Mafia Romance Series

by Smanta Howard

  Davio drove them to a large restaurant that offered a huge lunch buffet. There was more food on the buffet than Ashely had ever seen in one place. She grabbed a plate and tried to get as many items as possible. Everything looked so good she just wanted to try it all. She soon discovered it tasted just as good as it looked. She ate until she thought she would pop.

  After lunch Davio has a surprise for Ashley. He wanted to take her to the historical museum located downtown Chicago. He doubted if she had ever taken the time to enjoy some of the local attractions the city had to offer. He always enjoyed the historical museum because his family had contributed part of the history. Before he was born, there had been a war break out in Chicago, destroying much of the downtown area. The Porchelli family had provided money and workers to help rebuild the city to its former splendor. Most historians knew the Porchelli money was connected to the mafia, but they were quick to accept the offer for help. Davio had been told by his father that without them Chicago would have taken much longer to rebuild, and it would not be as grand a city as it is today. Davio took pride in explaining to Ashley the part his family played in the rebuilding. He watched as Ashley looked with interest at all of the historical displays.

  Ashley had lost all sense of time. She was fascinated with the museum. She had visited here once when she was in high school, but at the time she didn’t have anybody as knowledgeable as Davio explaining the exhibits to her. When she looked down at her watch she discovered it was 5 p.m.

  “Oh no, I have wasted the whole afternoon,” she exclaimed. “I need to get back to work.”

  “You have plenty of time to get back to work,” Davio said. “Besides, I had stood about all of the noise I could stand for one day. I know that the kitchen will be beautiful when you get it completed, but in the meantime I plan to stay away as much as possible. At least until they complete demolition.”

  “I am sorry about all the noise. It should not last too much longer,” Ashley said. “I completely understand that you are distracted. It can be a bit much, but I promise you, when it is finished you will see that it was worth it.”

  “Well, tomorrow I believe I will leave the place to you and go visit my folks. I haven’t seen them since the plane crash and since it was the family plane, I guess I need to at least tell them what the investigators found when they completed their investigation. It seems that the plane was struck by lightning before we took off in Florida. The fuel was steadily leaking out, causing the alarm to sound. We are really lucky that we crashed instead of catching on fire,” Davio said.

  “Well, while you are out I will see how much demo we can get done. I think we can probably complete demo tomorrow and then it will be time to get started with the new design. It will still be noisy for a while, but not as bad as during demo,” Ashley said.

  Chapter 4

  The kitchen was nearing completion. Ashley was well pleased with all of the choices she had made. Everything matched or blended perfectly. The room looked a lot bigger now that the lighter cabinets had been installed. The floor looked great and the island was the perfect complement to rest to the rest of the room. She could not wait to show the finished room to Davio. She was sure he would love it. What’s not to love? This was a dream kitchen for anybody.

  Ashley walked down to Davio’s office and told him to come look at his new kitchen. She couldn’t wait to see his response to all of her hard work. She caught herself holding her breath while Davio walked through the door.

  For a minute Davio just stood there, looking around. He didn’t say anything and Ashley feared he did not like what he saw. She looked up to catch the look of surprise on his face.

  “Wow!” Davio said. “This is spectacular! I never expected anything so grand. You have done a beautiful job.”

  Ashley was pleased with Davio’s reaction. She knew the kitchen was spectacular, but if it didn’t meet with Davio’s approval all of the work would have been wasted. She watched as Davio walked around, inspecting everything she had done. She felt a sense of pride that she had pleased him.

  “This calls for a celebration,” Davio said. “I want to throw a party and invite my family here. They have been expecting an invitation ever since I moved in, but until now I wasn’t really interested. Now I want to show off what you have done.”

  “Well, there is a lot of house left to do,” Ashley said. “But with the sitting room, dining room, and kitchen, I’m sure you could entertain in style.”

  “I want you to be my hostess,” Davio said, completely catching Ashley off guard.

  “I don’t know about that,” she said. “I don’t have any experience throwing parties, especially in a place as grand as this.”

  “You will be great. You don’t have to do the work yourself. We can hire caterers to come in and prepare the meal. All you have to do is stay by my side and help me show this place off to my family,” Davio said. “After all, you can show this place better than I can since you are the one who designed it.”

  Ashley was not at all sure she could play hostess to Davio’s guests. She had not met any of his family and she feared they would have a lot of questions for her if Davio presented her as the hostess. She didn’t live in his world. Davio was rich and had always lived an affluent life. She had scratched to get herself through college in the hopes of someday making a decent living for herself. Her family had never enjoyed the lifestyle that Davio’s family had and she knew if she told her mother what Davio asked of her, it might give her a stroke.

  In the end, Ashley agreed to Davio’s request. She was afraid of meeting his family, but she decided that she was just as good as they are. She had grown a lot since graduating from college, and her new maturity would allow her to conduct herself in a way that would make Davio proud. Her next big decision would be what to wear.

