Chapter 1

Chapter One

Isabella

I mean, I don't think I will hate sex with Giorgio Palermo. It won't excite me, of course, and I guess I'll probably end up masturbating a lot to take care of my physical needs but I won't be the first Italian American girl marrying a man because she wants a family and not because she likes the man. At least I won't be the first Italian American girl with a family like mine.

The Cicco family.

We might end up being the Cicco Family. Capital F. It's a mafia thing. Yeah. My dad is an underboss, and he's got the go ahead to propose a process to break free and have his own family. He's working on that proposal now. Anyway, the capital F just means that it ends with Dad. The buck stops there. He's the one people pay tribute to.

You probably know all about this stuff. I mean, at least you have a general idea about it. Television and movies really romanticize it all. Some of what they do they definitely get right and a lot of what they do they don't. When they make it seem like it's some kind of secret society or something, like people who meet in a basement while braziers are burning and someone in a robe is chanting, they're totally wrong.

I mean, they don't make it look specifically like some kind of occult ceremony but you get what I mean, right? Here's how you can really think about it. You can think of it as a bunch of blue-collar businessmen like plumbers, carpenters, general contractors, and pipe suppliers. Only, it's not those companies. It's numbers, bookmaking, prostitution, and drugs. Oh, and corruption.

Yeah, that's a big deal, too. I don't have specifics but people who work for my dad "work" on almost every major government construction project. They don't actually do what their contracts say. They get paid for it, though, and my dad gets a piece.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is that television and movies really focus on the people now, and it's just like a romance drama with a million giant emotional moments more than anything else. Or, if they're making a crime drama where a police officer is the hero, they make the mob guys nothing but unhinged killers.

The mob is far more boring than either of those things. My family is pretty much like any other family except, I guess, we're a bit more well off. We're traditional Italian, so Mom keeps the house and Dad works but that only seems strange in today's day and age where everyone hates homemakers. Growing up, I had friends over to the house a lot and none of them realized Daddy was a mobster.

Anyway, where the hell was I?

Oh yeah, I guess sex with Giorgio would be unfulfilling but not horrible or traumatic. I could handle it even though I wouldn't really like it.

Giorgio is one of Daddy's lieutenants. He likes me. Mom and Dad like Giorgio. I hear on a pretty regular basis that I should give him a chance, let him take me out on a date. What that means is that they approve of him as a husband and they want me to get around to it.

Yeah, Mom taught me how to make grandma's pollo primaverile con fichi. That's spring chickens with figs. Spring chickens are just little chickens. Mom uses Cornish game hens. Look, the point of all this is that they want me married. Teaching me that recipe is arming me with the advanced kitchen weaponry Mom thinks I need to land Giorgio and get a ring on my finger.

And hell, if I have to marry a guy around here, at least Giorgio isn't ugly, right?

Oh, that's horrible! Guys around here aren't ugly. What I mean is that at least I'm not horribly turned off by him even if he doesn't turn me on.

I turn down the next aisle in the grocery store and try to shake these sad little thoughts off. I'm not one of these "oh, woe is me" girls, you know? I know I'm luckier than most, especially since I'm not your typical skinny girl but plus-sized. Some people like to call us curvy girls. Whatever. I'm Italian. I like to eat good food, and I like to cook good food.

But I know that my mom and dad think it's part of the reason I should accept Giorgio. I mean, Mom is much bigger than me now but she started out thin. Anyway, maybe they're right. Maybe settling for Giorgio is a good thing because he's settling for me. Well, that's just something I have to think about.

Okay, I said I was going to stop this rambling, and I'm going to, I promise. It's just that with a family like mine, it's not easy to say that the answer is no or that you'd like to have time to think about something, especially when you're the daughter of a crime boss.Underboss. May as well be the same thing, really.

Well, my head is full of all this fun stuff when I turn into another aisle and run into Vittorio, and I mean that literally. It's like some kind of movie when I turn into the aisle with my cart and bump into him. "Oh ..." I see who it is and the rest of the words are like some faraway wondrous voice. "...I'm so sorry."

