Bound By Blood Anthology

I huffed. “You are impossibly vain.”

“Why? It’s true, isn’t it?”

I gritted my teeth but I had to admit he had a point, especially Lily and Aria had often droned about finding true love and a good-looking prince. I’d rarely entertained such fantasies, already too jaded at that young age, and if I’d ever allowed them, I’d kept them to myself. “I was never like that. Disney princes never did it for me.”

“That’s why you got me.”

I pushed up on his chest, narrowing my eyes. “All right, so let’s say I really live my teenage self’s dream, what about you? Is this your teenage dream come true?”

Matteo grinned in a way that raised my alarm bells. “Every horny teenage boy dreams about a girl that can suck cock like a pro and ride like a cowgirl.”

I punched his shoulder as hard as I could.

Matteo chuckled. “Okay, okay. But I never dreamed about having a wife and a kid. I never thought that it was meant to be. Until I met you. I wanted you from the first moment I saw you and only wanted you more with every rude word coming from your mouth. Today, you and Isa are the embodiment of a dream I never dared to dream.”

I swallowed, stunned by Matteo’s words. “Asshole, why do you have to say something so heartfelt and lovable? Now I feel like the cold-ass bitch in our relationship.”

“It’s your parade role, babe. Embrace it.”

I punched him again but gentler, then I gave him a hard kiss. “You and Isa are something I never thought I needed but all I want now,” I mumbled as quickly as I could to get the words out of the way. Then I swung myself on top of Matteo. “Now let’s fuck this lovey-doveyness out of my system.”

“Your wish is my command.”The screaming and laughter of children filled the back yard of the mansion. We spent a few weeks in the summer together in the Hamptons every year. It was chaotic but also the best time of the year.

“They outnumber us,” Matteo muttered as he sank down in the chair beside mine.

I held up a bottle of white wine. Matteo grinned and grabbed a glass from the table. I filled his glass then lifted my own. “To booze, the balm for every parent’s frayed nerves.”

“Can I have some as well?” Marcella asked as she stepped out onto the terrace in a summer dress that made her look like a runway model.

Marcella had Aria’s beauty, only the pale skin against the black hair was even more eye-catching. She was fourteen and men began to notice her. Every time I went shopping with her, I noticed the appreciative looks. Every man who knew of her father kept their eyes to themselves. Anything else would be suicide. I couldn’t imagine Luca ever being okay with Marcella dating anyone, much less marrying. The perfect man for her probably didn’t exist on this planet.

“Ask again in seven years,” Luca muttered from his position at the barbecue.

“Daaaaddd,” Marcella moaned with a roll of her eyes and went back inside.

“She’s at a difficult age,” Aria said.

“When aren’t they?” Luca asked.

A high-pitched laugh sounded. Isa was playing hide-and-seek with her cousins Flavio and Valerio. As usual, the boys did what she wanted, she was only four but already very strong-willed. Aria’s second son was only nine months younger than Isa, and Flavio one day younger. They were inseparable.

“Dinner’s ready!” Aria called as she set a salad down in the center of the massive patio table. Luca carried over a plate with grilled meat.

“Flavio, Valerio, Isa!” I called but they kept chasing each other.

Aria sighed. Matteo waved at Amo. “Come on, Amo, move your butt and help me catch the little monsters.”

Amo pushed out of his chair. Only ten and the kid was already taller than Aria. He and Matteo began running after the children who began screeching. Marcella came out on the terrace, Lily’s seven-year-old daughter Sara trailing after her like a lost puppy.

Eventually, Matteo headed back to the table with Isa wedged under his left arm. Amo carried his little brother Valerio upside down so the kid’s blond hair fell into his face. He reminded me so much of little Fabiano, it sometimes gave me a wistful pang until his gray eyes reminded me that he wasn’t my brother. Flavio trotted after them. He was easier to handle than Isa and Valerio but far more trouble than sweet Sara. Lily sometimes said it was a boy thing, but Isa proved that theory wrong.

Matteo set Isa down in the chair beside mine.

I gave her a stern look when she was about to get up again. “Dinnertime.”

My tone made it clear that arguments were in vain, so Isa nodded with a small pout. Lily waddled outside, pregnant again, followed by Romero who always kept a close eye on her now that she was about to pop any day now.