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Dante

I admit it. It was crazy. Pazzo. I was in love. I never thought it would happen to me. I still wasn’t sure why it happened either.

Della Walker Granger.

The woman was a total mystery as far as I was concerned. Showing up here after being pulled from a crypt in the Metairie, ten days ago. She came in a bit injured and a lot angry. The way she jumped onto Valencia to beat on her had been a shocker. It showed she had lots of fight in her. Who could blame her really? The woman had locked her up in a dead man’s crypt. I think I’d take a swipe at her too. Now, she had calmed down, though I could tell she didn't like Valencia much. Not that she said so, but she always glared at her whenever she saw her.

I couldn’t imagine what that had been like. Waking up after being drugged and not knowing why you were in a dark crypt. Of course, you would feel that it was the end. You would believe someone had put you there to die.

I wondered about Julianna’s twin, this Valencia woman, who had done this to Della. She had spent most of her life with O and Deacon. Both were stone cold killers. We all wondered about how much she knew. Julianna had been spending time with her to get to know her. It made sense that she would as they were separated at 5 years old.

When confronted with many questions about Deacon and O, Della claimed she never knew they were involved in murders and kidnappings.

Before he left here, Talon Walker had asked her about a Russian slave ring that O had operated. Della had told him she took care of business for the Periwinkle Corporation and that there had been mail order brides as far as what was on the books. She had never heard that they were brought here against their wishes. Periwinkle had a program for these foreign brides that included many benefits. Talon had told her the main benefit was enslavement to the highest bidder. He then informed her that his fiancée had been one of those Russian captives. She had been fooled into coming to America by Periwinkle then kidnapped from her hotel room by O’s men.

Della did seem troubled about this news and by other information the Walkers had shown her. All of it on the surface had appeared to be legitimate business operations to her. She told them she was sorry that O had hurt so many. She had a whole different perception of this O woman. She knew her as Olivia and she never observed her as this nefarious criminal named O. She dressed in gowns, wore lots of makeup and jewelry, but that just seemed to be her style. She did tend to be moody, but Della had been used to that. Then Deacon had been a great employer when he took over. The snorts and scoffs in the room when she said this had almost been too loud for her as she gazed around at them all. She said later on that she had obviously been fooled and lied to.

I agreed with this and everyone else seemed to as well. She was just an accountant for O’s more legitimate businesses of which there were many. The underground businesses stayed there…underground.

Della had also said she needed some time to decide what to do with her life. When she first said this, we all understood, as apparently her family had been killed by this Ophelia woman. The reason was unknown but pretty much the conclusion was that it had only been because they were Walkers.

Every morning, I greeted her at the dining table and sat beside her. Same for lunch and dinner. I took her for walks along the property too. This was more than it sounded like. Our property spanned 100 acres. With two lakes, a river, and even a small creek or two. There were old weeping willow trees, hundred year old oaks, and kudzu growing everywhere. We also sported an olympic sized swimming pool, a golf course, tennis courts, and a full gym. Not to mention there were three different gardens.

I told Della that I felt like it was all excessive, but my father did everything in grand style . She asked me about the mafia life. What it was like. I replied that I didn’t know. I kept the books for the Descalia Corporation. I also never saw a mafia member per say. Sometimes our dad had parties here at the Estate and Italian families showed up, but I never saw a machine gun toting, badass Made Italian, I told her. The closest I ever got to seeing anyone like that was my cousins Tito and Rocky. They both tried to appear as scary, intimidating thugs. To me though, they were goofy, large teddy bears. She had thought that was funny, so at least we got a good laugh out of it.

We talked about many things during these walks. Her work for Deacon and O sounded just like any business. At least the way she spoke about it. She never mentioned those things she saw that scared her. But I never asked. I figured when she trusted me more, maybe she would share that with me. We were both accountants too. I always chuckle when I realize that. I was falling for an accountant. Damn, it had to be what they call fate, right?

I say falling for , but it was already too late. I’d fallen . I wasn’t even sure if Della would stay here for very long. Although I clung to the fact that initially she had told Valencia that she had no place to go. Della certainly had some savings, or a bank account though, right? She could get herself another job, an apartment and move away. If so, I’d better do something or one day she would just be gone.

The thing was…I just didn’t know how to approach this. I’d cultivated a friendship with her since she arrived here. But I never let my real feelings show too much. For one thing, I’d never been in love before and that made this a new thing to me. All new. I played the field and never got too involved with a woman before. Nothing beyond casual.

I’d dated and had known quite a few women, but I never took any of it seriously. It was all for the fun of it. I always made it clear to whatever female I was dating that it wasn’t serious. We could have a few days of fun then be friends. Some of them acted like that was fine, then when I moved on, they would turn resentful. Man, I hated it when they would renege on what we agreed to. Most said they’d thought that it could build into something serious. I would feel disgusted and think. I said from the beginning…Nothing serious. Just fun.

Now I wanted something serious and realized I probably wasn’t going to get it. How was that for a twist of fate? Me, the Italian Playboy. Jokester, the all around fun guy to date…Couldn’t seem to land the woman I wanted. While she acted friendly towards me, it seemed like I was just the same to her as any other member of the family.

I needed advice.

So here I sat in the kitchen at the smaller dining table with Zia sitting across from me. All the Descalias knew of this tradition. Espresso with Zia . Yes, Zia was outspoken, lively and at times, outrageous. My father called her a chiacchierone… a chatterbox. But we all knew she gave great advice.

“So, il mio ragazzo,” Zia Maria said softly. “It is amore, eh? You are in love, no?”

“I am, yes. At least I think so?”

