Twisted Hearts (The Camorra Chronicles 5)

“You sure nobody will mind?” I whispered.

He gave me a stern look. “Gem, you’re family, so your sister is family too. It’s fine.”

God, I loved him. My heart thudded wildly as I considered telling him. Yet, knowing Savio’s reluctance to talk emotions, I swallowed the notion.

Once back in the driveway of the Falcone mansion, Savio lifted Carlotta out of the seat and she clung to him, so I let him carry her inside. He handled her with so much care and gentleness that the anger I’d felt in the past felt like an unnecessary weight I wanted to lose.

The common room was deserted but the French doors were open, so everyone was probably at the pool. “How about we check on the sweets your sister promised me?” Savio suggested.

“Nonna always said sweets are the way to a man’s heart,” I said, remembering her secretive smile whenever she told me.

“Your nonna was a very wise woman.”

In the kitchen, I quickly filled the cannoli with the cream, but Savio and Carlotta were already stealing half of it before I got my hand on it. I swatted his hand away, but his quick reflexes proved difficult to outsmart even in the kitchen.

With Carlotta on his lap, he finally settled at the table and stuffed his face with my cannoli. Carlotta dug in, too, which made me smile even more considering how bad of an eater she’d always been in the past.

“Delicious, Gem. Like all of you.”

My eyes widened and I gave him a warning look. Even if Carlotta had no clue what he meant, I’d kick his ass if he said something like that again.

He took another bite. “I’ll definitely keep you. A woman who can bake like that needs to be my wife.”

“I am your wife.”

“See, I made the right choice.”

I shook my head. The door swung open and Kiara came in with Massimo and Alessio. They were a year and two years older than my sister, but much taller than their age gap suggested. Savio set Carlotta down, but she was too shy to approach the other kids. Savio bent down, took her hand and introduced her.

My heart melted.

Kiara came to me and squeezed my arm. “Things going well between you two?”

I nodded.

“I’m so happy. I always hoped Savio would find a good girl who’d take care of him after everything he and his brothers have been through.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I only smiled. I’d take care of him if he let me. Carlotta spent the night at the mansion so Mom could get a full night of sleep. The Falcones had a spare bed that we put in our bedroom. Carlotta was used to sharing a bed with Mom, though, so she cried until we allowed her to join us. Within minutes she fell asleep and lay curled up between Savio and me.

He gave me a knowing look over her tiny form. “You’re playing dirty. Do I really scare you that much?”

He didn’t scare me, nor did his touch, but my body’s reaction to it, definitely. It was like I was losing control of my body.

Carlotta was a cute kid and she got along well with the other kids. Gemma was beaming all day, impossibly happy that her little sister was doing better. I had to admit I was relieved when we returned the little girl to Gemma’s mom the next day. Sleeping with a toddler in your bed was a challenge and eventually I’d given up and slept on the sofa.

“I still feel so bad that you had to sleep on the sofa,” she said after we’d taken Carlotta home. Her guilt over something like that was too adorable.

“You can make it up to me by having a movie night with me. Popcorn and all.”

“Really? Like a date?”

“Like a date. I want to stream a few fights that took place in L.A. last night.” With Carlotta around, we hadn’t been able to watch them live. I could have joined my brothers in the common area, but I didn’t want to leave Gemma alone with her sister.

“With the Madman from L.A.?” Gemma asked curiously.

“Fuck, I love that you know these kinds of things and enjoy more than girl things.”

That evening we settled on the sofa together and I locked into the Darknet part where we always streamed our fights and races, so people could watch them and place bets.

Gemma came in with a bowl of popcorn that smelled divine. I grabbed a handful and stuffed it into my mouth, groaning at the salted caramel note.

“I made the caramel and added some sea salt.”

I pushed another popped kernel into my mouth. “It’s perfect. I want this every evening.”

“Won’t you get bored of it soon?” she said in a strange voice, voicing it in a way that suggested she didn’t mean popcorn.