Ch. 226..230: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 226-230
Chapter 226
Late that afternoon I'm laying out by the pool, catching the last rays of the sun. Kent is in the kitchen cooking dinner for all of us. I offered to help but he shooed me out immediately, grumbling something in Italian about me being useless in the kitchen - or at least, that's what Daniel interpreted for me. But hey, who am I to protest when my boyfriend wants to make a delicious feast for the family and forbids me from doing anything?
I sigh happily, closing my eyes and tilting back my head, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face.
"Soooo," Janeen says, and I smile when I hear her flop onto the lounge chair next to mine. "Did you have a nice afternoon, Fay?"
I turn to see her grinning at me wickedly. Because Kent and I? We stayed in that bedroom for several hours and pretty much let everyone else deal with the thousand things that were delivered - all of our luggage, what looked like a truck load of groceries from the nearby town, the horses - everything.
It was a little chaotic when we finally emerged, but...well. I don't think anything can kill my mood today.
"I had a lovely afternoon, Janeen," I say, sighing again.
"Ugh, I'm so jealous," she mutters, crossing her arms and frowning out over the pool towards the ocean.
"Janeen," I say, laughing and shaking my head at her, "you spent the afternoon floating in a pool by the sea. Daniel said you didn't even help with the deliveries -"
"Well, I don't know how to unload a horse!"
"I'm not blaming you!" I say, still laughing. "It's just how can you be jealous? Everyone else in the world would be jealous of your day, and you find something to complain about?"
"I'm not complaining, Fay," she says with a little sigh. "If Daniel had just let me loose on the sailors, this wouldn't be a problem. Let's blame him."
"Fine by me," I say, leaning my head back.
"So," she says, grinning at me. "Do you like the house? Are you happy here?"
"I am," I say, content, though I look off into the distance a bit.
"What," she says, giving my shoulder a little shove. "I know that expression. What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," I say with a little sigh, turning back to her. But Janeen just narrows her eyes and gives me a dirty look, letting me know that she's not going to give in until I tell her. So I sigh and begin. "I mean, I maybe just wonder why Kent picked Sicily," I say with a little shrug. "It...is awfully close to the Bianci's."
"Does that mess with your plans?" she asks.
"Maybe a little," I say, giving a small frown.
"Why?" she says, totally curious now. Because while Daniel, obviously, is in on everything...I haven't shared this part with Janeen yet. I bite my lip a little, desperately wanting someone to talk to about it but not sure how much I should let her in.
"Seriously, Fay," she says, rolling her eyes. "What reason do you have not to trust me anymore? You know I'm not going to tell anyone."
"We just," I say, hesitating a little, "we haven't told Kent yet, Janeen -"
"Whaaaat," she gasps, leaning close to me. "What the hell are you and Daniel cooking up?"
I sigh and shake my head, thinking it was a mistake to bring her in on it. "Just forget it, Janeen -"
"You can tell me anything, Fay," she says, her voice more serious than it usually - or ever - is. She reaches out and places gentle fingers on my arm. "I'm on your side, with everything. I mean, I guess I'm fully in this family now, but you are my main priority. So, if you need me to listen while you talk shit on Kent, or keep something from him? You know I'm your girl."
"I know," I say, placing my hand over hers. "But it's really not like that, Janeen. I shouldn't have said anything at all. I'm not doing anything against Kent - it's just...Daniel and I have something planned that he would probably rather us not do." "Really," she says, her eyes flaring a little with pleasure at the intrigue. She grins at me. "He's going to kill you."
I laugh a little. "No, he's not. He's just...going to be really mad for a few days. But it will all work out." I sigh, trying to force myself to feel easier about it. But it doesn't really work.
"Okay," she says, drawing her hand away and looking at me seriously. "But if you need to talk..." she points at her chest, "me first, right? Because gossip is my drug when sex isn't available. Which it hasn't been. For weeks."
And I laugh at my sister while I nod, genuinely grateful for her honest offer. My sister smiles back at me.
We're quiet for a few moments.
"Seriously, Fay," she says, and I look over at her again, surprised to see her studying me with genuine curiosity. "What do you and Kent do when you're alone?"
I blink at my sister for a moment, shocked at the abrupt change in subject. And then raise my eyebrow, because...I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious. Janeen bursts out laughing, tilting her head back towards the sky.
I push myself up on my lounge chair a little and turn to her, not getting it. "I don't get what you're asking, Janeen," I say, honestly a little confused at this point.
She turns to me too, lowering her voice a little. "You were in there for hours, Fay," she says. "And while I'm sure you get Lippert going, I know that you weren't fucking the whole time. So? What do you guys like...talk about?"
