Becoming His Wife by Hayley Faiman

Chapter Thirty-Six

TIZIANO

Walking into the casino, I’m not surprised that the door is unlocked and there is no guard. Not only is it the middle of the afternoon, but Mia knows I’m coming. She’s not in the reception area when I arrive, so I walk onto the casino floor and that’s where I find her. She’s sitting with her back to me at the bar.

“Mia,” I call out at the same time my phone rings.

Taking it out of my pocket, I see that it’s Salvatore and make a mental note to call him when I’m finished here, knowing that it won’t take too long. I’m not sure what Mia wants, but she sounded as if she was almost in a panic when she called.

Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I make my way toward her. She must sense my approach nearing when I’m a few feet away because she looks over her shoulder at me. Mia flicks her gaze down to the floor, in a submissive move that has my feet halting in their place.

“You called me,” I say, clearing my throat.

Slowly, her eyes lift and her gaze finds mine. She licks her lips in a move that can be categorized as nothing other than seductive. Instantly, I feel uncomfortable. She sniffles, then slowly slides off of the barstool before she makes her way toward me, her hips swaying from side to side.

“Mia,” I warn.

She stops in front of me, placing her palm against my chest before she slowly slides it up my shoulder and wraps her fingers around the back of my neck.

“I didn’t think you’d really stay away,” she purrs.

Shaking my head, I lift my hand and wrap my fingers around her wrist. “Mia,” I say in a warning tone, again.

“The feds are going to arrest me, I can feel it,” she breathes.

“This has absolutely nothing to do with me,” I inform her.

She nods once but doesn’t shift her gaze from mine. “I know, but I just don’t understand,” she murmurs.

Arching a brow, I don’t ask her what she’s talking about. Instead, I wait, because she has something else to say. I’m just not sure what exactly. I don’t know her endgame with this. I’ve made it perfectly fucking clear that she’s my friend, I care for her, but I’m married and I’m not going to be in her bed any longer.

“Why don’t you want me?”

“I’m married,” I state.

“Gavino said the same thing years ago,” she says, her voice soft.

My eyes widen. It shouldn’t surprise me that she and Vino had a thing, but then again it does. Vino isn’t someone to mix business with pleasure, and Mia is business. She’s not a whore, she’s his employee, so I’m shocked to hear that they had a liaison together.

“I’m cast aside, as always. Why?”

“What do you want?” I demand on a growl.

She licks her lips, her eyes focused on mine, but she doesn’t say anything immediately. She just watches me, then takes a step backward.

“I’m scared,” she admits in a whisper. Her eyes well with tears as she watches me. “I’m scared and I’m alone. I have a guy I play with sometimes, but he doesn’t understand what I’m facing, not like a Made Man does.”

“And? You think that if we fuck, it’ll help you somehow not be scared of the future?”

She laughs softly. “That sounds really pathetic when you say it like that.” I don’t respond, watching her and waiting for her to speak again. “I really am scared, Tiz. I’m alone.”

“You’ve been offered to find a match, I know that you have.”

Mia shakes her head. “It’s not that easy, you know that, not for me. If I go to prison, I have nobody, absolutely nobody.”

“I’m married,” I remind her.

“I’m selfish. I liked what we had a lot, I miss it. Not just the sex, but the friendship, too.”

“It’s not yours to have anymore, Mia. I can’t be that for you,” I say, lifting my hand to cup her cheek.

This will be the last encounter we’ll have together. I can’t do this to Maci. I can’t do this to my new family. I won’t be my father, I won’t be like some of the Made Men. I am going to be faithful, make my marriage work until it doesn’t, but I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that it always does. In thinking that, I can’t be with Mia again, it would ruin it all.

“What do I do?” she asks softly.

Shaking my head, my fingers flex before I let my hand fall from her cheek. “I can’t answer that for you, nobody can. If you need me for something to do with the feds, I got you. If you need me in any famiglia business at all, I got you. But not like this, not the way it was. We weren’t ever anything more than friends and fuck buddies. Don’t ruin our friendship because you’re scared.”

“Fuck you, Tiziano,” she growls.

Taking a step back, I clear my throat. “You’re stressed and nervous. I get it. But don’t take it out on the people who truly care for you. I’m here to help you if you need me, I just won’t be helping you with my dick.”

Without another word, I turn my back to her and walk away. I hear her stomp her foot, then the glass that she had been drinking from flies next to my head before it lands a few feet in front of me on the ground.

I don’t bother looking back at her. She’s pissed off, but it has nothing to do with me. Her fears, her loneliness, that’s not on me. I will do everything and anything that I can to keep her out of prison, but what I won’t do is jeopardize my marriage to ease her fears.