  Davio wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to throw a party. He told Ashley he wanted to have fresh lobster flown in from Maine. He gave her the names of a few caterers in the area and asked her to find one that could meet with his requests. He told Ashley that she would need to find a florist to decorate the dining room because he wanted fresh flower arrangements. Ashley was starting to see a side of Davio she had not seen before. He was excited and playful, nothing like the arrogant rich boy she first met. She liked this new Davio, but she was not sure she was going to like this entertainment idea. She preferred to live her life peacefully without a lot of pomp and grandeur.

  Ashley continued to work on the plans for the party, hiring caterers and finding a florist to provide the dining room decorations. She decided to place personalized party favors at each place on the table. That way the guests would have something to take home with them and they would have a way of remembering the party. Since the holidays were rapidly approaching, she decided to give each guest their own personalized ornament.

  There was a lot to do to prepare for the party, but Ashley missed getting to actually work on the house. She enjoyed taking each room and transforming it into something beautiful. Entertaining had never been something she was interested in. But, she had agreed because Davio seemed to really want her there. She would get through this and then maybe she would tell him that she had rather stick to her work and leave the entertaining to somebody else.

  The party was just a week away, and Ashley was busy trying to pull everything together. She still had not gone shopping for something to wear and she knew she was running out of time. She decided to take that afternoon off and go shopping for herself. Davio had different ideas.

  “I know you probably don’t have anything to wear to the party, so why don’t we go out and find you something appropriate,” Davio said.

  “I was just going to tell you that I was taking off this afternoon to go shopping,” she replied.

  “But I want to go with you,” Davio said. “I want to buy you something stunning to match your personality. Please, allow me to do this for you.”

  Ashley didn’t really want Davio to go shopping with her, but he w
as so insistent. She finally agreed, but she was not comfortable allowing him to purchase clothing for her. He paid her well for her work and she had saved some money that she could use for the dress. But, as in other cases, Davio had a way of getting what he wanted. She supposed that came from being born into such a rich family.

  At the end of the day Ashley was glad she allowed Davio to accompany her on her shopping trip. He picked out a beautiful soft green gown that drew attention to the color of her eyes. It was not something that she would have chosen for herself because it was way too expensive. But Davio insisted the gown was perfect for her and he wanted her to have it. She had to admit, he had good tastes in clothing. She wondered how much experience he actually had in dressing women. The thought sent a little pain shooting through her heart.

  The evening of the party finally arrived. Ashley was racing around trying to make sure that everything was done. She found the caterers in the kitchen working on the fresh lobster tails, fresh asparagus, salads, fresh-made yeast rolls, and several delectable looking desserts. The florist had arrived earlier and had made the dining room come alive with fresh flowers in the windows and down the center of the table. It was about an hour before the guests were to arrive so Ashley decided that it was time to get dressed. She had taken all of her clothing and jewelry downstairs to the basement apartment so that she would have her privacy. She carefully took out the gown that Davio had chosen and pulled it over her head. She went to the mirror to put on her jewelry and was pleased with the reflection of the woman who looked back at her. She reflected that when she had graduated from college in May she was still just a girl. She had been totally innocent to the ways of the world and had never allowed a man to get close enough to kiss her, much less make love to her. But that innocent girl was gone. In her place stood a young woman who was poised and, she had to admit, quite beautiful. She briefly thought about all of the things that had happened to rob her of her innocence. She had given herself to Davio, but she was still innocent. It wasn’t until Randall Thompson that she saw the bad side of human nature. Randall had stripped away her hopes and dreams and left her with empty expectations. She wondered what Randall would think of her now. He tried to crush her spirit, but instead he gave her determination. She hated him for what he had done to her, but she would not allow anybody to break her spirit. She silently hoped that he was dead. If he is, then other innocent girls would be a little safer.

  Ashley was pleased with the way she looked so she took a deep breath and headed back up the stairs to the main floor. She was jittery inside, hoping that she would not embarrass herself or Davio. She opened the door and got her first look at Davio. Wow! He looked splendid in his three piece suit. He was standing in the hallway and turned in her direction just as she opened the door. She stood there for a minute just admiring his posture as he stood there waiting for her. She had never seen him look so good. Usually he dressed casually at home and when he went out for business he would throw on a sport coat, and maybe a tie. The man that was standing in front of her now was easily the most handsome man she had ever seen. She felt a quickening in her loins as she surveyed him from head to toe.

  “You look absolutely beautiful,” Davio said. “I knew that dress suited you, but it is even better than I expected. It was made for you.”

  “Thank you,” Ashley replied. “You look pretty fantastic yourself. I am so nervous. I just hope I don’t do anything to embarrass you.”

