La Sposa (12 page)

Giovanni blushed, and lowered his eyes. “I
wanted it to be private, to have even more meaning.”

“
It does. I loved it,” she
smiled.

“
Are you hungry?” he
asked.

“
Yes.”

“
I prepared a breakfast for you.
Your favorite things.”

“
You what?” she thought a
chuckle.

He rose and went to the silver tray left on
the reading table in the room. Mira watched curiously as he
returned to the bed.

“
I love the roses. I’m surprised
with the rainstorm you were able to gather so many.”

He didn’t answer. He placed the tray over her
lap and lifted the lid over the dish he prepared. The plate had
pancakes stacked, a steamy portion of scrambled eggs, crisp bacon,
and golden brown sausage links. “You did this?”

“
It’s your favorite, right?” he
grinned.

Actually it wasn’t. But it was a traditional
American breakfast favorite. She looked up into his eyes and saw
how proud he was of the meal. “Yes, it’s my favorite. How did you
know?” she lied.

He shrugged. “I knew it. I ate it a lot when I
was at Harvard.”

Giovanni eased onto the bed with her and began
to cut her pancakes. He even had syrup to pour out evenly across
the cakes. “I had the boys find all of the good stuff. Zia made the
batter for the cakes, but everything else I did. The sausage is
hand-rolled by Zia but I fried it in the skillet. Here, eat some.”
He fed her from the fork.

Mira chewed and smiled. “Good.”

“
Eve will be in soon. She’s having
breakfast with the family downstairs.”

“
We could have joined them,
Giovanni.” She ate some more from his fork.

“
I’d rather we have our time. We
will take her with us on the honeymoon. I’ve asked Cecilia to be
her nanny.”

“
Who?”

“
She’s the youngest daughter of
Vinnie Razza, a man who works for me. She’s a year younger than
Catalina. Very bright girl. You’ll meet her today.”

“
So will you tell me where our
honeymoon will be?”

“
No.” he grinned.

“
The wedding?”

“
It’s close.”

“
Here?”

“
No. But close. Did Zia explain
what you are to expect? How we do things?”

“
Yes. She explained it all. Now
give me a hint.”

“
No.”

“
Oh, Giovanni. C’mon, a girl needs
to know these things.”

“
All you need to know is that I
love you. And the day will be the most memorable day of your
life.”

“
I don’t think so. The most
memorable day of my life is the day you came for me and
Eve.”

He stopped feeding her and smiled. She touched
his face. “I love you, Don Battaglia. I can’t wait to be your
wife.”

He kissed her, and Mira stroked the side of
his face. Life couldn’t be any sweeter.

Milan Italy –

It was New Year’s Eve. It would prove to be
nothing more than another wasted day. With no woman, no real trust
between him and his cousin, and only one friend, he had no one to
confide the truth of the dark secret he carried. Lorenzo expected
to spend the last day of a fucked up year alone. And it suited him
just fine. This is what he’d come to accept year after year since
his ill-tempered mother Isabella died. However, today he had a
cause. Unfinished business to attend to with David Capriccio before
the city of Milan, exploded with lights and good cheer. With the
wedding tomorrow, Lorenzo would have to be quick about things. He
still needed to call in the final details for the festivities.
Mostly, his concerns were the logistics, security, and payoffs to
officials to grant Giovanni complete access to anywhere in the
southern region he chose. It was times like this he missed
Dominic’s role as
consigliere
.
Who wanted to be stuck
with this menial bullshit?

The brisk weather forced him to hang a heavy
dark wool coat over his broad shoulders. It was often an unwelcome
occurrence when the drastic change in climate between the northern
and southern townships came down upon him. Shoving his hands down
in the pockets of his trousers, he continued on. He walked a block
up torturing twisting alleys to the business offices tucked between
via Porlezza
and
via Giulini
. Several people dined
outside of sweet smelling cafes, nibbling on pastries. Others
lingered for morning chats over cigarettes and small cups of
espresso. He knew a few, but many knew him, and nodded in respect
at his passing.

