Page 51 of Mafia and Scars

The look he gives me makes my stomach flip over and knees go weak. It’s not quite a smile, but it’s something else that I can’t quite explain.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

VIKTOR

We make our way across the courtyard where we ate dinner that first night. Sofia walks beside Avelina, her gaze astute and searching. But the garden is still a little way off—because I’ve made sure it’s away from all the noise that comes from when the men are in the courtyard.

“This is a beautiful place,” Avelina says as I push Leon in the stroller. There’s no way his little hands can reach me when he’s strapped in, thank goodness.

I watch her carefully. It’s not a long walk to the garden, but she’s still recovering. “You sure you don’t need to rest?”

She spears me with her attempt at a fierce glare, and it has me raising my hands in surrender with a slight twitch of my lips. The doctor said rest, but she’s dead set on doing this with us. Not that I quite mind.

“What kind of vegetables do you grow?” Avelina asks me, filling the silence.

For once, I don’t think that I mind that this walk won’t be a quiet one. “A lot of things actually. We, uh, use them for meals and stuff.”

There’s that smile again from her, radiant and beautiful, and the air freezes in my lungs.

“That’s amazing. Really.”

I nod, clearing my throat a little as I look away. The praise makes me feel…weird. Not uncomfortable. But something else I don’t really understand. And I think maybe it’s a feeling that I wouldn’t mind feeling again.

As Avelina walks, the auburn hair in her ponytail swishes from side to side. We round a turn, and it’s very quiet now that we’re further from the main house. Avelina’s head swivels around as she takes in the place, conversation fading into a companionable silence.

Once we finally make it to the edge of the vegetable garden, I hear the soft intake of air from both Sofia and Avelina.

It’s modest for the most part. Nestled a little beyond a canopy of trees, the garden is blocked off with a wooden trellis fence. String lights are strung from beams that dot the area. Gravel pathways cross the generous plot while neatly arranged raised wooden beds brim with lush greenery—leafy lettuces, ripening tomatoes, vibrant peppers, and flowering herbs. At the back corner, a large greenhouse stretches the length of the garden for the more delicate plants.

Sofia’s eyes are wide, taking in every detail.

“Viktor, this is…wow,” Avelina says, her head turning this way and that.

My eyes take in the organized planter boxes. “I started it when we first moved here. Some stuff is still growing in.”

She settles on one of the stone benches between the planter boxes, Leon having dozed off in his stroller, while Sofia explores the area with an inquisitive expression. “You did this all yourself?” Avelina asks.

“Yeah.”

“It’s really lovely,” she murmurs, still taking it all in as she sits in thesunshine.

“Thanks.”

Avelina spares me another one of those smiles, this one softer around the edges, and I think this might be my favorite smile of hers. It’s like it’s reserved just for me.Special.

But that’s not what it is—and I know it.I shake my head, dismissing the thought.

“Are the lights solar?” Sofia asks. “If not, how does it work without being dangerous to the plants?” Her words come out fast before I even have a chance to answer the first question. She zips toward a planter box, eyeing it. “Why rectangles? Why not circles?” I open my mouth to answer, but she cuts me off. “Can I touch these fuzzy leaves? Or does touching them hurt the plant?”

Avelina’s soft giggle floats through the air. “Sofia, honey, just breathe.”

Sofia does just that, a deep inhale.

And I do the same before answering. “You can touch the leaves. It won’t hurt it.”

She does just that, her fingers gently roaming over the plant.

I move closer to the box she’s stopped at. There’s still about three feet of space between us before I kneel down. “The lights are solar-powered. We get enough sunshine that they last for hours during the evening. I chose rectangles because it’s more efficient, meaning I could fit more in the space.”