His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)
His Tesoro: Chapter 51

I was on the kitchen stool, using the pasta maker I’d found in the back of the pantry, when the door opened and Sienna skipped in.

“Sofiya! I’ve missed you! Matteo is keeping you to himself way too much.”

I met her hug, keeping my floured hands and wrist braces in the air so I didn’t get it all over her cute outfit.

“He’s been very protective since the attack,” I said.

“Some say protective, some say overbearing monster.”

I grinned. I’d loved how intense things had been with Matteo and me the past few days, but I’d missed Sienna.

“Homemade pasta for lunch? Girl, you’re making me look bad. You’re practically more Italian than I am.”

“I’m trying,” I said with a little shrug. “Cooking is the one thing I’ve always been good at.” I was wearing my wrist braces today to keep them stable while I used the pasta maker.

“I’m sure you’re good at about a million things,” Sienna said.

It was sweet of her to say, but it wasn’t true. I wasn’t very smart and I barely had any skills, but feeding others made me feel like I was bringing some goodness into the world.

She hopped up on the seat beside me. “How was the party last night?”

I passed another sheet of pasta through the machine. “It was… well, I’m not sure. Matteo talked Mafia business with the men. Most of the women were pretty standoffish.” I was used to the stares and whispers from the Bratva wives, but I’d hoped things might be different here. “But I met this woman named Leona.”

Sienna’s eyes widened. “Leona Byrne?”

“Yeah. Do you know her?”

“Holy shit. I didn’t know she was back in town.” Sienna handed me the next sheet of dough. “We were friends, but I haven’t seen her in ages. Her mom, Aurora, was best friends with my mamma. I don’t know exactly what happened, but from what I’ve gathered, I think mamma helped Aurora leave the Family and marry her Irish boyfriend. I think they were happy together until my uncle came into power. He killed Aurora for defecting.” She cleared her throat, and my heart squeezed.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, well… Anyway, Leona grew up in Boston, but she wanted to go to NYU for college.”

My lips parted in surprise. I had so many questions. “She went to college?”

“Yeah. She had to get special permission from Matteo to be allowed in the city, but I forced him to agree so I would have a friend in my program. We both studied business management and were close in school. But once she graduated, she officially joined the Irish Mob, so she’s not supposed to be in New York at all.”

“Matteo wasn’t happy to see her at the party.”

Sienna snorted. “I bet. Did he tell you what she does?”

“Umm, he said she’s an assassin?”

Sienna grinned. “Yeah. It’s pretty badass. The Irish teach their girls fighting and combat, and Leona always had a talent for it.”

It wasn’t hard to believe. Leona’s entire energy screamed danger.

“Were you taught combat and all of that?”

Sienna shook her head. “I can shoot a gun in a pinch, and Angelo’s taught me some self-defense, but that’s it.”

“I could teach you how to shoot, if you wanted,” I said, remembering that there were two things I was good at: cooking and shooting.

Her eyebrows raised. “Really?”

“Yeah, my brother taught me. I’m still trying to get Matteo to let me go to the shooting range, but I guess we’ll have to wait until the Albanian threat is taken care of, anyway.”

“The second it is, let’s do it! And I bet Angelo would teach you self-defense skills, too.”

My lips curled into a smile as I imagined what Matteo would think about that. “I’d love that.” I moved on to cutting the pasta into strips. “I didn’t know you went to college. Is it normal in the Family for girls to go to school?”

“My papà started allowing it back in the day. Mamma wanted to study Italian Literature, and he could never say no to her.” Sienna smiled, but there was an edge of sadness to it. “He permitted Aria to study medicine, and slowly it became more common. I guess it’s not like that in the Bratva?”

“Not at all. I don’t know any women who went to college. Mila and I didn’t even get to go to normal school.” My cheeks heated with embarrassment. “We had tutors come to the house, but even that stopped several years ago. I’m sure I’d fail if I ever took a real class.”

Sienna squeezed my hand. “I’m sure you would do great. I can help you sign up for classes if you’re ever interested.”

My mind whirred. Would Matteo really let me take classes? I could read and write pretty well, but other than that, my education was severely lacking. “I’d always thought it would be fun to take some culinary classes,” I admitted softly.

