Page 18 of Amadeo (Dark Legends #4)

Gia

Was this what heaven was like? I wondered this as Amadeo washed my hair, massaging my scalp until I almost fell asleep.

He then conditioned it, washed me down and generally just took gentle care of me as I was again like Jello.

He toweled me off, detangled my hair then wrapped a towel around me and set me on the bed.

With a towel slung low on his hips, he turned and went over to my closet. Staring at its contents, he looked over at me to ask, “Are these all the clothes you have?”

I raised my head up. “Yes, I wasn’t happy about coming here, remember? So I asked my housekeeper to pack just a few outfits. I didn’t want to believe I would be here any longer than a few days. I honestly thought your father was going to place Deacon in a specialty hospital.”

“Like he would do what anyone expects.” He scoffed as he grabbed my red dress on the hanger and swung it over so I could see it. “And this?” He raised his brows.

I shrugged. “She packed it and I just…”

“When you walked into the dining room wearing this, I swear to all that is holy I’d gotten so hard I could have hammered a nail through a 2 by 4.”

A laugh burst from my lips.

“No, I am serious. I already had a hard on for you, so to speak. Then you had to become the lady in red of all things.”

“Oh, I love that old song.” I nodded at him.

“Well, it played in my head for a minute when I saw you,” Amadeo told me as he hung it back up. “You looked more than beautiful in red. In fact, when things settle down, I’m taking you shopping. Red ballgowns, red mini dresses, and red lingerie.”

I grinned at him as I shook my head.

“I’m not kidding.”

I looked up at him. “Men don’t do that. Take women out to shop.”

“How do you know?” he asked as he grabbed my black jump suit and brought it over.

“Rich men only do that with mistresses, right? Like that 80’s movie, Pretty Woman. Where he hires her to go everywhere with him or something.” I gave him a wink and said, “Well, I am not that kind of girl, Mr. Descalia.”

He chuckled and brought the outfit over to me. “No, but I hope to corrupt you down to being that kind of girl.” He gave me a cheesy wink.

I shook my head.

“A guy can dream, can’t he? I would love to have you model some fire engine red panties for me.”

I let out a loud bit of laughter now.

Handing me the outfit, he turned to look around. “In fact, let me at that panty drawer.”

I held my side as I got a cramp from laughing.

He went over to open the dresser drawer to pluck out a bra and undies. “See? You only have two more left. And yuck, they are plain white with no lace or anything. We need to go out and shop ASAP!”

I kept laughing as I got dressed. Looking up, I saw him in his dress pants. “Is that all you're gonna wear?”

He shrugged. “I can’t find my shirt and I don’t see my watch anywhere.”

“Oh, that beautiful thing you wear around your wrist?”

Nodding, he kept searching. “It is a ridiculous thing of beauty.” He shook his head.

“If you don’t like it, then why wear it?”

“My father bought it for my last birthday. So he would get upset if I didn’t wear it.

I’d just rather skip his nagging and the depth of his disappointment speech, thank you very much.

I mean I can only stomach one of those per day.

In reality, I hate the damn thing. Mainly because I’m ashamed to admit what it cost. I about flipped out when I looked the watch up online and saw how much it cost. I feel like money is better spent on doing something great.

Something significant. I wish he could actually see how wasteful this gift was.

Like give that ten grand to the shelter downtown. Feed the homeless for a little while.”

“Ten…” I shook my head at him as I stood up and zipped the side zipper on my suit. “...Grand? That watch cost ten thousand dollars?”

Amadeo nodded. “That’s almost the rent for a year for some people.

” He paused then added, “Well, maybe six months, but still. And I always feel like a target when I would wear it while out in town or something. So I don’t do that.

If I leave either Descalia corp or this estate, I take the damn thing off.

I mean any mugger worth his rap sheet would jump me in a heartbeat.

” He shrugged. “I’d probably shoot him in the face but if he was any good, he would try to get this watch.

” Kneeling down, he retrieved it from beneath the bed and raising it up, he quipped, “I think we rolled around too much in that bed.”

Chuckling, I replied, “No, none of that was too much. Not the rolling, the spinning, or seeing the moon. I could do that all over again.”

Standing from the floor, Amadeo stared at me.

I stared back at him and went on, “It was an amazing, wild, wonderful trip to the stars, Deo.” I got teary eyed at the depth of feeling rolling through me. I wasn’t used to it. “I mean I have never felt so good before in all my life. It affected me more than I realized.” I swiped at a stray tear.

Stepping over, he took me into his arms, kissed the top of my head and held me. “I promise to make you feel good as often as I can.”

I snorted. “You make me laugh every couple of minutes.”

“Nah, that’s smack-talk and jokes. I mean good, as in deep down good.”

I looked up at him. “I loved the deep down parts. I look forward to that.” I gave him a wink.

Stepping back from me, he took my hand. “With the way you are rocking this jumpsuit, I will start making good on that promise in about sixty seconds if we don’t leave right away.” He tugged me toward the door.

“Wait, you are shirtless, Deo!” I exclaimed with a laugh.

He paused to look down at his bare chest. “Oh, yeah. See? Only one of my heads is working right now.” He turned to spot his dress shirt on the chair. Grabbing it up, he slipped it on.”

“It ought to be a sin to cover that chest up.” I moved close to him again and tugged at the shirt. “Let me do the buttons.”

He stood obediently as I did the buttons up.

Finally, I grasped his hand and said, “Let’s go to breakfast.”

“I still say we’d be better off to send up for our meals. I love my family so don’t get me wrong, but there are a couple of members that I am more than tired of.”

I laughed as we went out the door and stepped into the hallway. “I get it, but this isn’t a hotel, Deo.”

“No, it isn’t,” someone said.

We looked up to see Luca standing in the hall.