I blink a little at her, confused. "We talk about all sorts of things," I say, frowning.
"And is he like...interesting?" She cocks her head to the side, genuinely asking.
"Janeen!" I say, starting to get a little mad now, and confused. "Of course he's interesting!"
"Is he!?" She looks over her shoulder at the house, shaking her head a little. "I mean, he's hot, Fay, don't get me wrong - I'm sure the sex is insane - but I honestly don't get you two as a pair. Like you guys just disappear together for hours on end - on that boat, and today in that house -" I lean over to swat my sister on the arm. "You're being so mean, Janeen -"
"I am not!" she says, leaning away from me so I can't hit her. "I'm just trying to understand! I mean, the physical stuff I get, Fay! But seriously," she shakes her head at me now, "on paper? You two seem like you have nothing in common. Besides being like, really good at crime, apparently."
I roll my eyes at her now, crossing my arms over my chest, a little offended. "Are you saying that Kent is boring?"
"Well?" she says, grimacing a little. "He's not like...fun, Fay."
"Yes he is," I grumble defensively, frowning.
"I'm sure he's fun in bed," she says, rolling her eyes at me. "But seriously, I'm not trying to be a bitch! Just, can you explain it? So that I can understand a little better? You two clearly have chemistry, I'm just trying to comprehend it."
I look over my own shoulder now, towards the house where Kent is inside cooking, realizing that...well, that Janeen's kind of right. On paper? Kent and I don't make sense at all.
Chapter 227
I frown a little as I realize that it's kind of true - Kent and I don't really make sense.
I mean, we don't have any mutual hobbies, we had completely different life paths until fate forced us together, and hell - we're even from different generations. But Kent and I? We work.
It's just...I guess a little ineffable.
"I don't know," I say, pondering aloud, and as I look back at my sister I'm gratified that she's actually listening, not trying to prove a point or tease me or something. "I see what you mean, but we just...I think we're like puzzle pieces, or the opposite sides of magnets, or something," I say, giving a little shrug. "Opposite attracts and all that. Plus, on the inside, I think we're may more alike than you think."
"Well," she says, nodding, "I can understand that. But like, he's interesting and stuff? He has things to say?"
"Janeen!" I sigh, again reaching out to smack her. "Of course he is! Why do you think he's so boring?"
"Because he kind of is!" she says, leaning away from me in her chair and laughing apologetically. "I mean, he's all quiet and brooding! He doesn't say much! And again, I see how that's hot - I would hit it - I just..." she shrugs and sighs. "Make it make sense to me, Fay."
"He has other sides that you don't see, Janeen," I say, crossing my arms and rolling my eyes at her. "He likes books, and has all sorts of interesting perspectives, and he's actually really funny -" "That is impossible -"
"You are being such a bitch!"
"I'm just speaking truth!" she says, laughing and putting her hands up.
"Well, it's not like you make it so easy for him to open up around you," I say, accusing.
Janeen's jaw drops open a little and she puts an offended hand on her chest, though part of me can see that she likes it. Janeen - she's a tough sister, but she's never shut me down for standing up to her.
"I have been nothing but nice to Kent Lippert," she objects.
"Yes, but you tease him, and you laugh at him, and you've never sat down and even tried to have a real conversation with him," I point out, and her eyebrows go up as she realizes that I'm right. "And I'm well aware that Kent doesn't precisely invite that -" "And that he's always wrapped up in you," she points out.
"Well, who wouldn't be," I say, flipping my hair over my shoulder as I try to bring some humor to the situation. It works, and Janeen grins at me. "But seriously, Janeen," I say, leaning forward. "Can you give the man some credit? He's a person, but he's been running a serious criminal organization for years. He was having panic attacks when I met him, probably from repressing fifteen years of emotion and having no one to talk to about it. Is it impossible for you to consider that maybe his instinct is to shut people out? That maybe he hasn't opened up to anyone in years, and that he's trying?"
Janeen's mouth opens a little in surprise as she realizes that I could, at least possibly, be right.
"Wow," she says, leaning back in her chair. "Psychology Fay, coming through for the win."
"As clever as she is beautiful," I hear a voice say behind us.
I go still because...
But as I turn and look up, I let out a woosh of air.
Because it's just Daniel.
He bursts out laughing at me. "Don't worry, you're safe, Fay," he says, though he takes a very Kent-like stance with his arms over his chest and his weight on his back foot. "I won't tell dad that you're revealing his deepest darkest secret - that he's actually a human underneath it all." "You'd better not," I say, shaking my head at him.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Janeen says, grinning at Daniel. But then she turns to me. "But point taken. I can see how I've been...less than fair."
