Page 82 of The Don
“What are britches?” he asks.
The Aunties laugh louder, and even I manage a smile, but only briefly. I stand from my chair and pull Salvatore up with me.
I don’t know how it’s possible for the entire Council to make me feel so small while lookingupat me. Maybe that’s a skill they learned with age. But I refuse to be cowed by them right now.
“I love you all, but if there are no more pressing questions, we’re going to go.”
I wait two seconds, and when no one says anything, I head for the door.
“Ciao, zie!” Salvatore says companionably. “I look forward to getting to know you all.”
“Oh, he is smooth,” Mina says.
My hand closes on the door handle, and my mother’s voice stops me in my tracks. “We’re having dinner at my house tomorrow. Your father wanted some étouffée. Can I expect you two to be there?”
My stomach growls at the word ‘étouffée.’ “What time?” I ask without turning around.
“Six.”
“Should we bring anything?”
“You don’t have to,” my mother says, not meaning a word of that.
“Of course, we will bring something,” Salvatore says quickly. The Aunties eat that up.
I sigh. “See you there.”
“Mmmhmm,” the entire Council says as one.
I push the door open and rush out into the hallway.
We walk back to the living room. Symone is sitting on the plastic-covered couch, looking at her phone. Federico is sitting in a matching armchair flipping through a copy ofEssencemagazine that might be almost as old as Symone, while Lorenzo is watching the street outside.
Symone looks up when we rush into the room. “How’d it go?”
My knees are weak. “I think I just stood up to the Council.”
Symone’s eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “Girl, lemme call Zoe. She’s gonna want to hear this.”
* * *
Salvatore
“We did it,” Shae gasps, bending over to unzip her boots as soon as she walks into Zoe’s apartment. “And they love you. They never liked my ex. Actually I don’t think they like anyone the first time they meet them.”
“I can be charming when I want to be.” I laugh, reaching for her.
“Clearly.” She dances away in her socks. I kick off my shoes and dart after her. “There was a moment when all I wanted to do was crawl onto your lap and kiss you.”
“I don’t know that your mother would have appreciated that, but I would have.”
She lifts her left arm and unzips her dress. I pull off my jacket and drop it to the floor.
“They’re going to want us to get married soon,” she says.
“Is that what you want?”
She shimmies her dress over her shoulders and stops long enough to push it down her body. It catches on her hips, which seem wider than I remember, wider than just a few weeks ago. In fact, every part of her body looks fuller, thicker, and softer. I’ve been feeding her as much as I can, whatever she wants, making sure that she and our baby want for nothing. Just as I promised her aunts and mother I would.