The Don's Trust

Chapter 11

The next day, Valentina busied herself by watching the final season of an Italian soap on her phone. Not having subtitles wasn't a problem for her because she could perfectly understand it. It was one of the perks of growing up in an Italian family.

Goosebumps formed on her skin as she threw the velvet blanket off of her. Valentina stripped herself from her shirt and grabbed a hoodie from her wardrobe to wear instead.

Valentina went to the kitchen and made herself a cup of green tea. She brought her hot drink with her, placed it on the coffee table and let herself fall onto the leather couch. She turned the television on and watched a documentary about technology in the health sector.

Vito, who sat on the other side of the sofa, came closer and invaded Valentina's personal space. The remote was taken out of her hands and was used to lower the volume. It wasn't until Valentina focused on Vito, she saw he was on the phone.

She waited for Vito to go back to his former sitting spot, but he didn't. He stayed right next to her. His dominant presence resulted in Valentina becoming more self-conscious.

Valentina's eyes were glued to the flat-screen but her ears had all of their attention on Vito's voice. She didn't miss hearing him scoff at the person on the other side of the phone.

"He was at her school building, Christopher.''

Great. He is talking about me, she thought.

Vito's gaze was on Valentina as he continued listening to his brother. "Why would they re-open a case that old?''

Thank God! He isn't talking about me anymore, she thought in relief.

She was mistaken.

Valentina scooted to the edge, grabbed her tea and brought it closer to her mouth. Before taking a sip, she blew a few times so it would cool off some more. She leaned back on the couch after placing her cup back on the table and had her focus back on the screen.

After a fair amount of time, Valentina stopped eavesdropping on Vito's conversation. One thing Valentina took note of was his speech. Be it a stranger or a family member, he always spoke in a business-like manner.

Valentina was so engrossed in the documentary, she didn't realise Vito ended his phone call. He stayed beside her, thinking about his next steps. He was in deep thought about the mafia, the police and the re-opened case. Vito leaned forward and rubbed his temples with his hand.

His action brought Valentina out of her zone and asked, "Did something happen?''

Vito turned to his head sideways. His frown casting a shadow over his eyes.

"Nevermind,'' she quickly added.

I am officially an idiot, she mentally slapped herself for doing the exact opposite of what he asked her to do.

"I'm going to rest for a second,'' he sighed heavily and positioned himself to lie down on the couch. "Do you mind?''

"No,'' she said before thinking better of the word coming out of her mouth.

Vito rested his head on Valentina's lap and closed his eyelids. The hard look on his face remained the same as ever. He took this time to completely clear his mind.

This is completely and utterly my fault, Valentina thought to herself.

She tried to keep herself as calm as possible but didn't go without effort. The tickling sensation of Vito's hair against her bare skin made it harder for her to stay still and his close proximity was somewhat foreign to her. Instead of keeping her mind occupied about the man resting on her lap, she redirected her attention to the television.

It took a while before Valentina got used to the current situation. When she did get used to it, she experienced the overall ambience in the room as pleasant and comfortable. The dim lighting created a cosy feeling and the warmth of each other's company gave a sense of closeness to each other.

Valentina planned on waiting patiently for Vito to get up. She didn't know, however, that Vito had fallen asleep. As time ticked by she began to feel tingles in her legs. He was beginning to feel heavy and her legs were lightly trembling because of it.

Not much later, Valentina poked his arm, and it resulted in getting him into a half-awake state. She could feel the vibrations of Vito's deep groan against her legs. In another attempt to get his full attention, she placed her hand on his shoulder and shook him. He finally woke up. She could feel herself blush when his gaze was on her.

He sat up, pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled, "Fell asleep.''

Valentina only nodded as she ran her hands over her thighs. The action didn't go unseen by Vito.

"Sorry.''

Valentina was shocked and a little overwhelmed by his apology. She would never get used to this side of him. Her expectations of the Don being kind to her were low. Vito was never rude to her, but he wasn't exactly a gentleman either.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine.''

"Can you just accept the apology?'' he ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Yes, sorry. Apology accepted.''

Afterwards, no words were spoken between the two. The silence in the room became more evident when Valentina pressed the on and off button of the remote. It was late and she wanted to snuggle up in her bed.

"It is better if you stay in your room tomorrow.''

Valentina stopped herself from frowning at his words. Her inner voice of reason tried to come up with a logical explanation. Like the previous times, he usually had a reason for saying or doing certain things.

"My brothers will be coming over to discuss some things."

"The two from the other day?'' she referred to Damian and Christopher.

"Yes, and another one.''

Valentina thought back on the day she met the oldest two Grimaldi brothers. Going by their first meeting, she had a dislike towards Christopher. He had an air of hostility around him when they met. Valentina hadn't quite formed an opinion on Damian. He was not hostile, rude or mean to her. It was the opposite, he was relatively polite.

Valentina could only wonder what to other Grimaldi brother would be like.