"And considering he's the reason you haven't paid rent in six months," I say, raising my eyebrow at her. "Maybe you should go a little easier on him."
Janeen laughs at me, nodding in agreement as Daniel gestures back towards the house. "Dinner's ready," he says, "if you ladies would be willing to come back in."
My stomach audibly grumbles as I stand up and Daniel grins at me as I wrap my arm in his, Janeen coming to his other side.
"I take that as an eager yes?" he says, grinning at me as we walk up the stairs.
"As long as there's garlic bread," I say, lifting my nose towards the house, where the smell of butter and garlic and rosemary wafts out. "I am in."
"Garlic bread," he says, nodding, "and probably three different other kinds of bread too. Dad went a little overboard -"
"Daniel!" I hear Kent call - shout, really - from inside the house. "Come on, we don't have all night!"
Daniel hurries his pace, trying to take me with him, but I just drop his arm. He turns to me, confused, but I wave him forward. "He's yelling at you, not me!" I say, raising my hands. "I'm not getting in on this."
Daniel smirks but hurries into the house as Janeen comes to my side, taking Daniel's place and putting her arm through mine as we come to the door. We stop there for a moment, watching the men bustle around the big kitchen. Daniel and Jerome hustle back and forth from the kitchen to the long dining table on the far end of it, packing it with enough food for what looks like twelve people, not six.
Kent looks up from his place over the stove and I smile a little to see the apron, folded in half, tied around his waist. His own lips lift up at the corners when his eyes fall on me, and he nods a little and then turns away, concentrating on the gravy. Dad is likewise helping, though at a less frantic pace than Daniel and Jerome, calmly slicing cheese and carefully arranging it on a board with fruit and honey and toasted bread.
"At least he can cook," Janeen murmurs, leaning close to me so our shoulders touch. "I get that, with the puzzle-piece thing. Because you can't even make a pop tart."
"I can too," I grumble, frowning at her.
She grins at me, shaking her head. "You are a takeout queen," she says, laughing. But then she turns her eyes back to Kent. "But, I get it, a little more now. Thanks for explaining it, Fay, and I'm sorry if I was a bitch."
"You can't help it," I say with a sigh, making her laugh again. "It's your base state."
"Seriously though," she mumbles, her eyes now fastened on Kent, watching him work. "Your man is f*****g hot -"
"Janeen!"
"Those shoulders, and he can cook? Does he ever do it with his shirt off, speaking Italian?"
"Ew!" I hit her again.
"Seriously, I would climb him like a tree -"
"You're being so gross -"
"I'm sorry, Fay," she says, turning to grin at me. "But if you ever die, I'm going for it right after the funeral -"
"I am done with you!" I say, shoving her away from me but laughing despite myself as I stride into the kitchen to stand at Kent's side. "Until you get your own man, I am done having conversations with you! About anything! Full stop!"
Janeen, cracking up, makes her way into the dining room, stopping to kiss dad on the cheek as she goes. Then she starts to pour wine into everyone's glasses, pitching in as Kent looks down at me with a smirk.
"Nice of you," he murmurs as he stirs the red sauce that bubbles in a big silver pot, "to arrange for me to have some comfort in my grief, if I ever lose you -"
I blush beet red, my hands going to my mouth. "You heard her!?"
"She wasn't being quiet, Fay," he says, laughing and wrapping an arm around me. "She was kidding, teasing you -"
"She'd better have been," I growl, wrapping my arms around his waist possessively. "Or I'll haunt her a*s -"
Kent laughs at this, really laughs, and drops his wooden spoon in the sauce to wrap his arms around me, tugging me close and giving me a kiss when I turn my face up to him. "Go to the table," he says when he breaks away, nudging me with his nose. "Dinner's almost ready."
"I want to help!" I protest.
"Never," he says, letting me loose and giving me a little swat on the ass as I sigh and move around the kitchen island, heading for my seat.
Chapter 228
Scowling a bit - honestly, I'm not as much of a disaster in the kitchen as any of them imply - I settle in next to Janeen. She leans over and gives me a big smacking kiss on the cheek and I laugh, but even as I shove her away we both know that all is forgiven. Nothing to forgive, really I'm used to my weird, chronically inappropriate sister. At least she always keeps it interesting. Family dinner goes off without a hitch and I'm absolutely thrilled to see it. Now that we're comfortably settled in our own beautiful space, things start to really feel...well, normal. It's not that it's precisely as it was either in Kent's mansion or in the beach house. Instead, it's something totally new.