I don't know who I've hit at first, but then my mind works and I gasp. It's Vittorio Leone. He's the big boss's son. I've just assaulted the boss's son with a shopping cart. And he's so hot! Damn it!

But Vittorio gives me a big smile. "No worries, I just got too wrapped up in the good food to notice you." He looks at me with his very beautiful hazel eyes. "But I notice you now, Bella."

I giggle, actually giggle like some high school cheerleader being hit on by the captain of the football team. "I think it was more I ran into you and... Wait, you know who I am?"

"Of course, I do. You're the little girl who used to come to our house with her dad and want to go out and pet the geese."

I laugh. Don Leone is known for his pet geese, and yes, I used to absolutely love chasing those birds and trying to hug the babies. "Oh wow, that was a long time ago."

"I wanted to talk to you at the memorial but it was hard to get a free second."

I nod and put a hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry about your grandfather."

He smiles and pats my hand. "Thank you. My great grandfather, actually, and he's been sick for a long time. It helps when you have plenty of time to prepare. But, eh, what're you gonna do?"

So, I need to say here that my heart is absolutely racing. Vittorio knowing me, remembering me, is a big deal in my book, especially since I feel I look pretty different. Also, Vittorio is hot. I mean, smoking hot. The man is a firefighter in California, and he looks like every cliche of that you can imagine. He's tall, toned, got a gorgeous head of hair that falls artfully into those gorgeous eyes.

And he got out of the business. That's the big thing.

Yep, Vittorio Leone is a completely honest man. I don't know how he managed it, but he did.He got out of the mob.

Now, we definitely knew each other when we were younger, but it's been a while since I've seen him. He's been living life in California. I smile. "So, how is it putting out fires in the Sunshine state?"

He gives me a very Italian gesture as he answers. "Ah, you know, the job is the job."

We both laugh at that because we both have fathers who sound just like that. "Okay, but really, how is it?"

"It's great, to tell the truth. I like California. It's different, and the people are crazy, but there's one thing I really miss."

I have a brief thought that he's going to suddenly say something romantic like in the movies. "Oh, yeah, what's that?"

Okay, confession time. I have had a crush on Vittorio for as long as I can remember. I never really gave it much room, though, because every girl in the neighborhood had a crush on him. He was always good-looking, but he was also a really nice guy. That is a killer combo in an Italian American community like ours. So, yeah, I daydream.

But Vittorio just shrugs. "Well, you know, I can't find any real food, not even treats or snacks in Cali. It's all gluten-free, super food, less carb bologna, you know? But even without the health idiots, there's nothing Italian, nothing good. I miss the good stuff."

My heart skips a beat when he answers, and then restarts. Of course, he wasn't going to confess his undying love for me. "I understand the importance of some quality snacks. My mom has me learning all these new recipes."

He nods approvingly. "That sounds fantastic. Has she taught you arancini?"

I pretend offense. "What, are you stupid? Of course! I've made those since I was just a baby."

He laughs, and the warmth of it hits me. "Well, tell me something you make that's fancy now."

"I'm perfecting my panelle ."

"Oh, good, good. What else?"

I throw my hands up. "What else, he asks. Okay, I can make cannoli. But why bother when you have Tonetti's just down the block?"

He acts stunned. "No! Really? You're not the little girl who came to look at Pop's geese. You're not a little girl anymore. You can do cannoli now? Bella, I should marry you on the spot."

And in that very moment, my heart shuts down. Both of us seem to feel the awkwardness.

"Um, I tell you what, I'll just make some and I won't even make you plan the wedding for it." I pray my fierce blushing is not too obvious.

He nods. "Now I have something to look forward to but for now I should get going. My dad will wonder why I'm not hurrying home to watch the football with him."

"Oh yeah, my dad, too." Not really true, my dad is not much of a sports guy, except for betting. But I have to say something.I shrug, "At least if he's got money on the game and the home team covers the spread."

He laughs loudly at that and says, "My dad, too. But he still wants me there."

So, we say goodbye and hug, which is weird and wonderful all at once, and then, he's moved past me and I'm stuck.

I stand there and try to think about what was bothering me so much before running into Vittorio, but my mind draws a blank.

Vittorio is all I can think about now.