  “You have nothing to worry about. Just stay by my side and I will introduce you to all of the guests. They are going to love you so please, don’t worry about causing me any embarrassment. With you on my arm I will be the envy of everybody here,” he said.

  Chapter 5

  Ashley heard the doorbell and knew the guests were starting to arrive. Davio had a large family because they always included aunts, uncles, and cousins when they entertained. The first to arrive where Marko and Jasmine Porchelli, Davio’s parents. Davio introduced them and Marko took her hand and kissed the back of it. Ashley could see where Davio got his good looks. He looked exactly like Marko, only younger. His mother was beautiful with small features. Her long hair was pulled back on the sides and accented with a beautiful clasp that looked like it came from a different era. Ashley could hardly take her eyes off the pair as they entered the sitting room.

  “So Davio has told me a lot about you,” Jasmine said. “I understand you graduated with our other son Adam from Northern Chicago University. Davio tells us you are doing a fabulous job transforming his house.”

  Ashley immediately liked Davio’s mother. She seemed genuine and real. It was obvious from looking at her she was born into privilege, but she did not look down her nose at Ashley. Instead, she seemed to be interested in seeing what Ashley had done with Davio’s place. Ashley explained that she had only completed the sitting room, dining room, and kitchen, but she was looking forward to working on the rest of the house.

  Jasmine looked around the sitting room and praised Ashley’s tastes in style.

  “I have to admit, my son has no sense of style whatsoever. When he bought this place I didn’t think he would do any redecorating until he found a woman to do it for him. It seems you have been a good influence on him,” Jasmine said.

  Ashley wasn’t sure how to respond to Jasmine’s remark about a woman. She didn’t even know herself what Davio thought of her. She knew that he enjoyed her company, but the two of them had never discussed a relationship. Ashely just assumed that when the job was completed, she and Davio would go their separate ways.

  Jasmine continued to talk with Ashley while Marko and Davio were deep in conversation. Ashley wondered what was so important that it caused the look of concern she saw on Davio’s face. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard Randall Thompson’s name mentioned. Was Marko telling Davio something about Randall’s disappearance? She knew from listening to the news that no sign of Randall had been found. It was like he just jumped off the face of the earth. As long as he stayed gone, Ashley was happy.

  Soon other guests started to arrive and Ashley was whirled form one to another, with Davio introducing them. She knew there was no way she would remember all of the names, but she just hoped to get through the evening in one piece. So far everybody had been extremely nice to her. Even Marko, who seemed to be more reserved than Davio, had complimented the work she had done to the place.

  The dinner went off without a hitch. The caterers provided servers who were constantly refilling glasses, removing empty dishes, and providing all of the guests with anything they needed. Expensive wine flowed freely, and everybody was praising the food. They all thanked Ashley for planning such a great meal. It was if they knew that Davio couldn’t do it without her help. But she was just the decorator. She wondered how they felt about her playing hostess. Did they think she was Davio’s mistress? If so, do they approve of his choice in women?

  Ashley had to rein in her thoughts. Davio liked to play with her, but she was so far out of her league with him. She feared her bloodline wasn’t good enough for the Porchelli family. They would expect heirs that would grow up to be successful the way Davio had. She wasn’t sure that she could ever measure up to their expectations. She preferred life that was quiet and peaceful. She wanted to someday find happiness, but no matter how much she thought about Davio, his life was nothing like the life she pictured for herself.

  The evening finally came to an end and Ashely stood by Davio’s side as they said goodbye to all of the guests. As soon as the door closed on the last guests, Davio grabbed Ashley and pulled her to him.

  “You were fantastic,” he said. “My whole family is enamored with you. My mother couldn’t find enough good things to say about your charm. She also loved what you are doing to the place.”

  “I think your family is just glad to see you moving up in the world. It was obvious that your father is the family leader, and he expects you to follow in his footsteps,” Ashley said.

  “My dad knows that I will
always be in the family business. It is what I was born to do. But my dad also wants me to think about settling down and having a family of my own. It is expected of all of the children,” he said.

  Ashley felt a sharp pain when Davio talked about having a family of his own. She had grown to care for him deeply, and she feared that she was going to get hurt once her work was complete and he no longer needed her. This house would be completely redone and he would be expected to find a woman to share it with him. She didn’t want to think about the pain that would cost her.

  “I want you to stay with me tonight,” Davio said.

  Ashley looked up into his eyes and saw the passion that was lurking just behind his smile. She knew what he wanted, but she was not sure she could give it to him in his bed. She had not returned to that room, and she secretly dreaded the day she would have to remodel it. She had moved on with her life, but she had not had to return to the scene of something so ugly.

  Davio saw the hesitation in Ashley’s eyes and he quickly guessed what she was thinking. He should have guessed that she would have trouble returning to his bedroom after what that beast of a man had done to her there. When he thought about it, he too had trouble envisioning Ashley back in that bed. He could only imagine how horrible that day had been for her.