But, luckily, the laughter has stayed.
As we eat, the wine flows and our little family starts to find its pace. People really start to open up, Kent and Daniel telling stories of their lives in Italy and what we can expect here as they pass around the food, explaining what everything is. And even though I can't eat half of it - the cured meats and unpasteurized cheese are devastatingly off-limits - I'm stuffed with food before we even get halfway through all the courses Kent has prepared.
Things slow as we fill up and different people take turns with the conversation. Jerome finds a way in somehow, telling us about his years on the rodeo circuit and working briefly moving cattle out west. Janeen seems keenly interested in this and we all find space to tease her about it, knowing that her interest isn't really in Jerome's life but instead all the cowboys he worked with.
"We've got to get you to town, Janeen," Daniel says, twirling some pasta onto his fork. "I think you're going to like what you find here."
"Yes, please," she groans, slumping in her seat. "Can we go tonight?"
"I think it's good for you," dad says, smirking at her. "You haven't been this starved for romantic company since you were twelve, Janeen," he says. "You'd think it gave you a little time for introspection. I think you should take a few more days, really think about the meaning of life and the source of happiness." He waves a vague hand. "All that."
"I hate introspection," Janeen grumbles, glaring down at her plate and taking a big bite of focaccia. "And the source of happiness is a man - or preferably two - taking me -"
"All right," Kent says, holding up his hands and laughing. "I'm not sure we need all the details, Janeen."
She glares at him a little, but I see a grin starting on her face. "I'm not sure I need to get any lectures from you on this subject, Kent."
He scoffs a little, but grins too. "I am very discreet, Janeen. Always have been."
"Oh please," she says, rolling her eyes. "It's like you actually think that the walls on that boat were thick -"
My jaw drops and I blush horribly as I realize what she just said.
But to his credit, Kent just laughs and points his fork at her. "You'd better be careful, Janeen," he says with a smirk, completely unphased even though I'm so red that I cover my face with my hands. Daniel kicks my foot under the table and I can hear him laughing at me, but I just shake my head and refuse to look at anyone.
"Really, Kent?" she says, grinning and leaning forward into the challenge. "And why should I?"
"Because," he says, taking a little sip of his wine. "If you're not, I'm not going to give you your present."
I uncover my face a little, surprised and interested now. I glance at Janeen, who is suddenly beaming. "Present?" she says, sitting up straight and perky. "What present?"
"It's outside," Kent says calmly, but I can see that he's working hard to keep the smile from his face.
"What!?" Janeen says, jumping up from her seat and turning gleefully towards the front door. Curious, we all stand up with her, but Janeen beats us all to the front door, pulling it open and gasping loudly, her hands flying to her mouth.
"What is it?" Daniel asks, Jerome at his side as he too dashes for the door. And then Daniel's eyes go wide too as he sees whatever it is. "No way!" he shouts, laughing and turning to his dad in amazement. "Are you serious!?"
Kent gives a casual shrug as he comes to my side and we walk to the door, following my dad as Janeen, Jerome, and Daniel all fly out the front door towards whatever's there. I'm dying to know, but my desire to be next to Kent beats out even my curiosity, which is saying something.
But I give my own gasp as we finally get there and I see what's waiting outside.
Four very, very flashy cars are lined up outside the house - two of them, the black and the blue ones, look very sporty and fast. Though the white convertible sedan and the silver SUV are more practical, one can tell at a glance that they're expensive. And considering that I know Kent's taste in cars? I'd guess very expensive.
"Dad, this is insane," Daniel says, laughing and going to the blue car and pulling the door open. "A Maserati!? Amazing."
Kent shrugs, but I can tell he is pleased. Dad, standing on Kent's other side, whistles his approval.
"Wait, wait!" Janeen calls out, hustling to Daniel's side and smacking him on the arm before he can climb into the car. "He said the present was for me - how do you know this one isn't mine?"
"Because it's mine," Daniel says, dismissing her and climbing into the driver's seat, clearly excited. Jerome bends over next to Daniel, peering into the car and beginning to chatter boy-talk about how fast it can go or whatever.
Janeen scowls and turns to Kent as the arbiter. Kent just laughs and shrugs, "Nah, the kids right, Janeen," he says, his smile deepening. "The black one's for you."
And Janeen stares at him for a second as if she doesn't believe it and then her gaze whips to the little black sports car - clearly a vintage classic, not a new model - and she stares at it for a moment before shrieking in joy and dashing for Kent. I step aside quickly as Janeen throws herself in Kent's arms, laughing and mumbling her thanks and excitement a little incoherently.
"You're welcome," Kent says, pulling away from her.