The walk was short. Lorenzo entered Negali’s
building and took the elevator to his floor. The building felt
unoccupied. He shed his coat and dropped it in the chair near the
door when he walked inside. A quick check of his watch confirmed he
was early. Since Negali rarely conducted business in Milan, he
didn’t expect to find many clients at the early hour in the
attorney’s office. The front of the suite was dark thanks to the
single window with a drawn shade. Scattered rays of sunlight,
however, bled into the room; and with the aid of the dimmed ceiling
lights the place, was cast in a gauzy yellow haze. The receptionist
desk was absent of Nora, who usually greeted him with a big smile
and large breasts. The kind of tits a man could suck all day. He’d
fucked her twice, but she was a bit too clingy for his
taste.

Milan was Lorenzo’s home after his exile.
Negali typically worked out of Napoli. However, over the past years
with the Calderone war moving the families’ interests further
north, the quick witted attorney had opened an office here. Or so
he said. It served Giovanni well since they acquired the triangle,
which consisted of Milan, Turin, and Genoa.

A rustling noise disturbed his thoughts.
Lorenzo’s brows lowered with suspicion. His gun was tucked to the
back of his pants shielded under his sports coat. However, it
remained well within reach if needed. He didn’t feel the urge to
draw it. Instead he remained silent and alert as he approached the
half- closed door. He eased it open with a slight push of his hand
and then he paused.

The soft seductive allure of Shalimar greeted
him. He actually inhaled deeply, and after one dose of its inviting
appeal, he inhaled again. A woman he was certain he’d never met
before busied herself with a curious task. As she moved about, she
wonderfully stirred the air of Negali’s office.

She had her back to him. She was before a file
cabinet that he was almost certain Negali kept under lock and key.
Using what appeared to be some kind of knife or letter opener, she
pried the lock and opened one drawer after another. Each time she
slammed it shut, she muttered a curse under her breath. Whatever it
was she sought, her search kept coming up dry. He didn’t disturb
her hustle. Something about her hurried manner and skill with the
silver pointed letter opener intrigued him.

Her blouse had the soft ripple of fabric that
reminded him of silk. She wore dark pants flattering her curves.
This one had the fine hips and shapely ass he liked on his women.
Her hair was thick with curls, brushing an inch beyond her
shoulders. He wondered if she was as pleasant face to face as she
was from the backside.

Either she heard his thoughts or felt his
presence, because she turned and looked him directly in the
eye.

Shock, then suspicion, covered her strikingly
delicate features. And she rewarded his sly smile with a frown. The
beauty before him didn’t belong in Silvio Negali’s office. And it
wasn’t her dusky brown skin or the letter opener she wielded in her
right hand. There was something about her that felt foreign and out
of place with thievery. Maybe it was the challenge he read in her
fearless posture. Nonetheless, she had his undivided
attention.

What a tasty morsel she was. The intensity and
purpose of her stare was a bit overwhelming on the face of someone
so feminine and dainty. A pair of soulful brown irises ringed with
dark lush lashes, smoldered with defiance. She tightened her small
fist around the gleaming, sharply pointed letter opener, as one
would wield a weapon. She looked to be in her early or
mid-twenties. Lorenzo’s gaze was seduced by her presence,
fragrance, and beauty to lower. Drawn now to her bow shaped,
rose-pink lips, determined chin, and then down her slender throat
where it lingered on her jutting breasts, narrow waist, and heart-
shaped hips.

She cleared her throat.

He forced his gaze up. To do so took the
strength of Hercules. She had childbearing hips and thighs any man
would love to climb between. All of this sex appeal at once was a
bit confusing, because he typically wasn’t aroused so easily by a
woman wearing so much clothing. Besides, he liked dresses and low
cut blouses. He wanted to see a woman’s thighs and watch the way
her ass moved under a skirt. He was a bit old- fashioned this way.
Fabiana had been an angel in stilettos. This dark beauty was the
total opposite.