“Oh, that would be fun. Maybe I could join you. I don’t know a thing about cooking or baking. Matteo and I pretty much survived off of microwave meals after our parents died. Once he became Don again, he hired Giana, and she’s cooked for us all these years. I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s going to love you.”

I was a little nervous to meet this woman who obviously meant so much to Sienna and Matteo, but it would also be nice to have more company.

I got down from the stool and grabbed my rollator. I moved to the lower cabinet, leaning down to grab a pot, and was hit with a wave of dizziness. Noodle was at my side instantly, and I leaned against him, the room spinning.

“Sofiya?” Sienna’s voice was hazy, like it was coming to me through water.

I took a deep breath, clinging to Noodle until my vision cleared. He nudged me until I was sitting down on my rollator.

“Are you okay?” Sienna was by my side. “Should I call Matteo or Aria?”

I smiled as I rubbed Noodle’s head. “All good. Just got dizzy.”

“What can I do?”

“Can you grab a pot from under there?” I pointed at the lower cabinet. “I was going to make cacio e pepe if that’s okay with you?”

Sienna grabbed the pot and filled it, throwing concerned glances my way. “You could feed me plain pasta and it would be fine with me, but cacio e pepe sounds perfect. If you’re sure you’re up to it? If not, you could tell me what to do and I will attempt not to burn the kitchen down.”

I snorted. “No, I really think I’m okay now.” I grabbed my glass of water off the counter and drank the rest of it down. I needed to stay hydrated.

Sienna moved the pot to the top of the stove. I stood again, this time moving slowly, but my dizziness had passed. I busied myself with the pasta preparations.

“That smells so good,” Sienna said, looking over my shoulder at what I was doing. “I think we need to have lunch together every day.”

I grinned. “I’m not sure Matteo would be thrilled with that arrangement.”

“We can’t all bend to his will,” she said, rolling her eyes. “By the way, how did he react to seeing Leona?”

“He wasn’t particularly thrilled, but he didn’t do anything to her.”

Sienna smirked. “Don’t worry, Leona can hold her own.”

I bet she could. But I still wouldn’t tell Matteo I’d found a card with her phone number tucked inside my purse.

“How are things going between you two?” Sienna asked.

I blushed. “Matteo and me? Good.”

“If he wasn’t my brother, I’d be demanding all the dirty details because that blush says it all.”

I laughed. “No dirty details, promise.” I hesitated before adding, “He did give me a gift this morning.”

“Ooh, what is it?”

“Umm… an entire closet full of jewelry,” I mumbled, my face heating further. Would Sienna think it was too much? That I didn’t deserve it?

Sienna gasped. “Can I see?”

I nodded and she took off for the closet while I finished up lunch. Her eyes were bright when she returned.

“Damn, my brother did good. Well, whoever he hired to pick that stuff out did good. You’ll look amazing in all of it.”

“You think I should really wear it? It all seems so… excessive.”

“That is the point,” Sienna said with a wink. “You’re in the Mafia now. We live for excess.”

“Did you and Sienna have a good time today?” Matteo asked.

We were curled up on the couch. It was almost midnight, but neither of us wanted to go to bed. He’d only gotten home a few minutes ago, and I wanted as much time with him as possible.

“We did. I made pasta and she invited herself over for lunch every day from now on.”

Matteo scoffed, trailing his hand over my hip. He must have turned up the heat when he got home because I was comfortable in a cami and lace boy shorts, and he was shirtless. I trailed my fingers down the tattoos on his chest. I’d looked up what the words across his chest meant in Italian: family, honor, loyalty. I wondered how I fit into that equation.

“Why did you give me a closet full of jewelry?” I whispered.

“I didn’t. It’s just the back wall.”

I pinched his nipple and laughed when he jumped. He gave me a hard smack on my ass but couldn’t hide the way his lips twitched.

“Why?” I asked again.

“Because you deserve it.”

“It’s too much.”

“No, it’s not. Don’t argue with me, tesoro.”

I pressed my smile into his chest. “Okay, miliy.”

A satisfied little smirk bloomed across Matteo’s face at hearing my nickname for him. He played with my hair, his eyes closed and expression as serene as I’d ever seen it. The movie we’d put on played quietly in the background, forgotten. It was moments like this that I wished he wasn’t the Mafia Don and I wasn’t the Bratva princess. I wished we could just be Matteo and Sofiya.

