When I woke the next morning, Nino was gone. It was already past nine, so I missed watching him do laps in the pool. I went through my morning routine, put on shorts and a simple top, and headed downstairs. I walked through the main part of the house and into the kitchen. After making myself a quick breakfast of porridge, I decided to eat it outside so I could enjoy the beautiful weather. As I headed outside, the sound of a video game drew me into the gaming room. Adamo was in there again, focusing on a car race on the ginormous screen on the wall.
“Hey, Kiara,” he said without looking away from the game. “Fabiano brought over Leona this morning. She’s sunbathing in the garden.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
He gave me a strange look.
I smiled at him. “Never mind. Enjoy your game.” I hurried out of the French doors and down the small path to the swimming pool and lounge chairs. Just as Adamo had said, Leona was stretched out on one of them, reading a book. Something about the history of the Supreme Court. She glanced up as I approached, smiling, and put the book down on the table beside her.
“That doesn’t look like light reading,” I said, taking a seat on the chair across from her, my bowl of porridge wedged between my thighs.
“It’s not, but I want to prepare for college. I’m starting in a few months, and I don’t want to be completely clueless. What about you? Have you considered going to college?”
I frowned. I was raised to become a wife and mother. “To be honest, I’ve always only wanted to be a mother,” I said quietly. “I want a family to take care of. Boisterous kids that fill the house with life and laughter.” Maybe it was something I longed for because I never had a family like that. Unconditional love was something only children could offer in our world.
“That’s okay,” Leona said with a smile. Then her brows dipped in thought.
“What?”
“I’m trying to imagine Nino as a father and Remo as an uncle…” she shook her head “…but I just can’t. They aren’t really the family type. I mean they are close as brothers, but otherwise … no.”
I knew what she meant. Nino and his brothers were more than close. They were a unit. It’s us against the world. He’d probably want to keep living with them even if we had kids. Boisterous, loud-mouthed kids around Remo? That was definitely something that made me wary. I shrugged.
“It’s not like we’ll have kids any time soon.” I pointed at my porridge. “Would you like some as well? I made more than I can eat.”
“I already had breakfast with Fabiano.”
I nodded and ate a spoonful. For some reason I wasn’t hungry anymore.
“How are things between you and Nino going?”
My cheeks heated as I tried to form a reply. “Better than I thought they would. He is being very considerate.”
Leona’s eyes widened. “Really?”
I giggled at her expression. “Really. I mean, it’s obviously not easy for him to understand my emotions, but he does his best and that’s all I can ask for.”
“I admire your strength. To be honest, Nino scares me shitless, almost as much as Remo.”
I smiled because I understood her so well. “I know. And Remo still does. I don’t think that will ever change. There’s something so … unhinged about him.”
“Unhinged is a bit of an understatement,” Leona said. “The way he rules over Vegas …” She sighed.
“I’m not married to him. That’s a blessing, I suppose.”
“I really hope he never finds a poor woman he wants to marry.”
I couldn’t imagine Remo settling down for a woman. Perhaps it would just be for the thrill of the conquest or that satisfaction of breaking her. I shuddered and pushed any thought of him aside. “Your Fabiano isn’t any less scary than Nino. You haven’t even grown up around men like him, yet you are with him. He is the Enforcer.”
Leona sat up, her expression thoughtful. “I know what he does is, what they all do is wrong, but I love him. I can’t help it. No one has ever been good to me, but he is. Maybe I’m selfish.”
I put down my bowl of porridge and reached for her hand, squeezing it. “You don’t have to justify your love. It’s something pure and beautiful, and I’m sure everything happens for a reason. Sometimes we just don’t understand why.”
Her blue eyes searched mine. “What do you feel for Nino?”
I wasn’t sure. Gratefulness. Affection. And sometimes something warmer and deeper that scared me. “Falling in love with Nino would be foolish. He can’t return my feelings no matter what they are.”
“Love tends to turn us into fools,” Leona said quietly, but she dropped the subject and reclined on the lounge chair.