The Don and His Russian Bride

XXIV

"Thank you for bringing me here," I said as I stretched out on the bed in the guestroom. Luc had been away from his family so long that none of the rooms in the house belonged to him. The house his family now lived in wasn't his childhood home, but a newer house that he helped his mom buy.

"You don't have to thank me. My family has loved having you here with them." Luciano laid down on the bed and wrapped his arms around me.

"This was better than any getaway I could have imagined."

Luc leaned in for a sweet, gentle kiss. "I'm glad you think so."

I snuggled further into his arms and brought his lips to mine for another kiss. Now that we were a flight away from the island, I felt as though I could finally relax into his embrace. All the possible dangers within our lives vanished for a moment. Unfortunately, it was just a moment as Luc's phone began to ring.

"Please, don't," I started to beg. It was only our second day of being away from Sicily and I was not ready for him to be back on call for his mafia business so soon.

"I have to." Luc shook his head as he stood from the bed. He lifted his phone to his ear and began to walk across the room as he answered, "Armando."

My gaze remained at the ceiling as I didn't even bother to listen to Luc's side of the call. I waited, hoping there was nothing major happening but knowing deep down that our weekend getaway was over. When he hung up the phone, Luc walked over to the bed to confirm my fears.

"We have to return to Sicily."

"The weekend isn't even over yet," I tried to argue. "We just got here."

Luc tried to offer as much sympathy to me as he could, but his responsibilities as Don won over either of our feelings. "I'm sorry, Katerina. This is how it has to be, you know that. I have to go back immediately."

At that point, all I could do was nod. The consequences of leaving Armando to handle family business matters for another day would be worse than me dealing with the dissatisfaction of returning sooner than planned.

In silence, I packed our bags as Luc made calls for his men to prepare for our departure. Gianna was less than pleased to say goodbye to us so soon, but she knew as much as I did that there was no room for argument. We left the house together, but as soon as we boarded the plane, Luc's phone was pressed against his ear the entire flight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I slumped on the couch in the main room. Luc had already rushed to his office with Armando at his heels as soon as we entered through the doors of the mansion. Apparently, a lot of work happened without Luciano's supervision while we were away. As a Don, so many things fell on his shoulders that it was no surprise we wouldn't ever have a long, proper honeymoon. The trip to his family's house only proved that it was difficult enough to spend a weekend away.

Beyond the window was the pool, where the sun's rays hit at the perfect angle and swimming there brought out the warm, Sicilian glow of my skin. To the other side of me was the television as I laid here many times throughout the day, binge watching shows when Luc was too busy in his office. And though I couldn't see her, I could hear Carlotta in the kitchen moving around appliances and preparing for our next meal.

I still considered this place to be Luc's mansion, but I had lost track of when I began to consider it my home. Just over two months it took me to start feeling like I belonged here. I had gone several years in my father's house as if I were still a stranger there.

Admittedly, there was so much I didn't know about Luciano Martelli. But I had fallen for him. And staying in the house that he had provided for his family only helped me to learn more about him and grow closer to him.