Chapter 70 Chapter 70 – Dinner With The Don
Chapter 70 Chapter 70 – Dinner With The Don
They had pasta for dinner, aglio e olio, garlic and oil and pasta water, exactly the sort of food that Linda could make with her eyes closed, and fast too since her last pot of food was basically done for.
But it tasted like home, and Cedric found himself eating faster than he should, savouring every bite like it might disappear.
Gianni sat across from him, eating with surprising calmness for a man who'd just terrorized someone out of their own apartment.
His fork moved with precision, twirling the pasta in measured portions, and Cedric couldn't help but notice how perfectly he fit into this cramped kitchen despite being so wildly out of place.
Lily had wedged herself between Cedric and the wall, slowly working through her portion while keeping one eye on their guest.
About halfway through dinner, she'd produced a massive folder from her bedroom, her art collection, apparently, and spread it across the table with the kind of confidence only a twelve-year-old could muster.
Cedric was surprised, because she usually never showed it to anyone except him and their mother.
"Lily, not during dinner," Linda started, but Lily was already signing frantically at Gianni, her hands moving in quick, excited gestures.
Look at these. I made them all myself.
Gianni set down his fork and pulled the folder closer, genuinely studying each piece.
Crayon drawings of dogs and cats, watercolour landscapes that bled together in puddles of colour, a surprisingly detailed pencil sketch of their apartment building.
"This one," Gianni said, tapping a painting of a sunset over water.
The colours were muddy but ambitious, orange and purple fighting across the page in a childish scrawl.
"This is my favourite. The way you layered the colours here—" He pointed to where she'd managed to create depth in the clouds. "That takes real skill. Maybe another time I can show you a different way to do it better.”
Lily's face lit up like Christmas morning.
Without warning, Gianni reached into his jacket, and Cedric flinched, some animal part of his brain still expecting violence.
But Gianni just pulled out his wallet, picked out a crisp hundred-dollar bill, and held it out to Lily.
"For the artist," he said simply.
Lily's eyes went wider than Cedric had ever seen them. She looked at the bill, then at Gianni, then at her mother with a silent question written all over her face.
"Gianni, that's too much," Linda said, her voice soft. "You don't need to—"
"I insist." Gianni pressed the bill into Lily's hand, folding her fingers around it gently. "Real talent should be compensated."
Lily clutched the money as if it might disappear, then launched herself at Gianni in a fierce hug that nearly knocked him backwards in his chair.
Cedric watched, stunned, as Gianni's hands hovered uncertainly in the air for a split second before settling carefully on Lily's back, returning the embrace with awkward gentleness.
When Lily pulled away, she immediately dragged her chair around the table until it was pressed right up against Gianni's.
Then she settled in to claim her territory, gazing up at him with hero worship written all over her face.
"Lily, give the man some space," Linda said, but she was laughing.
Gianni shook his head. "She's fine."
And he meant it, apparently, because when Lily reached for her crayons to start a drawing a new masterpiece right there at the dinner table, Gianni just shifted his plate slightly to make room for her.
"After you finish eating," Linda said firmly, taking Lily's crayons away. "Art comes after dinner, not during. Plus, you really should be spending your time catching up with your homework."
Lily pouted, her bottom lip jutting out dramatically.
Gianni caught her eye and gave her a small nod, “Later.”
And just like that, the pout transformed into a brilliant smile. She picked up her fork again, suddenly motivated to clear her plate.
Cedric rolled his eyes. "At this point, you might as well adopt her."
"Don't give me ideas," Gianni said. Cedric couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
Linda set down her fork, her expression becoming more serious. "So," she said, pretending to ask casually even though it was obvious that she clearly wasn’t. "How did you two meet?"
Cedric nearly choked on his pasta, his eyes watering as he coughed.
Gianni was already moving, smoothly reaching across the table to pass him a glass of water with a worried expression. “Drink.”
"Yeah, thanks," Cedric managed between coughs, shooting his mother a glare that she completely ignored.
He drank deeply, then handed the glass back to Gianni, who set it down without comment.
"We met at work," Gianni said smoothly, picking up his fork again as though nothing had happened. "Cedric was working at a club I own, and we… connected."
"A club." Linda's eyes narrowed. Clearly, she smelled bullshit, but she was willing to let it play out and see where it would go. "What kind of club?"
"An exclusive one." Gianni's smile was perfectly pleasant. "Your son is a hard worker, he impressed me with his work ethic. And his… dedication. Although he was a little difficult to train at first.”
Cedric kicked him under the table.
Gianni's expression didn't change, but his eyes flickered with amusement.
"Mm-hmm." Linda turned to Cedric, one eyebrow raised. "And you just forgot to mention you were seeing someone? For how long?"
"It's complicated, Ma."
"I have time." She settled back in her chair, crossing her arms. "I want to know all about your new boyfriend. Does he treat you right? Does he make you happy? What are his intentions?"
"It's really not… Gianni, you take this. Clearly, she isn’t listening to me.” Cedric huffed.
"Cedric was in some trouble," Gianni sighed, his voice taking on a more serious tone.
"He mentioned having some financial difficulties that had become… pressing. Dangerous, even. I became aware of the situation through our professional relationship, and I offered to help him resolve it."
He looked at Linda directly. "So I intervened, and we grew close during that process."
It wasn't quite a lie. Cedric had to give him credit for that; the truth was there, just carefully rearranged and stripped of all the terrifying parts.
He was probably a better liar than even Cedric.
Linda studied Gianni's face for a long moment, and Cedric could practically see her maternal instincts working overtime, trying to decide if this man was a threat or a blessing.
"You're good to him?" she asked finally.
"I try to be," Gianni said, "He makes it challenging sometimes."
"Hey!” Cedric protested.
"But worth it," Gianni added, and the sincerity in his voice made a warm, complicated feeling bloom in Cedric's chest.
But Linda's questioning gaze didn't waver.
She leaned forward slightly, and her voice dropped even more seriously"Do you love him?"
Cedric's fork clattered against his plate. "Mom! Jesus Christ, can we please focus on the food? The delicious food you made that we're all enjoying very much?"
"It's a simple question." Linda's eyes stayed locked on Gianni's face, reading him the way only mothers could. "Do you love my son?"
The kitchen went very quiet. Even Lily stopped moving, her crayon frozen halfway to the paper she'd snuck onto the table.
Cedric's heart beat so fast he could hear it thrumming in his ears, hope and fear having a knife fight in his chest.
“I…”
"It's complicated," Cedric blurted out before Gianni could answer, cutting him off mid-breath. "We haven't really, it's new, you know? We're still figuring things out."
Linda's eyebrow climbed higher. "I wasn’t asking you, gosh you’re so talkative. Also, what do you mean by complicated? Is there someone else in the picture?"
As soon as Cedric heard that question, he felt the spark of mischief and rebelliousness that he could never quite suppress for too long.
He turned to look at Gianni directly, a sharp and jealous instinct twisting in his gut.
"That's actually a good question, Mom. I've been asking myself that too." He challenged "Is there someone else in the picture, Gianni?"
Gianni went very still, his fork suspended in midair.