling on her phone.
I sigh and stretch. I pretend like everything with Elise is back to the way things were—but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
She’s one of my closest friends now, and even though she has no direct connections to the Famiglia any longer and doesn’t really need to hang around (Papa had a provision for her in his will that entitled her to several million dollars, which Casso complained about, but I figured she was owed at least that much, if not more, for what she went through), ever since she found out I was pregnant, she chooses to spend her days by the pool and by my side.
She’s almost as protective and loyal as Nico.
Gavino comes ambling down from the house about twenty minutes into my listless lounging and pulls up a chair. He grins at me, nods to Elise, and takes off his shoes.
“Lovely day, ladies,” he says and eyes me. “How are you feeling?”
“Sick of everyone asking me that, but fine otherwise.”
He laughs once. “God, you should hear Nico. He talks about you constantly like you’re about to break into a million pieces. I didn’t know that man could worry so efficiently, but he’s like a savant at it now.”
“Nico’s a bit intense these days.”
“You are bringing his child into the world soon, to be fair.”
“My child, you mean. He was just the sperm donor.”
Gavino laughs and groans. “Extremely gross, but yes, okay. Anyway, I was sent down here by Casso to make sure you were doing good and ask if you needed anything.”