All the blood pumping through the chambers of
his heart rushed to his groin.
Fuck, did he have an
erection?
Lorenzo got a hold of himself. Minutes ticked by and
neither of them spoke. He had a problem finding his voice. She was
tense, as if she was waiting for him to strike.

Was she a thief? God, he hoped so. It’s been
quite some time since he came across one with the balls to grift a
lawyer employed by the Camorra. Her lashes swept down, and she too
gave him a critical inspection. Did he pass the test?

As if to answer his silent question, she
placed the letter opener down on the desk and smiled.

“
Buongiorno. Come sí
chiami?”
The softest feminine voice escaped her. It had a
lyrical seductive appeal. Lorenzo was rendered speechless. She
looked American, though her Italian was as smooth as cream. The
left corner of her full lips curled into a mocking smile. “I said
hello. What is your name? Don’t you speak Italian?”

Silvio Negali walked into the office. He
stopped abruptly at the sight of the woman. “What are you doing
here? We don’t have an appointment.”

The woman ignored him and extended her hand.
“
Mi chiamo Marietta Capriccio. Piacere.
”

“
Lorenzo Battaglia,” he replied,
and accepted her hand. Damn. She really did smell as sexy as she
looked. He stared up into her eyes and his lips brushed her
knuckles. “You speak Italian well,” he said purposefully, in
English.

“
I’m half Sicilian.” She arched a
single brow with a playful smirk. Was she flirting with
him?

Silvio cleared his throat. “
Signora
Marietta, like I’ve said to you before, I can’t represent you. It’s
absurd for you to even ask. I can only refer you to legal friends
of mine to help your cause. I represent the Capriccios.”

“
And I am a Capriccio.” She pulled
her hand away. Lorenzo hadn’t realized he still held it. What was
sly and amusing about her smirk earlier was lethal now as she
glared at Silvio. “Caruso knew it, and so do you. Capriccio blood
runs in my veins under this dark skin that turns all of you to
stone when I enter the room.”

“
Please,
Signora
…”

“
Enough of the fake pleasantries
and stalling tactics! I’m here because I belong here. If the family
refuses to believe that I am a Capriccio, then let’s have the blood
test. What are you hiding?”

“
Capriccio was insistent that there
be no blood test. You already know this. It will invalidate the
will and draw out the legalities for years.”

“
That makes absolutely no sense!”
she shouted. “You’re keeping me from what is rightfully mine. I
won’t go away. You tell David my offer to negotiate with him
expires tonight. Next time we meet, I will come with attorneys for
it all!” Marietta reached for her purse off the lawyer’s desk, and
then grabbed her coat. Lorenzo observed her, a bit amused. She
stepped directly into Silvio’s face. “I’ve waited all my life to
meet my father. Now he’s dead. But that changes nothing, because he
loved me. He put me in that will and I deserve to be at the
hearing. And you, David, none of you will keep me from my
birthright.” She started to the door, but Lorenzo sidestepped and
blocked her.

“
Allow me to help you with your
coat.”

He removed it from her arms and held it open
for her. Marietta flashed a challenging glare. Surprisingly, she
accepted the gesture; and he took the time to touch her after she
eased them in the sleeves. She then pushed past him and walked out.
Silvio closed the door behind her with a loud slam. The slender
short man hurried around his desk to inspect his file
cabinets.

“
How the hell did she break into
these? The locks are broke on two. Where the hell is Nora? She’s
supposed to make sure no one gets into my office without my
approval.”

“
She used that thing to break in.
The door was open when I arrived.” Lorenzo nodded to the tossed
aside letter opener.

Silvio threw his hands up. He removed his keys
from his pocket and went to a file cabinet in the left corner of
the room. He unlocked it and brought out a thick folder. “I can’t
control her. She’s relentless.”