"Can I take it out for a test run!?" she asks, turning eagerly towards the car.
"You can do whatever you want with it," he says, and she gasps with joy, "as soon as you show me you can capably drive a stick shift."
Janeen's face falls instantly and she scowls at him. "I can drive stick!" she protests, stepping away and crossing her arms.
"Like I said," Kent says, grinning and leaning down a little to look her in the eye, "you can have the keys when you show me you can drive stick."
She narrows her eyes at him again but then her joy overtakes her and she dashes over to the little car. Dad goes with her, admiring it and starting to chat with Janeen about all of the details he thinks she should know about that I know she'll forget in an instant. I step closer, wrapping my arm around his. "This was so nice of you Kent," I say, watching my sister with glee, but then -
I look at the cars again, and start to count, and realize...
"Hey," I continue, frowning up at him. "Where's mine?"
"You don't need a car, Fay," Kent says, laughing a little as he looks down at me.
"Yes, I do!" I protest.
"I'll drive you wherever you need to go," Kent says, "or Jerome will, in the sedan -"
I squeak in protest and smack him on the shoulder. "I want a real car! One for me! If Janeen gets one, I should get one -"
"Fay," Kent says, smirking at me and shaking his head. "You haven't wanted to drive yourself a single moment since you moved in -"
"It's different now!"
"Fine," he says, his smirk deepening. "Name one of those cars - a single one- and I'll buy you whatever car you want tomorrow."
And I hesitate, looking out over the cars because...
Damn it. Even though Daniel said the name of one of them thirty seconds ago...
I scowl, knowing I've been beat.
"Fine," I say, pouting and leaning against him. "But you're getting me one. As soon as I learn the names of these," I say, pointing around at them.
"Any one you want," he murmurs, pulling me close and kissing my head. "But honestly, Fay, don't be offended - I just thought Janeen..."
He hesitates a little and I look up at him.
"Well," he says, looking back down at me with a shrug. "She likes her independence, doesn't she? And she's been a good sport these past few weeks, but if we're going to make her live in a farmhouse by the sea, she's going to need a way to get around." "Well, why that one?" I ask, pondering it - because it's certainly not a new car, even though I'm sure he didn't buy her anything unsafe.
"Because," he says quietly. "If your sister is going to be driving alone around this country, I want everyone who sees her to know that she comes from people who take care of her. People will think twice about messing with a girl in a vintage Porsche. A classic car for
a classic girl," he says with a determined nod. "It suits her. She deserves the best, and I want everyone who sees her to know it."
I shake my head as I stare at Kent for a moment, because that is...so incredibly sweet and thoughtful. He smiles down at me, perhaps intuiting my thoughts.
"Don't give me too much credit," he murmurs, pulling me close again and tucking me under his chin as I wrap my arms around his waist. "I want this house empty as often as possible, so I can -"
"Stop it," I mutter, smacking him lightly on the chest and blushing again to remember what Janeen said about the ship having thin walls. "Someone will hear you."
"Precisely my point," he murmurs, and then he laughs to see how red my cheeks are and he kisses me like he can't help it. And I kiss him back, not caring who sees, because...well, because I guess he's right.
They are just going to have to get used to it.
Because this man? I can't keep my hands off him, and I have no intention of trying anytime soon.
Even though...well, even though I plan to betray him tomorrow.
But just a very tiny little bit.
Chapter 229
We all stay up very late that night, gathered around a fire pit just off to the left of the pool. I'm curled up next to Kent, his arm around me on a little outdoor loveseat as my family laughs and chats around the fire. As the night grows darker and the stars start to come out, I find myself thinking about how grateful I am for Kent, who is so secretly thoughtful about details he never takes credit for.
For instance, this fire pit was ready to go, fully stocked with wood and lighter fluid, and even marshmallows and little sticks to roast them on, because I mentioned once - months ago - that I liked them. And everyone's favorite drinks are already here on ice. I mean, he, Jerome, and Daniel were all easy - they all drink the same whiskey - but my dad's American beer and Janeen's rum and diet coke with lime? How the hell did he have that here, waiting for us? So, I curl up closer to him, and his arm tightens around me, and a little ball of happiness in my chest just grows and grows.
But honestly, as my family celebrates with more drinks as the night passes, I'm a little grateful that I'm pregnant. Because even though I'm jealous and want to be celebrating alongside them in this particular way, I know that tomorrow I'm going to need my wits. And Daniel, even though he's drinking, is showing more restraint than he usually does. He meets my eyes at one point, giving me a little nod, letting me know that he understand that he has to keep it under control.
Because we are getting up early, and he's my driver.
