Her Mafia Daddy - Chapter 95: Chapter 95

"Ouch, Zia. I need coffee." I pointed at the espresso maker. "Per favore?" I put my hands together like I was praying and shook them,
pleading. I might die if she didn't let me have coffee.
"No. Rafael 's bambino." She pointed at my stomach, as if I needed a reminder. Pouting, I dropped onto a stool. "How did you know?" When she frowned, I thought about the Italian I'd learned.
"Come...sapere...bambino?" "Sapere" was the verb "to know" but they couldn't expect me to start conjugating this soon. Zia came closer and lifted my chin with one of her bony fingers. She tilted my face this way and that. "La tua pelle bellissima."
When she went back to the stove, I used my translation app and learned "pelle" was skin. Huh. I still couldn't believe I was pregnant. I was going to have a baby. Rafael 's baby. I felt too young to be a mother. I wasn't even nineteen. I barely knew how to take care of myself, let alone someone else.
Let me be happy enough for both of us until I can convince you. Of course, Rafael was happy about this. He didn't have to do the hard part, which was to grow and then push a watermelon out of his vagina. Plus, he had all the money in the world to hire nannies and tutors, and pay for private schools. I could leave the child here in Italy and return to Canada. My hand slipped to my belly. Could I do that? Move away and leave my child here in Italy?
I remember the twins after Mama died, how confused and sad they'd been, the nightmares and tantrums that had followed in the months after the funeral. Papà had been no help whatsoever, so I did whatever I could to give them stability and care. To make sure they felt loved.
The answer to my current dilemma was obvious. I couldn't do it. I would never want this baby thinking I had abandoned them. No matter what happened with Rafael , I would raise this child.
I needed to think about the conditions of our agreement. Once he agreed and signed off on them, then I could relax a little over my future.
Zia put two cornetti and juice in front of me and gestured that I should eat. I was starving, so I didn't argue.
Dimitri came in the back door, whistling, dressed in last night's clothes. "Someone got laid," I murmured through a mouthful of cornetto. He smirked and went to kiss Zia's cheeks. She began speaking in rapid Italian, clearly crossing with him. Then she gestured to me. "What is she saying?" I asked.
He exchanged a few words with Zia, then said, "She is berating me for staying out all night. Saying the bambino needs calm and stability in the house, not a boy out at parties and coming home at all hours."
My stomach sank and the cornetto turned to dust in my mouth. Thanks to Rafael 's sperm, my days of parties and staying out all night were over, clearly. Dimitri sat next to me. "Do not look so sad, la matrigna."
Zia chuckled and I cast a suspicious glance at him. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what does that mean?" His smile was playful and slick. "Stepmother."
I shoved his shoulder. "Fuck off. That is not even funny."
"He will marry you, Tina . Mark my words."
"No, he won't. He told me that it's not unusual for mistresses to have babies in his world." Dimitri pursed his lips and said something to Zia, who nodded several times as she answered. "What?" I asked.
"Zia agrees with me. He will marry you eventually." Had no one even considered what I wanted? "Maybe I don't want to marry him. Maybe I want to take my child back to Toronto."
"He will never allow that to happen, bella." Rafael had said as much, but maybe he'd change his mind. Once the diapers and late-night feedings started, he'd probably be glad to get rid of me and the baby. "I hate you both."
"No, you don't. You love us both." I drank my juice and tried not to react. Love Rafael ? No way. I couldn't. It would be awful, loving him when he didn't love me in return. Eventually he'd take another mistress and that would kill me. I was the jealous type.
No way would I be able to share him with anyone else. You're jealous because you love him. Ugh.
Zia set an espresso in front of Dimitri and I eyed it hungrily. Did they make decaf espresso? I would need to research that ASAP. Actually, I knew nothing about being pregnant. I would have to research all of it ASAP. Weren't there special vitamins and doctor's appointments?
Oh, God. I put my head in my hands. How had I let this happen? "How did he take the news, by the way?" I looked up at Dimitri . "He's thrilled."
Dimitri grinned. "I knew it." He exchanged words with Zia, then filled me in. "Zia is not surprised, either. She said he will right the wrongs of his past with you." Great. Just what I wanted.