“How was Mafia business today?”

His lips turned up in an almost-smile. “Fucking terrible. It took me away from you.”

“You sweet talker.” I cupped his face and kissed his cheek. “Oh, I was doing some reading today and I learned a new word.” I’d purchased some self-help books in addition to my growing horde of romance books. Personal growth and all that.

“What word is that?”

“Alexithymia.”

Matteo cocked his eyebrow.

“It’s when you struggle to feel and name your emotions. A lot of people who experience childhood trauma apparently have it.” I kept my voice neutral, like I was just sharing an interesting fact, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from flicking to his face and then back down to my hands.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I just thought it was interesting.”

Matteo moved quickly, angling his body towards me and caging me so his body pinned me against the cushions.

“Are you trying to diagnose me, tesoro?”

I gazed up at him, keeping my eyes wide and innocent, but I couldn’t stop the slight twitch of my lips. “I would never do that, miliy.”

“Of course not,” he said, gripping my chin between his thumb and forefinger.

“Anyway, you’re very in touch with your emotions,” I deadpanned.

Matteo swore as his lips turned up in an unwilling smile. “Brat.”

“Your brat.” I pressed my lips to his, running my fingers through his hair and pulling him closer. I nipped his lip and pressed my tongue against his, loving the taste of him. He grasped my neck, but instead of deepening the kiss, he pulled away, leaving me cold. A hint of rejection worked through me.

“Don’t look at me like that, tesoro. You are irresistible. But I have to talk to you about something.” His serious tone made my stomach drop.

He twirled a piece of my hair around his finger. “We’ve arranged a dinner tomorrow. With your father. He’s coming into town.”

I froze, but my heart certainly didn’t. It sped up, as if knowing I would be within a few miles of my father soon. I knew it wasn’t realistic, but I’d hoped never to see him again.

“I know, tesoro.” He pulled me onto his lap, cradling me to his chest. “I don’t like it. But we need his support in this war with the Albanians. Arben has formed an alliance with someone, but I can’t figure out who. I should have been able to end this weeks ago.”

I hated the self-blame I saw in his eyes. “It’s not your fault.” I rested my head on his chest. I didn’t know the extent of what was happening, but if partnering with the Pakhan would help my husband destroy his enemies faster, I wouldn’t make it harder for him. “Do you want me to come to the dinner?”

He sighed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I won’t force you. But the wives will be in attendance.”

“My mama?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

There was no way for me to avoid it. My absence would be questioned, and Matteo’s authority with it. “I’ll come, then,” I whispered. “Where is it?”

His arms tightened around me. “My cousin’s restaurant. We’ll be the only ones there.”

“Is Mila coming?”

“I don’t think so.” At my dejected expression, he brushed his fingers across my cheek. “We’ll have her visit once this is all settled. Okay, tesoro?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I just miss her. And I’m afraid the Pakhan will do something to hurt her.”

Matteo’s expression darkened. “What makes you say that?”

Shit. I couldn’t have him walk into a meeting with my father ready to murder. “No reason.”

“You’re a terrible liar.” He rearranged me so I was facing him and cupped my face with both hands. “Tell me. Did he hurt you? Raise a hand against you?”

I chewed my lip. “I don’t think I should answer that.”

Fire blazed in his dark eyes. “I will kill him, Sofiya. I swear it, I will fucking end him.”

“No, you will not. You’re in an alliance with him. You need his support.”

“No one hurts you and gets away with it.”

“He hasn’t gotten away with it.” I smoothed my fingers over the lines in his furrowed brow. “I’m the one who got away. To my new, amazing life with you.”

He swallowed hard. “I won’t kill him… yet. But I swear to God, tesoro, he will pay. You’re not coming tomorrow night.”

“Yes, I am. I have to, or you’ll look weak.” If I wasn’t there, it would suggest that Matteo didn’t have control over his household.

He knew I was right because he let out a displeased sound in the back of his throat before gripping my jaw and pulling me in for a hard kiss. “I’ll protect you. I vow it. And one day I will punish him for every bit of pain he’s ever caused you.”

We stared at each other, the silence holding all the unsaid words between us—my longing, my love for him. I leaned into his chest and we stayed there, wrapped in each other, as the movie continued playing.