Page 25 of Little Deer
Well, this should be interesting.
14
LUCY
Gia looks a lot like me,just like the others. But while Amara and Sienna are warm, open, Gia looks reserved and almost shy. She stays close to her husband’s side, and the story from Rori and Sofia floods back. Is she actually here happily? Or is the terrifying looking man beside her simply making her think that he’s her only option?
She doesn’t look abused, or even scared, but surely she can’t be happy about this situation, right?
“Gia, Nico, this is Lucy,” Massimo tells them, taking care of the introductions. “Lucy, this is your younger sister, Gia. Gia, this is Lucy and her son, Soren.”
“Nice to meet you,” Gia says with a shy smile, watching me curiously. “How are you feeling?” She looks at Soren and her face softens. “And how is your son? I hope you’re both alright.”
“We’re okay now, thank you,” I answer politely. God, this is awkward. What am I supposed to say? Do? My eyes flicker to her husband. His eyes are not warm or friendly, but rathersuspicious, like he’s not ready to welcome or trust me yet. Maybe it wasn’t his idea to rescue me, and he resents having me here.
A small rebellious part of me holds his gaze for a little longer before going back to Gia. A safer place. I hope.
There’s an awkward silence, neither of us knowing what to say. Thankfully, Alessio decides to break the tension. “Come and sit and have some breakfast,” he orders them. “I managed to keep Lazaro from eating it all.” He laughs when Lazaro flips him off.
Nico gently urges Gia forward, and she gives me a quick smile before heading for the head of the table, where she sinks into his lap, leaning against him. Hmm, maybe I’m wrong. Surely if she wasn’t happy she wouldn’t want to be so close to him.
It’s a weird dynamic, but I’ve always lived by the motto to never judge a situation by what it appears. Some of the best relationships I’ve been around are the ones that are awkward in public, or even weird. The overly happy ones are the ones that I never trusted and my gut was normally right.
Hell, look at me and Joey.No, no, I don’t need to think about that.I can’t compare every relationship I see with ours.
“Are you alright, Lucy?” Massimo suddenly murmurs in my ear, making me jump slightly, and making Soren let out a small cry.
Shit.
“I’m good,” I tell him absently as I try to quiet Soren. The last thing I need is the man at the end of the table to get upset with him. Unfortunately, Soren must be picking up on my stress because he continues to fuss and cry unhappily. I glance around worriedly, but most just smile at me and talk quietly together.
After another couple of minutes, I realize that Soren isn’t going to stay quiet. I look at Massimo. “I need to take him out so he doesn’t bother anyone.”
“He’s not bothering anyone,” Massimo quickly assures me. He hesitates, but then asks, “Will you let me hold him? Perhaps I can quiet him down.” He holds out his hands, but I just stare at them. I know he’s held him to pass him to me before, but that doesn’t mean I should trust him, right?
I mean, I don’t know him.
My attention splinters as Soren’s cries grow louder. Panic wells, even as Hades whines and nudges at my arm as if trying to offer some kind of help or comfort.
“Give him to me, cerbiatta,” Massimo soothes, his hands extending more. I don’t stop him as he carefully takes Soren into his arms, rocking him.
Soren’s cries cut off abruptly, staring up at Massimo in surprise. Massimo smiles down at him, murmuring in Italian, all while I stare at him. The others are watching him too, a mixture of amusement and pleasure on their faces. Pleasure that the baby stopped crying I assume. I glance at Nico, who’s watching the scene distantly, but Gia is smiling.
“Anyone else’s ovaries exploding right now?” Amara suddenly blurts out. “Or is that just me?” Her face flushes when everyone looks at her, and Lazaro’s face is amused, but his eyes narrow at her, jealousy simmering under the surface. “What? There’s nothing hotter than a man holding a baby.”
“Probably why they try to keep their wives barefoot and pregnant all the time,” Rori agrees with a snort. Then she winks at Massimo. “You do look very sexy with a baby in your arms, Massimo. I should take a picture and put it on a dating profile for you. You’ll get so many matches you won’t know what to do with them all.”
“He’ll get a secretary to give them all numbers so they can be called when it’s their turn,” Sofia snickers.
I could see it. Massimo is a very good looking man, and even my own ovaries are tingling watching him hold Soren. He looksso natural, his smile warm as he lifts the baby up so they can look at each other closer. “They’re just jealous they can’t be as good looking as us,ometto,”he croons. He looks back at me and smiles. “Eat,” he urges gently. “He’s fine here.”
I hesitate. “If you get tired of holding him, I can take him back.” At least he’s close enough to still grab if I need to make a hasty retreat.
Massimo must sense my unease because he murmurs, “I promise he’s okay, Lucy. You eat and gain your strength. Then, when you’re done, I’ll walk you back to your room so you can change and feed him.”
I nod slowly. I am still hungry, and Massimo is right that the food is delicious. I eat quickly, always making sure to watch Soren out of the corner of my eye. I don’t pay attention to any of the conversation going on around me until I’m full and can finally observe them all.
It’s clear that this isn’t a normal family. Or whatever they want to call this. Some related, others not, it’s a mish-mash of people and personalities, and nothing like I figured the mafia would be.
