Page 105 of Mafia Darling

He stared at the floor, his expression troubled. “I don’t know if I can actually say it. I’m scared you’re going to change your mind.”

“No matter the name you use, know in your heart, you are a Ravazzani. You come from a long line of powerful men who were born to rule. Don’t live your life in fear. Whatever you decide, be strong.” A tear slipped free but I didn’t brush it away. I needed to feel the pain now, to steel myself. I had to be strong for what was to come. “And I won’t change my mind. I want you to be happy.”

Moisture pooled in his eyes and fat tears trailed down his cheeks. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Grazie, Papà. Grazie.”

I held onto his head and pressed my lips to his forehead. I didn’t like it, but Francesca had been right. How could I deny him happiness? “Ti amo, figlio mio, per sempre.” More tears fell, my cheeks wet, as I breathed him in. He used to smell like lemons, back when Zia would sneak him lemon candies. I’d forgotten that until now, but it was a nice memory. “Per sempre,” I repeated.

* * *

Fausto

Leaning on my cane, I threw open my office door and hobbled inside. Marco and my wife were there, with Francesca sitting in my desk chair, and the two of them looked up from a laptop. Alarm bloomed on her face. “Fausto! What are you doing out of bed?”

I didn’t answer, my full concentration required to keep me from falling on my face like a small child. My side hurt like a son of a bitch and sweat already rolled down my back.

Marco reached me first, grabbing my arm to steady me. “You should go back upstairs.”

“I’m fine. Just help me to my chair.”

It had been just over two weeks since the shooting and I was impatient to be better. I needed work to distract me.

“Rav, you should be in bed. David said—”

“No.” I put enough strength in that one word to prevent anyone from arguing with me.

Marco exchanged a look with my wife, which caused irritation to swipe across my skin. My cousin no doubt believed she could control me, as she’d convinced me to change my mind about other things. But I’m the boss, and I made the decisions for the ’ndrina. No one else.

Besides, there was work to be done and all of it was my responsibility. The weight of an empire rested on my shoulders, and I could no longer shirk it.

He got me into my leather chair and a sharp pain ripped through my side, so fierce it took my breath away. Closing my eyes, I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I could sense my wife’s disapproval without even looking at her. It hung heavily in the room, but I ignored it. “Tell me what is going on.”

Francesca sat in a chair across from my desk, while Marco took his usual seat in the corner. Her gaze swept over my face. Whatever she saw there caused her to ask, “Are you all right?”

I hadn’t seen her since my conversation with Giulio last night. We decided he would break the news to her, and I knew he was still asleep. I’d instructed Marco to leave the boy alone today. There was no reason to burden him further with affairs that weren’t his concern any longer. So I was fairly certain Francesca didn’t know yet.

Instead of answering her question, I said, “Fill me in.”

She began reading out her notes on the most pressing issues, and I closed my eyes, listening. She and Toni had done an excellent job. Toni was right—she did have a head for this sort of work. I made comments when necessary, but I was happy to turn the bulk of this tedium over to her. Reading emails and sitting in on conference calls wasn’t a good use of my time.

When she finished I smiled at her. “Va bene, Francesca. You’ve done well in my absence. But then I expected nothing less from you.”

She bit her lip, color staining her cheeks at my compliment. “Thank you, baby.”

“Would you like to continue this? Working with Toni on the Ravazzani businesses?”

“Yes,” she said instantly, a grin nearly splitting her face. “Definitely yes. I can be, like, your personal assistant.”

“No, you can be, like, my Chief Operating Officer.” I was the President of the conglomerate and Toni was the Vice-President. We didn’t have a COO, but I would create the position for her, if she wanted it.

“Oh, my God. Yes. Thank you. That would be amazing.”

“It will be a lot of hard work, amore. Toni will be your boss. I’m not sure this will leave you much time to spend outside or laze about with Lamborghini.”

“It won’t leave me much time for nooners with my demanding husband, either,” she said, lifting a bratty brow in my direction, and Marco snickered.

“We’ll see about that,” I promised darkly.

Smiling, she rose and closed her laptop. “Let me know when you’re done talking about everything else and I’ll come back.”

---