* * *
“And you’ll have Nolan take care of this mess alright? He’s never let me down on clean up.”
* * *
“Si. Don’t worry about me cugino.”
* * *
“English Domenico. I won’t worry. I trust you.”
* * *
Nico and Eve approached the door and said a final goodbye to Domenico. The scared teenager had grown up fast — almost too fast as far as Eve was concerned. As she got into Nico’s car, she felt like she was saying a different kind of goodbye to her home. Now that she was sure she wasn’t coming back, Eve felt like she had to say goodbye to everything. She hadn’t properly closed shop. She had never said a proper goodbye to Daniella, the girl who had spent so much time helping her and just being a friend.
* * *
She’d never said goodbye to her sister. Or anybody. Eve was escaping from her life in the dead of night and it was only all okay because she was with the man she loved. And the man she loved, loved her right back. Once they were in the car, Eve could finally acknowledge just how tense her body was.
* * *
They said nothing to each until they were outside of city limits.
* * *
“Are you doing alright dear?” Nico asked.
* * *
Eve shook her head, “I don’t know. I mean a man… a man… died.”
* * *
“I know. I’m sorry. Eve… I’m so sorry. You know this isn’t the life I want to live, right?”
* * *
“I know,” Eve said.
* * *
But she was also thinking about what that really meant. Now, they both had access to money and freedom was well on the way. They could live however they wanted and do whatever they wanted. Freedom to live and freedom to love. But could Nico really leave this all behind? His world was absolutely terrifying, sure, but he was also used to it. This was his normal.
* * *
“What are you thinking about?” Nico asked.
* * *
“Nothing,” Eve said, “Just thinking about New York.”
* * *
“I have a guy there. He’s getting us a place tonight in Long Island.”
* * *
“I’m scared Nico.”
* * *
Nico glanced over at her, “Don’t worry… I’m a very good driver.”
* * *
“Not about that,” Eve said, smiling at Nico afterwards.
* * *
“I promise you Eve, I’ll find a way to work this out.”
* * *
“I never got to say goodbye to anyone…”
* * *
Nico put his hand on Eve’s thigh again.
* * *
“I know… I will try to fix this for you Eve. I promise. But I can’t stay in Boston tonight. I can’t let you stay in Boston.”
* * *
“I understand. But I’m still scared.”
* * *
“And I love you.”
* * *
Eve smiled and settled into her seat. Nico started playing classical music like he always did. Eve tried to close her eyes and tried to block out the image of the man lying on the floor, of Giuseppe pointing a gun at her and of skinny, gaunt Domenico suddenly taking charge. She was surprised at just how tired she was as she slipped off into sleep.
* * *
When Eve woke up, she could tell they were close to Long Island. Closer to Long Island than Boston at least. Everything here was so much brighter and noisier than Boston. Nico still didn’t look like he needed a lick of sleep. Eve slid her hand onto his thighs and felt how warm he was.
* * *
“Good morning sleepyhead,” Nico said with a grin.
* * *
Eve noticed that he was right. It really was morning. The sky was a purplish, almost coral color as the sun began to rise. Eve looked out the window at the spread of brick buildings that lined every street. New York was already more diverse than Boston. Eve imagined that if she ever did have a baby with Nico, this baby would fit right in to this part of the world.
* * *
They didn’t have to wait much longer until they came to the apartment on Long Island. One of Nico’s friends was allowing him to use their downstairs apartment for the night. Nico never introduced Eve, but she didn’t mind. It was probably for her own protection.
* * *
By the time they got into bed, Nico was exhausted, but Eve wasn’t. She made herself a mug of brutally bitter instant coffee and sat up all morning as Nico passed out in bed, tired from an exceedingly long night.
9
New Beginnings
They stayed a week in New York without Eve complaining a bit and without her missing a beat. But throughout that week, Eve began to notice something different about her body. She was starting to notice that something was off. Her period was a couple days late but that didn’t bother Eve too much. It made sense that her period would be late considering the kind of stress that she’d been under.
