Mafia Legacy

Chapter Six-Luca

I glanced over at Charlotte as we pulled up to a red light, unable to contain my smirk. She was fidgeting like crazy, bouncing her foot and picking at her nail polish, not paying any attention to the rest of us in the car. We were all on our way to see Layla and to meet her new boyfriend. It should have been my job to be the nervous one, but Char was clearly anxious. I reached over and rested my hand on her thigh.

"Would you relax? You're more nervous than I am." I gave her a playful smile.

She returned it, relaxing just a little at my touch. "I'm not nervous. I just know this means a lot to Layla and I want it to go well."

"It's going to be fine. I promise to behave myself." I assured her, continuing on towards the restaurant. We'd picked a place halfway in between her university and our house so that Layla didn't have to drive back so far, so late. That's what they told me, at least. I had a sneaking suspicion it had more to do with my wife and daughter conniving against me, knowing I couldn't make a scene in public. I scoffed at the idea. Did they really not know me at all? Being in public wouldn't stop me in the slightest if the kid was a douche bag. I'd humor them though, because like Char said, this was importable to Layla and I wanted her to be happy. I wanted nothing else more in the world than for my kids to be happy.

"And you left your gun at home, correct?" She arched her eyebrow at me.

I smirked. "I left a gun at home, yes."

Her eyes widened. "Luca, I thought we talked about this."

"Would you stop it?" I chuckled. "You're wound so tight right now I think your brain might actually explode. You know I always keep a gun in the car. I'm not bringing it in, I swear."

"You better not." She narrowed her eyes at me.

A few minutes later, we were pulling up to the restaurant. I handed the keys to the valet, and we headed inside. The place they had picked out was on the river and had a large patio overlooking the water. It was busy and loud and one of those newer eclectic places, designed to draw in a younger crowd. Charlotte gave the hostess our name, and we waited in the front for a few minutes. The boys were arguing back and forth about something and Lucy was telling Charlotte about some field trip they were taking for school, but all I could focus on was the sight of my first baby girl walking into the restaurant with some guy attached to her arm, a look of pure charm and captivation on her face. It took a second for Layla to notice us, but that could have been because she was completely focused on him, a huge cheesy grin plastered on her face. The kind she usually only reserved for those she truly loved and cared about. He was equally smitten with her, hanging on her every word and reaching over to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. All the air was sucked out of my lungs as I watched them together. It was both beautiful and heartbreaking to see.

"Are you okay? You look like you're about to pass out." Char put her hand on my back, glancing up at me. She followed my gaze to the door where the kid was helping Layla take her coat off and hang it up on one of the hooks by the door. "Oh." A smile tugged at Char's face. She could see their connection, too.

Layla's attention broke away from him for a second and when she saw us, her face lit up. "Dad!" She shrieked, rushing across the waiting area and throwing her arms around my neck and nearly knocking me off my feet.

"Hi baby." I smiled, wrapping her in a tight hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you guys?" She grinned, pulling away. "Hi mom." She hugged Char.

"Hi sweetheart. It's so good to see you." Char beamed. "Your hair looks amazing."

"Do you like it? I lightened it a little, but I wasn't sure." Layla asked.