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That didn't sound good.
"Nico, our bedroom is upstairs, third door down on the left. Why don't you go wait for me there? Sofia is supposed to be making us something to eat. As soon as I get done speaking to my grandfather, we can have lunch."
I shot Alessio a quick glance before leaning closer to Luca. "He's not going to tell you to make me leave, is he?"
"No, baby," Luca replied. "He wants to talk to me about what happened to the D'Angelo family."
I wanted to believe him, but I wasn't sure if I did. Granted, Luca hadn't lied to me thus far, but I wasn't sure of Alessio's welcome. I couldn't tell if was really welcoming or simply acceptance since I was already here.
Luca sighed, grabbed my arm, and pulled me down the hallway to the room at the end. Alessio was sitting at a large mahogany desk on the other side of the room.
"Nonno, would you please tell Nico that he is welcome here?"
Surprisingly, the old man's eyes widened. "Nicolas, do you think you're not welcome here?"
Way to put me on the spot.
"I...uh..."
Alessio got up from the chair he had been sitting in and walked around the desk. He took my hand, holding it between both of mine, and then he stared at me so intently that before turning toward his grandson. "Luca, can you give me a few minutes with Nicolas?"
I almost begged Luca not to go, but I knew I needed to talk with the man. I needed to know now if I was staying or going before I got too comfortable here.
"It's okay," I told Luca.
"Are you sure?" Luca asked.
No, but I nodded anyway.
"I'll go check on lunch," Luca said before walking out of the room.
"Let's sit," Alessio said as he gestured to the small sitting area.
I walked over and sat on one of the chairs, folding my hands and sticking them between my thighs. They were trembling a bit, but I didn't want Alessio to see how anxious I was.
"Nicolas, do you remember what Luca was like before he went to prison?"
I nodded. Like I could ever forget. Thoughts of him had been the only thing to keep me going over the years.
"Luca was always a distant child," Alessio said. "I know it's due to how his parents raised him. My wife and I were not allowed to see him very often due to the work I did, but even then I could tell that there was something cold in Luca. As a mafia don, I loved seeing that. As a grandfather, I hated it."
I tilted my head, my brow furrowing. "What do you mean cold? I've never seen Luca being cold."
A small smile spread across Alessio's face. "When Luca was about twelve years old, we were visiting. Do you remember that?"
"Yes."
"That was the first time I ever saw Luca smile."
"Really." I was surprised. "But Luca smiles all the time."
"For you, Nicolas. He smiles for you. Luca doesn't smile for anyone else."
That was news to me, but we'd only been back together for like twenty-four hours or something.
"When he went to prison, I went to visit him. He didn't want to discuss what had happened or how he had ended up in there or even how to get him out. All he wanted to talk about was you and if you were okay, and then he demanded that I put a man on you."
"He did that?" Luca had said he'd been keeping an eye on me, but I hadn't known it had gone back that far. Gave me a bit of a warm feeling inside and I couldn't help but smile. "He worries about me."