* * *
Nico had helped her with the shop. And she’d called Daniella, her sister and everyone else to say goodbye. It wasn’t exactly a clean break but at least it got the job done. When it came to her store, Eve had to rely on Nico. It broke her heart to have to leave that place behind, but Nico promised that the business would be sold to someone else like her or a small family. The process was already under way.
* * *
Eve couldn’t believe that her store — the very place that she’d met Nico — was now going to be no longer. She tried to keep her grief to herself. Nico had bigger problems to worry about and Eve was back in that place where she wondered how safe they really were. Nico was muttering into the phone again and Eve could tell that he didn’t love having her explore the city alone. He was still scared, despite doing his best not to show it.
* * *
Eve waited for Nico to return from buying them dinner. She’d had a headache all afternoon and her nausea had been something else. She needed a doctor. Eve had entertained the notion that she might possibly be pregnant, but it didn’t make any sense.
* * *
She hadn’t had unprotected sex with Nico. They’d been careful. She knew that they needed to be careful now more than any other time. This hideout was no place to have to start thinking about pregnancy. There were bigger issues, including the fact that they weren’t even supposed to stay here long and it had already been a week.
* * *
Nico was out getting them takeout at a Thai restaurant. Eve had wisely asked him to get her a light soup instead of something excessively oily or spicy. She peered out the window of the apartment. The streets were empty except for a couple families walking together.
* * *
Eve didn’t have to wait long for Nico to appear. When he entered the house, her face lit up against her will. Her heart still felt warm and fuzzy every time she saw him. And now that they’d confessed their love for each other, everything was on another level. Nico was really her boyfriend. They were really in this together — whatever this might be.
* * *
Nico set the takeout on the table and swept Eve up into his arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. He set Eve down and she reached up to kiss him. After planting a long, deep kiss on Nico’s lips, Eve pulled a way and went up to the bag of takeout.
* * *
“I’m starved… Can we just get right to it?”
* * *
Nico chuckled, “Yes we can. But I have some important things to discuss with you over dinner my love.”
* * *
“Si signor,” Eve replied.
* * *
Her Italian hadn’t gotten any better since spending time with Nico, but she’d picked up a few phrases here and there. Nico grinned at her efforts and they sat down to dinner together. As she started to eat, Eve started to feel her tummy getting just a bit better. The fact that she was aware of its presence a
t all meant she still had to discuss with Nico how ill she’d been — and the fact that she really might be pregnant.
* * *
She’d let him go first.
* * *
“So,” Nico said, “I think it’s almost time for us to leave New York.”
* * *
“For where?”
* * *
“For Italy. You have a passport, right?”
* * *
Eve nodded, “Yes, I have a passport.”
* * *
“Perfect then.”
* * *
“But Italy?”
* * *
Nico nodded, “If you don’t want to come Eve… We can always part ways. That’s what I wanted to speak with you about.”
* * *
He was giving her the choice now. She could really leave everything she knew behind and fly across the world with him.
* * *
Nico continued, “If you wish to part ways, let me know.”
* * *
Eve shook her head. No. After all that they’d been through together, that was the absolute last thing that she wanted. She didn’t want to be separate from Nico ever again. She recalled how she felt when he had left her alone for just a day. She could never tell when Giuseppe would rear his ugly head and destroy her life. While Eve had some reassurance everything was better now, she wasn’t too sure.
* * *
Not to mention, she loved Nico. She loved Nico more than she’d loved any other man. He had brought her to a place in her life where she could experience adventure. He was bold, brave, strong and he could take care of her. Many men in Eve’s past only added stress to her life. Nico gave her much more than that.
* * *
“No. I don’t want to leave you Nico.”
* * *
“Then Eve,” Nico said, dropping to his knees, “If you don’t wish to leave me, will you marry me?”
* * *
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Nico snapped the box open and revealed a solitaire diamond ring with a cushion cut diamond in the center. Eve gasped. She was absolutely sure that Nico had one of the diamonds from the old carcanet repurposed into her engagement ring. He’d proposed with something that didn’t just have financial value, but sentimental value to his family as well.
* * *
Nico took Eve’s hand and slipped the ring onto her finger.
