“You had better learn how to watch your mouth before I slice it off,” I spat back.
Luca slammed the door open, causing the handle to crack the paneling in the wall, and stormed out.
I sat back and looked over at Willow, and when our eyes locked, she smiled. No matter what had happened between us, we still didn’t hesitate to go to bat for one another, and as long as that was true, there was still a shred of hope.
4
Willow
Once Alessandro and I moved back to Philly to sort out things with the Binachis and moved into the suite belonging to the head of the family, Alessandro insisted I sleep in the bedroom. Though there are multiple rooms in the suite given that the heads would ordinarily have their children nearby, there wasn’t another suitable bed. Alessandro was too concerned that his family would notice us bringing in another bed, so he decided to just sleep on the couch. I hated that. I should have been the one sleeping on the couch, or at least curling up in the small bed that used to belong to Luca’s daughter, Anna, but Alessandro wouldn’t have it. My compromise was that if he was going to let me sleep in the bed at night, then after his business in the morning, he needed to go back to the room and take an extended nap in the bed.
I didn’t know what mental illn
ess Alessandro was suffering from, but I knew being exhausted wouldn’t help. Given that I wouldn’t agree to sleep in the bed until he agreed to nap in the afternoon, he gave in. Whether his family anticipated that he was sleeping more for his mental health or they just didn’t mind him disappearing after the morning meeting, I wasn’t sure, but no one asked. I walked Alessandro back to the suite, and then I was free to work unimpeded while he caught up on his sleep. There was an added benefit that I kept to myself. When Alessandro slept in the bed during the day, it still smelled like him when I went to bed at night. I didn’t sleep well on a good day. I missed sharing a bed with Alessandro, and not being under the same roof as my daughter was stressful, but when I could pull a pillow close and smell Alessandro lingering on it, it helped.
“You don’t have to walk me all the way back, you know,” Alessandro said. “Nothing would happen here in the house.”
I unlocked the door to the suite and tipped the door open without even acknowledging the statement. He knew full well why I insisted on staying by his side. He passed me to enter the suite, and once he was over the threshold, he turned on his heel, taking me totally by surprise, and pulled me into a kiss. Despite my brain screaming for me to stop, my arms drifted to the sides of his suit jacket to pull. His lips were like ivy—as poisonous as they were soothing—and my body went to war with itself, both leaning in and leaning away. My hands developed sense first and moved up to wedge between us, and I pushed, sending him away.
“In case someone was watching,” Alessandro replied with a smirk. I just glared at him and kept my mouth shut for fear that something against my wishes would come out. He let out a little chuckle before turning around again. “Good night.”
“Night,” I grumbled back.
I wanted to follow him, and he knew it going by the slow, teasing steps he took toward the bedroom and the way he seductively peeled off his suit jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch. He turned around at the doorway to the bedroom and looked at me, loosening his tie, something he knew drove me crazy.
Damn you, Alessandro Varasso. Why are you so good looking? Weren’t people supposed to get less attractive after marriage and their first kid?
“What are your plans for the afternoon?” he asked with velvet in his voice.
I swallowed hard, refusing to fall into his trap. “I have to prepare Sasha’s wardrobe for her red carpet next month, and I’m working with Stillworth’s to supply their Spring line. I’ll probably work down in the garden or up here if it ends up raining.”
He frowned a little. “Okay. Well, don’t work too hard.”
“Don’t worry about me. You get some rest.” As if knowing I was reaching the edge of my willpower, Alessandro started to unbutton his shirt. He dragged the sleeves over his full, muscular arms, so I literally closed my eyes to the sight. “Sleep well.”
I whipped around as fast as I could and left the suite, pulling the door shut behind me. I heard the bedroom door open and close with a slam once I was out. I’d have to yell at him for that later, but for now, I just had to put space between us and focus on cooling down my overheating body. I traveled one floor down to the main floor of the Varasso estate and into the kitchen. I wasn’t shocked to see Molly, Luca, Marco, Gabriel, and Stacy all gathered there. It had become something of an unofficial gathering spot in the house since Alessandro took over. Luca rarely left his office, or so I’d been told. With Molly still mostly deferring to Luca and Marco, Gabriel, and Stacy trying to play peacekeeper, they all tended to collect in the kitchen out of Alessandro’s earshot to discuss things with Luca.
I’d fallen out with Molly the first time I caught them doing it. I was nice enough when I asked them to respect Alessandro’s position, but Molly went straight for ruthless and bad-mouthed Alessandro until I had chucked a glass of orange juice in her face. Marco found me sometime after and told me they never went behind Alessandro’s back, but it made Luca feel better and kept him in line, so I let it go after that. That didn’t stop the conversation from screeching to a halt the second I walked in. I got my usual leers from Molly and Luca, but I preferred those to the sympathetic, if not partially pitiful, ones that I got from Marco, Gabriel, and Stacy.
“I told you already. I’m fine,” I hissed. “There’s enough going on as it is, so the least you could do is not treat me like an outsider.”
“You are an outsider,” Molly retorted.
Luca shrugged. “That’s what you wanted, remember?”
“Knock it off, you two,” Marco jumped in immediately before looking at me. “You’re right, I’m sorry. We weren’t really talking about much, anyway, just tying up loose ends. We know you’re stressed, and we don’t want to add to it.”
“Luca’s right,” Gabriel said, and everyone turned to him, shocked. Even Stacy, who was sitting in his lap, gave him a light swat on the shoulder. “No, I don’t mean that in a bad way, just, you didn’t want to be involved in this stuff at all, yet somehow, you ended up helming the ship. I’m sorry, Willow. We let you down. Both of you, and Lexi, too.”
I looked at the youngest Varasso brother with rare warmth. “It’s okay, Gabe. Thank you for saying that, but I’m fine.” I stuck a hand into his hair and ruffled his black curls. “Softie.”
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, Willow,” Stacy said, “but you don’t look okay. I mean, you look great, always, but you look tired, and your stress is all over you.”
Marco nodded. “Sorry, sis, I can see it, too.”
“You should come to the studio!” Stacy yelped. “I have a class in, like, an hour. Come with me.”
I grabbed a cup of coffee from the pot near the stove and leaned against the counter. I hated black coffee, but it kept me awake. “I don’t know about that. Leaving the house with Alessandro still here makes me really uncomfortable.”