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“Yes. I don’t get why you’re so reluctant to admit the truth, Salvatrice. I am Romina’s father.”
“I’m well aware of that, don’t talk like an asshole to me. I just told you she likes to gossip. She’s going to spread the news all around the plaza.”
“I don’t care. I want them to know. That girl is mine, and maybe you should inform everyone that I’m a fucking dangerous man, and I will make one with the ground whoever dares to bother you or Romina.”
She was completely unimpressed by my rant.
“The only one bothering me right now is you, Roman. I need you to understand that this is my life. It has been my life for six years, and you’re shaking it from the ground up.”
“I need you to understand, mia bella ragazza, that I already lost those six years. Can you blame me for not wanting to wait anymore? I’m not waiting for my happiness anymore, Salvatrice.”
The tightness of her lips disappeared and she softened under my eyes like gelato in the sun.
“No, of course you don’t want to wait, but can’t you be a little gentler? The man that I knew would have never said things like this without thinking things through.”
Roman Stefani, the calm one. The man who always analyzes his options in great depth. The voice of reason. I’ve been described like that all my life. I was raised to have a sharp mind and put it to good use.
“You left that man. Maybe he decided to change.”
“No, I didn’t leave him, I left a gangster.” The word gangster was filthy in her mouth.
“That didn’t change.”
“I see that now. Let’s just drop it. We’re not getting anywhere.”
“Fine by me. What do you want in your crepe?”
“I’m not fucking hungry.”
Jesus, was she always as exasperating as she was right now? Where did all the sweetness from last night go?
“Drop the attitude, Salva. It’s getting exhausting.”
“I don’t want to eat! I don’t know why you think…” she snarled before she stopped to take a breath, “why you think, you can…you can…” Her lungs gave out again, and she exploded into an aggressive coughing.
I couldn’t even remember why I was angry at her moments before. I kneeled in front of her and put a hand on her leg as she covered her mouth with a napkin.
“Amore, are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m good now.” But her voice was broken, like she hadn’t had a drop of water in days. I poured some into a glass and gave it to her.
“You need to be seen by a doctor.”
“I went to the doctor, Roman, I’m ok. I told you already, it’s from pneumonia.”
“You shouldn’t still have this cough.”
“I know I sound like a two-pack-a-day smoker sometimes, but it’s really not that bad.”
“I want you to be seen by a specialist in New York. I know some very good doctors.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, brown eyes.”
“We’ll see.” I leaned to kiss her and she tried to pull back, but there was a clear warning in my eyes. I took her lips slowly, enjoying every note of her aroma. “Let’s eat, amore. I want to go and see Romina after.”
~~~
Romina was curious, to put it lightly. When I walked Salvatrice back to her place, the little one was already growing impatient. She was dressed, fed, and eager to know why her mother wasn’t present at breakfast. Salva told her something about going to the market and she redirected her energy towards Max, who was equally happy to see her.