“You aren’t sure?” She stared at me.

“I’ve never been in love before, so no…I’m not absolutely sure. I don’t know what to do about it, honestly.”

Zia shook her head at me and tisked. “L'amore è come la pasta, se non la mangi calda, non è buona.”

I stared at Zia then laughed. Love is like pasta, if you don't eat it hot, it's no good.

Nodding at me, she said, “Love needs to be acted upon quickly to be truly enjoyable. So mio, you need to see if she feels the same way.”

I felt a bit reluctant to do that. I mean I didn't want to push her and scare her off. “She doesn’t act like she’s interested in me as a boyfriend.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

She had a good point. I had no clue how Della felt. “I’ve dated women before. So I know all about that. But this is different, Zia. It’s important. I don’t want to scare her away by being pushy.

“Oh, dios mio!” Zia exclaimed. “Where are the men who conquer? The men who are not afraid to… how do you say it. Rock the boat.” She rolled her eyes. “I cannot fathom men and women of today. When my husband first saw me, he pulled me aside. And do you know what he said to me?”

I shook my head. Of course I didn't know. It had to be years ago, before I was even a gleam in my father’s eyes.

“Sei l'amore della mia vita.” You are the love of my life. She nodded at me . “That was what he told me. I admit, I was shocked. As we just met. But later, I realized I loved him too. We had to wait until we were married to…you know? Our wedding night.” Her face went pink. “But we lasted for many years. So, if you keep quiet about this and she leaves…what will you do then?”

I cocked my head at her as that thought had plagued me for a few days now.

“Maybe just test the waters then,” Zia suggested. “Like holding her hand more. Make sure to touch her arm or shoulder more than you do now. Then when you feel it is right. Kiss her.”

I stared at her.

“It isn’t rocket science, Dante.” She smirked at me. “You cannot tell me you have never made a move on a girl.”

I felt a little squeamish now. This was my aunt after all. I hadn’t intended to come in here and actually talk about sex. “I never had to,” I admitted.

“What?” she asked while looking confused.

“Women always hit on me first.” I shrugged. “So then I knew they wanted…” My voice fell away.

“Oh, my,” Zia murmured. “Well, I go back to what I said before…Hit that while it’s hot.”

With a gasp, I stood from the chair and almost knocked the teacup over.

“Bambino, do not look so scared!” She laughed.

I had sat down with my aunt only to be told by her to… Hit. That? I actually ran from the kitchen while hearing Zia’s laughter behind me.

As I rushed into the living room, I ran into my father.

He raised his hands up at me. “What the devil?”

“Oh, sorry Papa,” I apologized.

“Why are you running through the house, Dante?”

I shook my head. “I…” I didn’t have a good excuse handy.

“You are far too old to be playing like this, son.” He stepped back and took a closer look at me. “Is it that girl, Della?”

I stared at him. “Why do you say that?” I asked.

He slowly shook his head. “Do you think I’m dumb? Or blind? You are with her every day. I can see that you like her.”

“Bambino, come and finish your cafe,” Zia called from the hallway.

My father’s head shot up and he stared at me. “You’re having espresso with Maria?” He knew that was the drink she pulled out whenever she had advice or a discussion with any of us Descalia siblings. “You asked her for advice?” he asked.

I let out a long sigh. My father and Zia had lots of arguments and I certainly did not want my love life or lack thereof to be a new debate between them.

Stephano stared at Zia as she came closer. “What nonsense have you been up to, Maria?” he asked in a suspicious tone.

She straightened her shoulders and retorted, “That is private. I do not have to tell you what we talk about. I swear you think you are a king or something.” Know it all .

“I am. At least in this house, on this property,” Stephano snapped back.

Zia scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “Un-un saccente.” Know it all.

I swiftly stepped to the side and headed over to the stairs. No way did I want to be in the middle of that. I mean it was funny to witness sometimes as Romeo and I would laugh at their outrageous squabbles. But not when it was about me.

“You were giving Dante advice about this Della woman?” my father exclaimed.

Upon hearing this from behind me – I stopped in my tracks and stared at Della as she stood in front of me on the bottom step.

Her expression showed her confusion. “I-is everything okay?” she asked softly.

I knew by the way she looked that she had heard my loudmouth father.

“Sure, I did,” Zia’s voice could be heard now. “He has feelings for her and he doesn’t know if she feels the same way.”

I stood there at the stairs and wished the floor would swallow me up. I would gladly just melt into a puddle of humiliation and just disappear.

Della stared at me with wide eyes.

I decided to brave my way through. Be the man my uncle was. The man I knew my father was as well. Conquer my fears and own it. Stepping forward, I grabbed Della up and said, “I’m falling for you. I want us to take a chance on each other. And I don't mean just a casual thing. I mean a serious thing.”

Blinking at me, she looked stunned.

I tugged her close, I crushed her lips with mine. I committed everything I had to the kiss that I never planned to initiate this soon. I suppose I was over my head already so I might as well jump all the way in. Wrapping my arms around her, I deepened the kiss.

Hot…that was the only word that came to mind. Burning. My whole body went hard.

Della slowly raised her arms up and wrapped them around my neck. She was kissing me back.

I felt supreme. Relieved and hungry for more as her soft breasts were up against my chest. Her scent, the flavor of her, the feel of her. It all stormed my senses. Sensations invaded my mind as I deepened the kiss.

Suddenly, she broke away from me and stumbled back. Her eyes were overly bright as she raised her fingers to her lips and stared at me.

I opened my mouth to speak even though I had no idea what I might say.

Turning, she ran up the stairs and out of sight.

The fuck did I just do?