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Enzo comes up behind me, his arms snaking around my waist. “What was that about?” He nods his head to the door Luca just exited through.
“I think that was Luca's strange way of welcoming me into the family.” I turn my head to the side so I can pop a kiss on his cheek. “I need to ask you something.”
“Okay, shoot.” He says as he pulls away to lean against the wall opposite me.
“I think I want to go to Michael's wedding but I won't go unless you can come with me.”
His eyes assess me cautiously and tilts his chin at me. “What's with the sudden change of heart?”
I sigh. “Leah called today, laid the guilt on real thick.” A note of bitter amusement in my voice. “But I do think I should be there. It's enough that Aleksy won't be there and I think I'll regret it in the future if I'm not there to see him get married.”
Ares starts to fuss on the floor and Enzo picks him up with one arm. Turning to me with very serious eyes. “We’ll go but only if you're sure you can handle it. I’m not having this set you back.”
“As long as you're with me, I can handle it,” I say with confidence
“Okay.” Ares grabs at the chain around his neck and Enzo looks at him for a beat before turning back to me. “He should stay here.” His eyes darken slightly.
I bite my thumbnail. “He needs to meet my family.”
Enzo’s eyes go hard and he looks at Ares again. “They can come to us at a later date. We should leave him here with Fran.”
I swallow. Thinking about being away from him for even a night is a hard task. “I don't want to be away from him that long.”
He glances at me and it’s clear he’s unsure. I walk over to him and put my hand on his chest. “We will just have to be careful and we won't stay long.”
He nods but I know he isn’t convinced. I'm not sure how he will handle being in the same country as Tom and not killing him. I’m not sure how I won't let him.
44
Enzo
Heathrow, London
I’m not happy about the idea of being in London with Ares. I’m also not happy about Leah guilting my fiancée into doing something she isn’t comfortable with. But I know how much Casimira cares about her family and I would be the same. I would want to be there for any of my siblings’ weddings.
Casimira has been a bundle of nervous energy leading up to today. I’ve tried multiple times to convince her to take either Luca or Raff with us but she’s firm on the subject. She hasn’t told anyone what I do. She told her family I’ve made my fortune in real estate, like that’s even believable.
I can't say I’m thrilled at the idea of not having a gun with me as that is one of my rules. I never leave the house without one. It's easy to get around the red tape when I have enough time to plan but London is a different story. I'm not as well connected over here. The closest connection I do have is part of the Irish mob in London but even then, I know none of them personally, only through brief phone interactions with Sean. Basically, I’m not fucking happy about any of this.
I'm a planner. I like to be prepared for every situation. So when something like this arises, I would have liked more than three days to prepare the logistics. Casimira was tense the whole flight. I can practically see the thoughts racing through her brain at a hundred miles an hour. She relaxes slightly when we see her mom and stepdad waiting at baggage claim. They insisted on picking us up and taking us to their house before we check into our hotel.
Her mom stands, waving frantically at us. Her black hair is just like Cas’. I can see where Casimira gets her looks from, she’s stupid beautiful although Nat looks a lot older than 44. I guess losing a child will do that to you. The thought turns my stomach, clearly Casimira gets her strength from her mom too. If anything ever happened to Ares, I don't think I would recover. Her stepdad is beaming at the sight of Casimira and Ares. He has a slight beer belly and a 5 o'clock shadow but his head is clean-shaven. Old tattoos cover his forearms and knuckles old enough that you can't really make them out.
Casimira runs to her mom with Ares in her arms as I carry the suitcase. It’s an oddly satisfying sight, seeing the smile on Casimira’s face. Steve holds his hand out to me and I give him a firm handshake. “It's good to finally meet you, mate.” His accent is thick. Way thicker than Casimira’s. He pulls his stepdaughter into a hug and Ares starts to cry. Probably a bit overwhelmed as he's just woken up. He holds his little hand up to me and I take him. He clings to me tightly as Natalia comes over giving me a tight hug. Her blue eyes teary. ”I'm so glad you could make it.”
“It's good to finally meet you in person,” I say and she gives my arm a friendly squeeze.
She turns to Ares in my arms. “Hello Ares, I’m babcia. Don’t you remember me from the phone?”
He evaluates her with quiet curiosity but warms up to her quickly as he does with everyone. He's a real social butterfly, a little bit like Benny was at this age oddly enough. Soon enough he allows her to take him from me and we head to Casimira’s childhood home.
45
Casimira
Brixton, London
We drive through London and I can see Enzo is tense; he's out of his comfort zone and I've got to say so am I. This doesn't feel like coming home. This feels like going into uncharted territory.
