“Iya. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for him to know about it, but not yet. I really need a break. Sephie does too, even though she’s pushing through like the boss she is. She needs time to tell the other three about Kostya, too.”
“We could all use the break. Except Stephen. He’s still on cloud 9.” Ivan said, laughing.
“You were right last night. That kid is a saint. I’m happy to see it. Nobody deserves it more than he does.”
Ivan nodded his head discreetly in agreement and we both returned to the normal conversation going on around us. Stephen was asking Sephie to come up with a new name for Armando for when we took him to a nursing home.
“Richard. That way you can call him dick the entire time and no one will know you’re saying it with a lowercase ‘d,” she said flatly. The guys all laughed.
Dic kie had a drug problem that caused him to have a massive stroke and now he’s catatonic,” Stephen said, his smile that was showing itself more frequently lately across his face.
“That’s perfect,” Sephie said, grinning at him.
I decided to keep my meetings that day, rather than reschedule them. I asked Sephie if she could come to the last one, which always surprised her. “Who is it?” she asked. “You’ll see,” I said. I enjoyed tormenting her maybe a little too much sometimes.
She walked into my office with the Wonder Twins just before the meeting started. Stephen walked in right behind them. She turned to see who it was and her face immediately lit up. “Vinny!” she said as she walked quickly to him. He brought his wife, Anna, with him as well. “And A nna!” she said, hugging both of them. Neal walked in shortly after, a look of amusement on face. “I’m so happy to see both of you!” Sephie said, as they walked in, each taking a seat.
“Bella, it’s always good to see you,” Vinny said. He shook my hand before sitting down. “You too, sir,” he said, taking a seat.
Sephie walked around my desk, stopping to kiss me quickly, then hopped on the cabinet behind my desk. Anna’s salon had been repaired and was reopened, as were all the other businesses in that part of town. Since Niko and Vito were still in Italy with Sal, all of the underbosses had backed off of enforcing the increased taxes. They had all heard what happened to Anthony, Lorenzo, and Massimo. They all knew that no one had seen Armando or Dario in months. They were scared..
I looked to Neal, asking if he’d brought the paperwork. We had one restaurant owner in the new building project back out for personal reasons, so we had one space empty. I decided to offer it to Vinny at a discounted price so he could expand and open a second location, should he choose to. Neal got up and set down everything in front of Vinny.
Vinny started to look at everything, curious as to why I’d asked him here. Ne explained the building project to him. As he did, Sephie silently asked, “you’re offering the vacant spot to Vinny so he can open a second location, arent you? I just turned slightly so I could see her, but didn’t respond, “Just when I think I can’t love you anymore than I already do…” Neal explained about the empty space and then offered it to Vinny, should he want to expand to a second location, Vinny looked shocked, as did
Anna.
2/3″There’s no pressure, Vinny. It’s only if you want to expand to a second location. I’m offering the space to you first before I make it known there’s a space available,” I said.
Vinny looked at Anna, then back to me. “We’ve been talking about a second location for years, sir. We just could never find the right spot. This spot is perfect. I can keep that place afloat just on the people in that build he sail.
“Smart man, Vinny. You’d be surprised how not obvious that is to some people” Sephie said sarcastically. Neal looked at her, unable to keep his laughter in.
Adrik
Vinny looked through the paperwork. Anna leaned over, also glancing at the paperwork in front of them. They talked quietly to each other, discussing options.
“You can take it home and think about it, Vinny. I don’t need an answer today. I said, trying to take some of the perceived pressure off of them. “Everything you need is there. Feel free to call Neal or myself if you have questions.”
Vinny still looked too stunned to speak, but they both stood up. “i would appriciate just a little time to make sure this works for us,” he said. “But you’ll have your answer by Monday, at the latest.” “That’s fine, Vinny, I know you have a lot going on. Take all the time you need It’s yours until you decide you don’t want it,” I said, standing with them. Sephie jumped off the cabinet and came to stand next to me.
Vinny looked at her, smiling at her. “Somehow I think you had something to do with this, bella.”
“Nope. This was all him. He might’ve thought about it because my stomach is a long-term relationship with you, but really that’s on you. You did this to yourself, Vinny,” she said. She’d put her contacts in before coming to the meeting, but I knew her eyes were green.
Vinny and Anna both laughed at her statement. They both thanked me and hugged Sephie once again before Stephen escorted them back downstairs. Neal stayed for a few more minutes, catching me up on other business. I noticed Sephie walk to Misha and Andrei, asking them both their thoughts on what Vinny would do. They quietly discussed everything while Neal and I talked about other matters.
I caught myself thinking back to the conversation we’d had that morning, where she was concerned she was keeping them from living their own lives. I watched as they readily discussed things with her that I knew for a fact they wouldn’t be able to discuss with anyone else. She gave them a space to be completely authentic. She just didn’t realize how important that was yet. She didn’t know they’d do whatever it took to keep it.
We got to the house early enough that Sephie wanted to take a walk first thing. She loved being able to go outside without fear of anything. It made me feel somewhat guilty that we hadn’t been to the house in a while..
“Don’t feel guilty,” she said, lacing her fingers through mine as we walked toward the woods. “We’re here now. That’s what matters.”
We walked in silence, enjoying the last bit of daylight. I could feel the stress melting away as we walked. I smiled to myself, thinking about how Sephie really was magic in her own way. She always knew just what I needed.
She felt the pull in my chest and glanced up at me. She smiled her sweet smile that spark in her eyes that was reserved only for me. “I can say the same for you, you know,” she said as we headed back toward the house.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.