But, despite that, the party goes long into the night with a lot of joy and laughter as we sit by our little farmhouse by the sea. Kent turns to me as I stifle my third yawn.
"Come on," he says, starting to stand up. "Let's get you to bed."
"No!" I protest, trying to hold him down with my weight even though I know it's not going to work. "I don't want to break up the party!"
"You're tired," he says, standing and bending to pick me up, but I swat his hands away and stand up myself, wanting to stretch my legs.
"Fine, fine," I sigh, but then I groan as the others start to get up too. "No!" I protest. "No, don't go to bed just because I am!"
"We're sleepy too, Fay," Dad says, leaning in to give me a kiss on the cheek. "You're not breaking anything up."
And I scowl, not really believing him, but I give in as Daniel pours some water on the fire and we all begin to troop into the house. When Kent moves away from me for a moment, cleaning some stuff up in the kitchen before we turn in, Daniel is instantly at my side. "We still on?" Daniel asks, raising an eyebrow.
"5 am," I whisper with a little nod, brushing his arm with my hand. "I'll come to your room. You all ready?"
"Sure am," he says, and then without another word he strides away. Because we don't need to say anything else. We've been planning this for weeks.
I reach out a hand for Kent as he finishes up, and he takes it, and we walk quietly over to our room. To my surprise, Kent is more subdued than I've seen him before. We quietly go through the business of getting ready for bed - brushing teeth, me changing into pajamas and him stripping down to his underwear. But to my shock, Kent leaves his clothes in a heap on the floor before he moves to the bed. I stare at the clothes and then at his back as he walks away -
Because Kent? I have never seen him be messy before.
How much did he have to drink? Am I finally meeting drunk Kent?
Shrugging it off - because he seems fine, honestly, just super tired - I leave the clothes where they are and move to the bed myself. But again to my surprise, Kent is basically asleep when I get there. He pulls me close against him, my back to his front, but instead of moving his hands across my body like he usually does...
Kent just tucks his head against my shoulder and falls asleep.
"Wow," I murmur, my eyebrows going up in surprise as well as - I'll admit it - a little disappointment. But I shrug, not bothering to think about it much because I really am sleepy too.
And so I close my eyes, and fall asleep, knowing that the little watch Daniel secretly gave me is going to beep at 4:55 in the morning.
But also knowing that I'm going to be awake before it.
Because tomorrow is an important day, and mob bosses? We wake up before our alarms.
I prove myself correct a few hours later when my eyes sleepily open. But I'm awake almost instantly, my anxiety for the day immediately taking the reins. I lean over, my hand going to the wristwatch on the bedside table, and when I flip it over I see that it's 4:46. Perfect. I hastily switch off the alarm function.
Moving slowly so as not to jostle him, I turn over to look at Kent. But as my eyes fall on him, I realize that being careful was completely unnecessary.
Kent continues to sleep more deeply than I think I've ever seen him sleep before. I mean, I swear that sometimes I've woken him up just by looking at him. But today?
Today, Kent's mouth is a little open, his face pillowed against his own bicep, and he's completely out.
I resist the urge to run my fingers through his hair and kiss his cheek, not wanting to tempt fate. Instead, I just sigh a little and slowly get out of bed, moving for the door the moment my feet touch the tiles. Our bedroom door gives a little creek when I pull it open, but when I look over my shoulder I realize that not even that woke him.
With a little shrug of gratitude for my good luck - honestly, I thought I'd have to be way sneakier than this - I hurry out of the room and pull the door shut behind me, grimacing a little at the click that sounds.
Then I hurry through the empty, quiet house, padding down the hall to the corridor where the rest of the bedrooms are. When I reach the first door on the left - the room I know is Daniel and Jerome's - I'm pleased to see a light already on inside. Slowly, I push open the door and peek in.
"Oh, thank god," Daniel says, sighing when he sees me.
Quickly, I flit into the room and push the door shut, nodding when I see that he's already dressed in his suit.
"Do you have my clothes?" I ask, moving to his side and giving him a hasty kiss on the cheek.
Daniel nods and gestures to where Jerome is, and I laugh a little to see him at the back of the room, using a steamer to get the final wrinkles out of the very simple, very chic, very expensive dress that Daniel and I spent quite a long time picking out for this occasion. I move over to my friend, greeting him a hasty good morning.
"Morning, baby Fay," he says, giving me a sleepy smile. Then he looks down at my belly and his smile deepens, "morning, Fay's baby."