I’ve fucked up enough recently, I’d like to continue getting to know my wife and falling for her more every day the way that I have been. Maci is special and she was made for me. There is no doubt about it in my mind. She was the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with—as cheesy as that shit sounds.

My phone rings again and I tug it out of my pocket as I sit down in the driver’s seat of my car.

“Bianchi,” I murmur.

“You want to make good on that promise to help me?” Gavino asks.

“Undoubtedly,” I state.

“Come to the house. I think I have a plan.”

MACI

Salvatore doesn’t sayanything after the doctor’s appointment. I have the pictures and envelope in my grip when I ask him if he can stop by the big box store that’s on the way home. I’ve only gone in a couple of times, but I know that there is a little bit of everything, including a baby department and a bakery.

“I’ll go with you,” he announces as he touches the button to turn the car off.

I could tell him that he doesn’t have to, but to be truthful, I don’t really feel like being alone right now. I’m already lost inside of my own head as it is, I don’t need to be physically alone too.

A girl.

I don’t know how Tiziano is going to take the news of a girl. Just thinking about these men, I have a feeling that boys are really important, girls not so much. Licking my lips, I open the car door just as Salvatore reaches out and wraps his hand around my wrist.

“You’ve been too quiet, is everything okay?”

Blinking, I look into his eyes, just realizing his complete concern. My lips curve up into a grin. “I’m good, this appointment was to find out the gender, since Tiziano didn’t come, I was going to surprise him with a gift and some dessert to celebrate and reveal the gender.”

Salvatore’s face blanks and I wonder what he is thinking. No. I don’t want to know, because the color is kind of gone from his face and I have a feeling he’s about to get good and pissed off.

I brace for him to start yelling, mainly because this is the way he looks when he gets a phone call and starts to yell at the person on the other end of the line.

“Tiziano doesn’t deserve you, bella,” he rasps.

“Salvatore?”

He shakes his head. “There’s nothing more to that, just that he doesn’t deserve you.” He releases and opens his car door, wordlessly unfolding from the front seat. Hitching my purse over my shoulder, I quickly slip from the car and hurry after him.

The automatic doors slide open and I hurry inside just to see him tugging a shopping cart from the stacked carts. He wheels it toward me and grins.

“Where to?” he asks.

He acts as if he hasn’t just told me something massive. Saying my own husband doesn’t deserve me, then not backing it up with anything. I am confused, but afraid to ask more.

What if he told me he wanted me or something? I couldn’t work for him anymore, I couldn’t be friends with him anymore, and that would really blow because I like Salvatore a lot.

So, he stays quiet on the subject, and I follow his lead.

“The bakery,” I murmur.

He smiles and pushes the cart toward the bakery. Looking around the case, I can’t help but lick my lips at all of the sweet treats that stare back at me. I can’t even think about what I want to get, because they all look out of this world amazing.

“Do you know what you want?” Salvatore asks after a few moments of my silent staring.

“Something pink,” I say.

He doesn’t say anything and I slowly turn my head from the chocolate cake that has me in a trance to look over to him. His eyes are wide as he watches me for a long moment.

“Pink?” he asks.

“Is he going to be upset that I’m not buying blue?” I ask in a whisper.

Salvatore chuckles, then lets out a short snort. “If he is, I’ll beat the shit out of him.”

“Salvatore,” I gasp.

He shrugs a shoulder, then turns and walks over to another case. I watch as he reaches down and picks something up, setting it down in the cart. He turns away from me, calling out as he goes.

“Where to next?”

I move quickly to his side, looking into the cart and smiling at the sight of the set of four vanilla cupcakes with bright pink frosting on top.

“The baby department,” I whisper.

“Figured as such.”

Silently, we make our way through the store and toward the back where all of the baby clothes and items are.

“Why would you think he’d be upset over a girl?” Salvatore finally asks as soon as we are in front of the infant clothing.

Shrugging my shoulder, I reach for a pink elephant stuffed animal. Licking my lips, I turn my head to look up at him.

“I thought all of the men would want only boys,” I say.

He shakes his head slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. “In the old days, yes. Now? Not so much. Children are a beautiful blessing. If a boy is meant to happen, then it will, but don’t you agree that women are just as capable as men in this world?”

“In the world, yes. In this one?” Arching my brow, I don’t break eye contact with him. He laughs and shrugs a shoulder.

“Perhaps we’re a bit archaic. However, Tiziano will be happy to have a healthy baby, I doubt it will matter.”

“I hope you’re right,” I whisper.