Chapter 70

Arianna POV: 

We stopped for lunch at a little bistro, much like back in America they were heavily involved in helping businesses in their town. The owner came out and greeted Giovanni and Luca, snapping his fingers to get us a better table and the finest wine they had. 

I rolled my eyes as Gio winked and pulled out my chair for me, he knew damn well it wasn’t his connections that made me interested in him. Once again, the blonde from the store flashed into my mind. Did he, though? She was fawning over him so intently, praising him a cooing his name. I had never been a woman to constantly stroke her man's ego. 

I shook my head, removing the thought from my mind. No, I won’t do this. He’s taken me home to his family, he’s showing me the place he grew up. I won’t begin second-guessing now, not when we’ve faced demons together. As if reading my mind, he held my hand as if it was second nature, kissing it before answering a question Luca had asked him. 

He explained to me his favorites on the menu and how I had to try whatever the chef suggested. I agreed, willing to follow his lead since this was his turf. I laughed with Becca as we went over the outfits we had bought. We discussed going out again tomorrow to get some shopping done without the boys when a small mousy-haired girl walked up to the table, clutching onto her purse. 

“Giovanni,” she hesitantly called. 

I gulped, looking between the two. Gio stood up with a bright smile and went over to her, hugging her tightly. Luca followed. The girl chatted with them fondly, a soft, sad smile on her lips. The way she looked at Giovanni, there was a hollowness, an aching in her. 

I could see that part of her wanted to reach for him, hold onto him. I sat in my chair, staring at them talk. I had wanted to see where he grew up, but if everywhere we stepped was another ghost of his past waiting to snag him away, I would much rather go back to the house. 

Becca must have noticed my tense body or perhaps the way I was staring daggers at the girl. She nudged me and shook her head with a smile and roll of her eyes. 

“That's Siena, she’s-” she inhaled deeply,y looking into her lap. “She and Enzo were childhood sweethearts,’ She looked back up at me, her eyes misty. 

She turned over her shoulder, looking at the girl who smiled up at the two men. “She keeps in touch, but...it’s hard.” 

I laughed at myself and leaned back in the chair. This time evaluating Giovanni, he smiled at her, and I saw the wistful smile cross his face that came whenever he spoke about his brother, but when he looked at Siena, I saw more in his eyes. That sadness that normally looked faded and sistant was right at the surface; looking at the girl who loved his brother, he couldn’t hide the guilt he still felt. 

They walked back to the table after a few more minutes of conversation. He sat down beside me, and I rubbed his cheek. I saw the way he clenched his jaw, he was doing his best to keep it together. 

We finished our meal with some polite conversation. Gio was taking us to the Marina and showed me the family boat. We walked down Becca and Luca, trailing behind us as we moved towards the ocean. 

“How is she?” I asked him, and he turned to m,e his brows furrowed. “Siena,” I clarified. 

He nodded a pained smile coming onto his face, “Becca explained then thats nice of her,” he coughed a little. “She’s good, finishing school. She and-she and Enzo both wanted to study history. They loved the ancients,” he told me, and I put my arm in his as he spoke. 

“She, uh, she’s good. She looks in on my mother, helps her in the summer with her garden. I told her that we were putting him in jail…” His voice trailed off, and he stopped putting his arm around me before he continued walking and holding onto to me tightly. “To be honest,” He laughed bitterly. “I was fine with that up until I saw her. It felt like enough to have him behind bars. Seeing her and remembering all he took from my family, the life he snuffed out, the future that vanished, the love that ended,” He shook his head and stared off away from me to hide his face. 

“It’s okay, you know, to still be angry,” I reminded him. “What happened was senseless, cruel.” I took a bent finger and ran it down his cheek. “But we have him where we want him; we don’t want to risk it by being vengeful,” I cautioned him. 

He grabbed my hands, kissing my fingers. “Thank you,” he told me between pecks. “You remind me that there is more beyond the fight I was thrown into.” 

I kissed him softly before we began walking down the road again. I could smell the salt on the sea, and the waves sprayed up into the air, misting us the closer we got. 

Giovanni took me towards the docks and pointed out a wooden ship painted red with a sail, named Angese’s Pearl, painted on the side in gold lettering. 

“It’s beautiful,” I told him. 

“Yeah?” he held onto me as we stared at it. “He had it built for her. Mama’s father was a fisherman who died in war. She loved the sea, and once he got enough money, he had this built for her.” 

“That’s so sweet.” 

I felt his jaw clench. “Yeah, he can be, could be.” 

I knew now from seeing them that it was his father who wanted vengeance more than anybody. Like a gun, he pointed Giovanni at my father and fried. He unleashed him on the city like a rabid dog, ready to chomp the enemy down to the bit. 

“Will you take me out on it?” I asked him. 

“It’s cold out,” he warned me. I looked up at him without saying a word, raising my eyebrows as if to ask if he was serious. 

“We came from cold; this is nothing,” I told him. 

He grinned and kissed me, “Sure, but let's go tomorrow. That way we can take mama.” 

I nodded happily, eager to spend time with his mother and the rest of his family. Hear more about Enzo and see more of the man who tried to cover himself in shadows.