I laugh, starting to pull off my pajamas as he finishes up and takes my dress off the hanger. When I'm in my underwear, Jerome helps me pull it over my head and zips me up as Daniel tosses a basic makeup set and hairbrush on the bed where I can see it. "Any changes to the plan?" I ask Daniel as I start to put on some simple makeup in their mirror.
"Nope," he says, his voice tight. "Was it tough getting away from Kent this morning?"
"Not at all," I say, finishing up my mascara. "Honestly, it was kind of crazy - he was like, sleeping sleeping."
In the mirror I see Daniel smirk a little and I turn suddenly, staring at him. "What was that for?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
"What?" he says, playing innocent.
But I just narrow my eyes even further.
"What," he says, grinning and running a hand through his hair. "I might have given him...a mild sedative in his whiskey last night."
"Daniel!" I gasp, appalled. "Why didn't you tell me that!? I was so freaked out!"
Daniel openly laughs at me now. "Seriously, Fay? You're going to yell at me now for keeping part of a plan from you, even though you openly benefitted from the plan and probably wouldn't tell me to do any different after you saw the results?" He grins now, slipping his hands into his pockets. "The hypocrisy this morning is...very rich."
I scowl at him, but I turn back to the mirror and run the brush over my hair before pinning it back away from my face. Because he's absolutely right. Daniel did to me precisely what we're doing to Kent, and I have no room to complain.
Jerome yawns as he carries a pair of pumps over to me when I'm finished with my hair and my face. I nod to him as I pull them on and then turn around for the boys. "Well?" I ask. "Do I pass?"
"My perfect pregnant wife," Daniel murmurs, coming to wrap an arm around my waist and kiss me on the cheek. "Are you ready for this?"
"Not nearly," I say, shaking my head up at him. "But, we're doing it anyway."
"Yup," he says, kissing me on the forehead. Then he turns to Jerome. "You know your job?"
Jerome gives a lazy little salute, his eyes already on the bed. "Tell Kent nothing, don't let him leave the house. Try not to get punched."
"You're not very good at that last part," I consider, grimacing a little as I lean against Daniel.
"Only when you're involved, Fay Lippert," Jerome says, tossing me a glare as he flops back down onto the bed and gives us a thumbs-up. "Now go away so I can get some sleep."
I hesitate, wanting to tell Jerome to go sleep out in the living room or something so he can be there when Kent wakes up -
"Don't worry," Jerome mumbles, sensing my anxiety. "You seriously think Kent is going to let anyone sleep the moment he realizes you're gone?"
"True," I say with a sigh. "Maybe slip another one of those sedatives in his breakfast..."
Daniel laughs and then turns me towards the door. "See ya, 'Rome!" he says over his shoulder.
"Have fun! Don't get killed!"
And then Jerome pulls the blanket up over his shoulders, and Daniel flicks off the light, and together my husband and I sneak out of the villa.
Chapter 230
"Maserati," I murmur as I slide into the front seat of Daniel's new car, not forgetting Kent's promise to buy me my own car if I can learn the names of the others. "What?" Daniel asks as he turns the car on while I buckle my seatbelt.
"Nothing," I sigh, looking at our dark villa, my eyes in particular on the windows to the master suite. No lights turn on with the sound of the engine, which I take as a good sign.
Daniel takes a deep breath, staring out the windshield for a long moment. "We're sure we want to do this?" he asks, a little fear in his voice.
"We're sure," I say, letting no hesitation come into mine. Because I have thought this through a thousand times, and I know this is the best way to get us to our goal. The pieces have been in place for a long, long time and now? It's time to make our move. "Kent's going to kill us," Daniel says on a sigh, but he starts to pull into the driveway anyway.
"You leave Kent to me," I murmur, making Daniel laugh a little, I assume because he's more than willing to do that. But, really, once we explain everything? I really do think that Kent will forgive us.
Especially if I have a little time to...persuade him.
"All right," Daniel says as we pull off the property and hit the road in the dark of the Italian morning. "Here we go."
We drive for a long, long time and I keep my eyes fastened on the countryside, delighted by it. Sicily is just so incredibly beautiful, even from the highways. Daniel and I don't say much to each other, some light music that neither of us listen to filling up the quiet. Daniel doesn't put anything into a GPS, apparently knowing where he's going from memory.
I frown a little as we pull of the highway and he confidently makes turn after turn.
"Seriously?" I ask, frowning at him a little. "You just...remember where to go?"
"I learned how to drive here, Fay," he says, sending me a little smirk. "I came every summer as a teenager. I know these roads like the backs of my hands."
My eyes shift, then, to the literal backs of his hands, which are long and thin - one significant difference between him and his father, really. Kent's hands are broader, but Daniels - while still large - look like they belong to a musician.
