Kiss de La Notte - Book III (Mafia Romance)

Chapter Thirty-Two: Packing Lingerie

CIAO!!! 

VOTE AND LEAVE LOTS OF FEEDBACK ON THIS CHAPTER IF YOU'RE SIMPING REAL HARD FOR LUCIUS RIGHT ABOUT NOW LMAOOOO

Luckily, Gemma didn't have much to say to me when I came home that night. She'd been making Christmas ornaments with Nonna and Mia with the kit Lucius had given Mia. Apparently, Mia wanted a puppy for Christmas, so she was making a point to make every ornament have a little dog somewhere on it. Except for one she made Lucius, which had a painted ladybug with a Christmas hat on it.

"Why a ladybug?" I asked Mia with a laugh, as I stored the ornament carefully in my room.

"Nonna says ladybugs are good luck," Mia explained. "He's going to need a whole lot of it if he's getting married to you."

I feigned offense to her clear joke with a gasp. "Mia!"

"I'm just kidding, Korinna." She picked up the ornament with her small hand, smiling. "I painted him a ladybug because he's lucky to have you."

I clutched my chest, my eyes filling with tears. It was the last thing I'd expected her to say. "Mia, so that's so sweet." I pulled her into a hug, which she normally wasn't very big on. But she seemed to hold onto me a little tighter than usual and I realized how badly I needed that. "I'm lucky to have you." I pulled back to put my hands on her shoulders, trying not to cry so it wouldn't ruin the makeup on my bruise. "You're the best little sister ever, you know that?"

"Duh," Mia said with a big smile, pushing her hair out of her face with her palm the way kids did. "Are you going to help us make sugar cookies with Nonna this week? I promised Alice I would bring her some for us to decorate."

"You've got a playdate with Alice?"

"Mhm. Her mom said we can have a playdate next week, but Daddy said only if our bodyguards come." She whipped out her I-Pad from the little backpack she carried around on her back often. "Want to see this Tik Tok of a giant booger?"

The next two days were spent studying for finals and making cookies in the evening with my family.

Well, Nonna, Gemma, and Mia. Papa was working more than usual and on one of his business trips. He was getting into one of his annoying perfectionist cycles, where he never took a break until everything was done. I was kinda worried about him and tried to text him updates about the family once a day. Gemma claimed he was taking off for the holidays and we would be seeing more of him soon.

Nonna asking me a thousand questions about Lucius and where I had slept when we'd been together during the snowstorm at his house. I made sure to tell her we'd slept in separate beds to avoid any whacks with a wooden spoon. Nonna thought I was a virgin and was without a doubt expecting I'd stay that way until my wedding night.

"How's it going with Lucius, anyway?" Nonna asked in Italian when Gemma had taken Mia upstairs to bed. "Does he treat you nice?"

"Better than I expected. He's lot more emotional than I thought he would be, esecially for mafiosi."

Nonna nodded like she immediately understood, untying her apron. "Your grandfather was a difficult man to navigate. Closed off and private about his business things. A super bad boy."

I laughed under my breath. "I get that..."

"It's why your grandfather and I were so unhappy," she said, making my head turn toward her. The sadness engraved into her soft features made my heart ache. "As you know, your grandfather and I were arranged to be married. We happened to be compatible and fell in deeply in love. But love isn't enough for a secure marriage. I know how it feels to be...conflicted about your partner's work. To care about deeply about a man because of who they are and feel like you can't be with them because of what they are. I thought he might change for me, but I was wrong, and our love turned bitter."