* * *
“I would be honored if you would become Signora Eve Riccardi,” He said, kissing her hand as he slipped on the ring.
* * *
“Nico… Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”
* * *
“I want you to come to Italy with me Eve. I have a place already that we can live. I have family that will help me get settled in and of course, you have the vault key.”
* * *
“Yes! Yes I’ll come with you!” Eve squealed.
* * *
She pulled Nico to his feet and wrapped her arms around his neck. Nico pulled her close and kissed her.
* * *
“My beautiful fiancée… I love you so much,” He whispered into her ear.
* * *
“Mmm… I love you too…” Eve said.
* * *
Nico moved his hands around to her buttocks and squeezed tightly, pulling Eve in closer for a much deeper kiss. Eve pulled away from Nico. She liked where this was going, but she still had something very important to tell him.
* * *
“Nico… It might be nothing but… I’m late.”
* * *
“Late?”
* * *
“My period…”
* * *
“Do you think that you might be… pregnant?”
* * *
He said the word “pregnant” in almost a whisper.
* * *
Eve shrugged.
* * *
“I might be. It doesn’t make sense because we’ve been careful.”
* * *
“But it can’t hurt to check,” Nico said.
* * *
“So you wouldn’t be angry?”
* * *
Nico chuckled.
* * *
“Angry?” He said, “No. I wouldn’t be angry. Eve, I know that I haven’t told you all the details of my past. But there was a time when I thought my only hope of ever being a father had vanished completely.”
* * *
Nico sighed, “If you were pregnant, I’d be nothing but grateful. And we could start all over again in Italy. Everything would be fresh, right?”
* * *
Eve nodded, “Yes. Right.”
* * *
“So why don’t you take a test and then we’ll know.”
* * *
“I don’t have one.”
* * *
Nico grinned, “Why don’t I talk to my buddy upstairs. They’re Catholics so they know their way around pregnancy. I’m sure she has a spare.”
* * *
“Won’t that be embarrassing?”
* * *
Nico winked, “Maybe for me. Just wait right here and I’ll go plead our case.”
* * *
Eve waited nervously for Nico to head upstairs and find a pregnancy test. As she sat in their living room, she eyed her engagement ring, studying the white gold band and of course, the magnificent diamond in the center. Her life had changed so fantastically since she’d met Nico and she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
* * *
While there was a sadness in big changes, there was a type of happiness too. The rug had been swept out from underneath Eve and now, she had no choice but to follow this trajectory. As long as they were no longer in danger, everything would be beautiful once and for all.
* * *
Eve had never been to Europe before and she didn’t speak enough Italian to make it at a restaurant. But she had her trust in Nico. And she trusted that he’d take care of her and make sure that no matter what, she didn’t make a fool of herself over there.
* * *
It didn’t take Nico very long to return with a pregnancy test. He’d guessed correctly and the family above had been more than willing to encourage another life into the world. He handed the test to Eve and waited outside the bathroom door, anxiously anticipating their fate.
* * *
For the first time since he’d left Italy, he didn’t just feel love for Eve, he felt hope. He felt hope that he could change. He felt hope that they’d be able to settle down and he’d finally have a normal life — the life his mother would have wanted for him.
* * *
Eve emerged from the bathroom with a look on her face that betrayed nothing about what had happened within the bathroom’s four walls.
* * *
“Nico?” She called.
* * *
“Yes?”
* * *
“I’m pregnant. I’m really pregnant.”
* * *
Nico grabbed her and swept her up spinning her around. He kissed and kissed and kissed his beautiful fiancée. This wasn’t the order that things were usually done, but Nico didn’t care. He was well on his way to healing and to forging a beautiful new family. A family that was part Italian and part American, just like he was.
* * *
“Let’s head to he bedroom,” Nico whispered into Eve’s ears.
* * *
She grinned. Hell. Yes. Now that she was pregnant, at least they didn’t have to worry about protection any more. She took Nico’s hand and led him to their bedroom, prepared to lead the way into a long night of hard, intense passion.
* * *
Mad Mafia Love Page 16