I didn’t know him all that well, so I just stood there, holding Amadeo’s hand.

Leaning in close to me, Amadeo whispered, “And here is one of the two assholes now.” He then gave his brother a nod. “What’s up, Luca?”

Nodding his head at our joined hands, he replied, “I should be asking you that question.”

I tilted my head at him, wondering why he would make a crack about Amadeo and I.

“Why is it any of your business?” Amadeo asked him.

Luca scoffed at him. “I warned you, Deo.”

I didn’t happen to care for how he was disrespecting my man. “Yes, and why did you do that?” I asked him outright. “Warn him about me.”

He raised his gaze to mine. “Your family—”

“Yes?” I stepped closer to the man while cutting him off. Not a bit intimidated like I probably should be, considering he might just be more dangerous than even his father. “You mean what members of my family that are left, right?”

With steady eyes on me and his shoulders squared in his suit, Luca gave me a nod.

“Well, my father is getting the care he needs,” I informed him in my most authoritative voice.

“My mother is constantly worried and afraid, thanks to your father. And oh, my sister is dead. I found out it was one of your cousins or something that caused it. So, I would say your family is no better than mine. And don’t worry, I will take good care of your little brother.

” I then stepped back, took Amadeo’s hand again and turned away.

Amadeo let out a laugh as we moved forward and he looked back over his shoulder at him. “Well, she done told you!”

I didn’t look back as we headed down the hall. Luca didn’t deserve my attention and in fact, he could take a flying leap. He did not know me at all. To insinuate that my family was so messed up that Amadeo shouldn’t get involved with me.

“Damn, Gia. You are so magnificent,” Amadeo said as he squeezed my hand in his and kept grinning while we went down the stairs.

“So are you, Deo. So are you.”

We both chuckled as we headed to the dining hall. We went over to Zia’s end.

Amadeo pulled my chair out and sat me down then helped to scoot it back in. He then turned to sit in the chair next to me.

“Amadeo.”

We both looked up to see his father, Stephano.

The man was actually scowling.

Great, more disapproval.

Amadeo didn’t get to sit in his chair as he leaned down to whisper to me again, “Here comes a-hole number two.”

Stopping at our chairs, Stephano snapped at Amadeo, “Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

“It went dead. I forgot to charge it for two days. Why? Is there news?”

Stephano glanced at me then swung his gaze back to his son. “I need to discuss it with you.”

Amadeo reached down and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Whatever you need to say, you can say it in front of Gia as well.”

Stephano stared at him then looked down at me in my chair.

I shrugged. “He and I are together now. But even if that wasn’t a fact, I am Deacon’s physician. I should be informed about this too.”

He kept staring at me, his expression blank, then he looked up at Amadeo again. “We can’t discuss it here anyway. It’s complicated.”

Amadeo chuckled. “Of course it is. I don’t think anything having to do with this family is simple.”

He shook his head and replied, “I wish to see you both in my study after breakfast.” He turned sharply and headed away.

Amadeo sat down and scooted his chair in as he kept grumbling to himself.

I looked over at him. “What are you muttering about?”

He raised his gaze at me to reply, “It’s not very PG, nor is it very polite.”

“If it doesn’t do you proud, then you shouldn’t say it aloud.”

We looked up.

Zia was smiling at us as she sat down in her chair.

Amadeo chuckled. “That’s just what you taught me.”

“I saw him stop here.” She nodded her head towards her brother. “He just loves to ruin people’s day. And he especially likes to do it early.”

“I know, right?” Amadeo agreed as he poured coffee from the decanter into my cup. “Like he wants to start his fusses at 8 a.m.?”

Nodding firmly at him, Zia went on, “And 10 a. m…11, noon…”

We all laughed.

“Luckily for us, he did cut the lecture short though,” Amadeo told her. “But we have to be in his study after breakfast.”

“Ok, dig into the pancakes and sausage, then,” Zia said as she motioned to the serving dishes on the table.

“You are gonna need all your strength if you step into that room. You need to be ready to withstand the storm of....” She paused and looked at Amadeo.

“What world dominating, outright Armageddon catastrophe is it now?

Amadeo snickered. “He wasn’t happy that my phone died and he couldn’t reach me.”

“Oh, everyone needs to die for that!” she exclaimed dramatically. “You need to hide right away for such a heinous crime.”

I couldn’t stop laughing. Now I knew where Amadeo got his humor from. This woman was a comedic genius.

Zia waved her hand in dismissal. “Besides, yesterday was a hectic one. So you forgot? The man calls me dramatic? Well, Mr. Important is the biggest drama king I have ever met.”

Amadeo and I both laughed.

As we ate, Zia told us stories about his drama, “He threw a fit over that one. I never touched that ink well! I cleaned his desk and he accused me of messing it up. And then I told him, ‘We live in the 21st century, who uses ink wells?’ Well, that lit a fire under his culo. So I had to then listen to a lecture about the importance of refined adherences to things that are sacred and historic…Blah, blah, blah…” Zia looked over at us and added, “I asked him what in the holiest of saints did that mean?” She laughed.

“Dio mio… did he lose it after that! So, I just walked out while he was still ranting.”

We all laughed.

She went on, “I told him once that he loves to lecture, so he needs to see if any of the universities would pay him to give them.”

Amadeo hooted with laughter as he nearly spit his juice out. “Oh. My. God!” He had to dab his mouth with a napkin.

I wasn’t doing much better as I almost didn’t swallow my toast.

Amadeo reached over to pat me on the back.

“Well, let me tell you…” Zia took a sip of her coffee then went on, “Stevie hated that suggestion and he was losing his temper. I never heard curse words like that before…Not in Italian or English. I warned him about the new soap I bought just for that. But finally, I had to kick his culo outta my kitchen.”