Page 32 of Plus-Size Bratva Possession (Vadim Bratva #12)
We hadn’t seen our families for a whole month, and I could barely contain my excitement as I literally ran towards Caspian’s backyard. Just as I was about to enter, Gastone held my hand and pulled me back, until I was flush against him.
“Do we have to?” he groaned, making a baby face.
I swatted him across his arm. “We haven’t seen them in a month!” I gushed.
“But…they’ll pry,” he protested.
“Just don’t give them the dirty details,” I laughed.
“But I don’t remember anything else except the dirty details,” he said, and I laughed as I tugged myself free.
“Come on now, you big baby. Our families are waiting!”
We walked into the yard, and literally, one of our siblings noticed we had entered. Gastone leaned in and whispered, “To imagine they hated each other once.”
“Seriously, right?” I muttered, surveying the scene. Larissa was bouncing baby Sophia on her hip while chatting with Kate, while my brothers and Gastone's were arguing good-naturedly over the grill.
Caspian, I noticed, much to my horror, was playing bartender.
“God, save us all,” I subtly nodded in Caspian’s direction. “He makes the worst cocktails.”
“Oh, I remember,” Gastone sounded terrified. I laughed, remembering how we were all forced to down that pathetic excuse of what he called a margarita during Thanksgiving dinner.
Gastone squeezed my hand, and I looked up to find him watching me, his eyes soft with such love; it still made my heart skip.
“Ready for the interrogation about Italy?”
“They can ask all they want,” I grinned. “But some details stay between us.”
I turned to the scene and placed my hands around my mouth. “Hey, we all invisible or what?”
Everyone turned to look at us, and the next thing we knew, we were surrounded.
“The newlyweds have arrived!” Gio pulled me into a hug while Caspian, without being asked, handed Gastone a drink. “It’s a whiskey sour,” my brother said, looking proud. Gastone looked worried.
“Finally decided to rejoin society after disappearing to Italy for a month?” Carlo bumped his shoulder against mine and gave me a series of very strange winks that made me laugh.
“Leave them alone, Carlo,” Larissa warned playfully. “They deserve some time away from all of you hooligans.”
Sophia was twisting and turning in Larissa’s arms. Gastone moved around me and reached for her, taking her into his arms without asking Larissa. And then, the rest of us were dead to him.
He only had eyes for his niece. “Who is such a cutie-boo,” he said in a little baby voice that had us all exchanging surprised looks. “We mishhhed you. Yesss, we did. Your aunty Elena and I bought you soooo many toys.”
“Can you please stop talking to my child like she’s a puppy?” Gio said sarcastically, taking Sophia from his arms. Gastone protested like someone had stabbed him, and I chuckled at the sight of this big man going so soft for a baby.
We all moved to get our drinks; as expected, they all wanted to hear about our honeymoon.
“It was so much fun, we didn’t want to come back!” I gushed. “I’m telling Gastone we should go to Morocco.”
“I’m telling her I’m ready to retire and spend every waking moment with her,” said Gastone, lacing his arm around my waist.
Dino made a gagging sound. “Can you two stop being disgustingly in love for five minutes?”
“Speaking of just how much fun you are,” Federico chimed in, handing us both more drinks, “did you actually see any of Italy? Or did you just stay in the hotel room the whole time?”
I felt my cheeks flush. “We saw plenty.”
“The inside of every bedroom in Tuscany,” Caspian muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Enough bickering, you all!” Kate chimed in, pointing to the grill, then at the table. “Let's eat before Carlo burns anything else on the grill.”
“That was one time!” Carlo protested, bringing over a plate.
As we settled around the table, I found myself sandwiched between Gastone and Larissa. Everyone was laughing. Everyone was happy. The conversation flowed so freely, it felt like one of the happiest nights of my life.
“So really,” Kate leaned forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity, “Was Italy as romantic as they say? I’ve never been, you know,” and then she shot a guilty-looking Caspian a very pointed look.
Gastone's hand found mine under the table, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. “It was perfect,” he said simply.
“Except for when you got us kicked out of that restaurant in Florence,” I reminded him with a smirk.
All eyes turned to Gastone, who had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. “The waiter was flirting with her,” he explained with a shrug.
“He asked if I wanted more water!” I laughed.
“He was undressing you with his eyes,” Gastone growled playfully. “I was defending your honor.”
The table erupted in laughter, and I felt Gastone's chest rumble against my shoulder as he joined in.
When the meal was finished and everyone had moved to more comfortable seating around the patio, Gastone pulled me onto his lap in one of the large cushioned chairs. I nestled against him, feeling the steady beat of his heart against my back.
“Happy?” he murmured into my hair.
I turned in his arms to face him. “Happier than I ever thought possible.”
His eyes darkened as they dropped to my lips. “Good. Because this is just the beginning.”
When he kissed me, I forgot where we were. Forgot everything except the feel of his mouth on mine, his hand cradling my face as if I were something precious.
“Gross,” Carlo's voice broke through our bubble. “Get a room, you two. Preferably in another country.”
We broke apart and into laughter, and I buried my face in Gastone's shoulder.
“You're just jealous,” Gastone called back, his arms tightening around me. He then leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I love you, Elena Ajello.”
And just like that, surrounded by our families, wrapped in the arms of the man I now couldn't imagine living without, I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be.
*****
THE END