He must have gotten them from his mother.
"Still," I say, trying to distract myself. "It's an island, but it's a big island. I can't believe you remember how to get here."
"Fay," Daniel says, looking at me with a sigh. "On this island? All roads lead to this one house."
And I gulp a little because...
Well, while Kent was a mafia boss in America, he was one of many, and he operated at least with the veneer of secrecy.
The people we're going to see today?
They're more like kings.
Daniel sighs again and reaches out a hand to take mine as we pull up to a set of gates. To my surprise, when Daniel rolls down his window he doesn't speak into a speaker. Instead, a guard comes forward, leaning down to speak with him.
Obviously, I don't understand a word of it. But still, the way that Daniel speaks to the man - with complete authority in his voice, almost dismissive...
I realize, quite suddenly, that if these people are kings?
Daniel is very much a long-lost prince, returning home.
The guard steps away for a moment, his eyebrows raised in surprise as he looks Daniel up and down, and then he speaks through a radio to someone presumably inside. A moment passes and then the guard nods to Daniel, pressing a button so that the gate swings forward.As Daniel pulls through the gate and starts down the tree-lined drive ahead of us, the road so long we can't yet see the house. I take a moment to look over at my husband as we drive, and then I look down at my stomach. Because if Daniel is a prince... Then this baby, at least on paper? It's next in line, just after him.
And me? Well...
But all of these thoughts are wiped from my mind as the trees fall away and the largest, grandest house I have ever seen in my entire life rises before us. My mouth legitimately falls open as I stare up at what is honestly a palace made of yellow stone with a broad terra-cotta roof. Flowered vines crawl all over it, climbing walls covered in balconies and terraces and windows that are all thrown open to catch the fresh morning air.
I'm still gaping as Daniel pulls around a stone fountain and puts the car in park in front of the incredible structure that can barely be called a home. Kids run laughing out of a ground-level door, but they completely ignore us, heading for some kind of incredible garden to the left that's completely bursting with flowers.
Daniel's face is stern as he unbuckles his seatbelt, but he bursts into laughter when he glances at me and sees my expression.
"Well, Fay," he says, his face now bright with his smile. "Welcome to Villa Bianci. What do you think?"
I blink at him, completely stunned. "Um," I say, shaking my head a little in awe, "I think I married the right Lippert." Daniel laughs again at that and reaches out to put a fond hand on my shoulder.
"Seriously?" I continue, ducking my head so I can peer towards the top of the house. "This is where you spent your summers as a kid?"
"It is." Daniel says, his voice soft, "But it's also where Kent grew up."
My mouth forms into an awed "o" as I realize that Daniel's right - that Kent has soo much history here. This is where he fell in love with Natalia, where he met Lenai...
And my heart wrenches suddenly with guilt to be here without him.
But before I have time to indulge that emotion, a familiar figure strides from the house with open arms. My face breaks into a grin.
"Nephew!" Alessi shouts, and I glance at Daniel to see a wide and genuine smile on his face as he opens his car door and begins to step out. I follow, eager to greet Daniel's uncle because - well, because even as I recognize that Alessi was as much of a snake as Natalia, he was always nice to me. Or at least pretended to be. Like Ivan, I can't help but like him at least a little.
Alessi and Daniel wrap each other in tight hugs, pounding each other's backs as I climb out of the car and stand a little awkwardly to the side.
"How are you?" Alessi asks, speaking in English for my benefit. "We were so worried for you - we heard about the breakout, and then that you were missing, but nobody answered a phone or any email - we didn't know -"
But before Daniel can answer Alessi breaks away from him, moving towards me and sweeping me up into a hug of my own that makes me laugh with joy. "Fay, it is so good to see you, safe and sound," he murmurs, his words blurred against my hair as he fondly tucks his head close to mine. He steps back a little then, looking me up and down, his eyes in particular moving to my stomach. "And the baby, yes? The baby is well?"
"Baby's doing great," I say with a smile, running a fond hand over my stomach.
Alessi claps his hands together excitedly, apparently genuinely pleased to hear it. And why would he not be? That's his first great-nephew or -niece, for all he knows. He's got no real reason to doubt it.
"And your father," Alessi says, his face dropping a little as he moves again to Daniel's side. "How is he - where is he?" I study Alessi's face, seeing genuine worry there - and I remember again that Kent is more than a brother-in-law to Alessi - that they were best friends their entire childhood.
My heart sinks again with guilt, because Kent - he really should be here.
But I clench my jaw and work to dismiss the feeling, knowing that it's not going to do any good. This is chess, after all. There's no room for stray emotions.