Chapter 23

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Luca

"You've got to drop it in like this." Noah instructed as Charlotte and I stood at the edge of the cliff, watching him lower the crab net into the water.

"Wow!" Charlotte gleamed, appeasing her little brother. The two of them were enjoying their time together, and as hard as I tried, I couldn't seem to shake the anxiety tumbling around in my brain. I couldn't avoid Elena forever, but the thought of our impending conversation had me on edge. She obviously was quick to recognize me, but recovered from her initial shock and acted as if nothing was amiss. At least we were on the same page there.

Charlotte introduced us, we spent a few minutes small talking, and then Elena ushered us out of the kitchen so she could clean up the glass and lemonade off of the floor. A few minutes later, she came out onto the deck and had been watching us ever since. Her gaze was locked on me, and every time I glanced back, our eyes met. I could only imagine what was running through her mind right now—not only had she not seen me in nearly 18 years, I showed up on her doorstep with her daughter, who introduced me as her boyfriend. I was sure she was thinking I had some kind of ulterior motive, and that I was here to wreak havoc on this peaceful, idyllic life she worked so hard to build.

"Here, you try." Noah thrust the rope of the catch net into Charlotte's hands.

My mind was clouded with so many questions that it was hard to focus on anything else. It was time to bite the bullet, and get this over with. The sooner we hashed it out, the sooner it was over and I would feel better moving forward with Charlotte. Not great, of course, because I still didn't have Antonio's blessing, but at least if I could convince Elena that I could take care of Charlotte that was a step in the right direction.

"Hey, I am going to go find a bathroom."

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asked.

"No, you stay here. I'll be fine. Spend some time with your brother." I kissed her forehead and turned toward the back deck. The entire way, I tried to prepare myself for the conversation I was about to have, and it made the walk the most daunting walk of my life. Despite having stared down murderers and confronted drug dealers for the better part of my life, this was one of the scariest things I had ever done.

Elena's hair was blowing in the wind as she watched Charlotte and Noah laughing together at the edge of the yard. A gentle smile pulled at her lips, and the faintest of tear stains ran down her cheeks. She didn't look at me as I walked up the stairs to her side, just kept her eyes fixated on her children. She was just as beautiful and regal as I remembered, and now that I saw her next to Charlotte, their resemblance was striking. If I had any inclination that the two of them were still alive, I might have seen it before.

I leaned against the railing, waiting in silence for her to speak first. Mostly, because I had no clue where to begin

"It's really you." She finally said, taking a deep breath.

"I should be saying the same thing to you." I answered. "I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"You look so grown up." She smiled, reaching over and giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "I heard that you took over for your father when... I was so sorry to hear about it. I should have called your mother. I so wish I could have. How is she doing?"

"She's doing well." I nodded. "After dad died, she moved back to Salerno and is living on the Estate. I think she likes it well enough. Wishes I would visit more."

"Of course, she does. God, I've missed her." Elena said. "And Angelo and Carlo? How are they doing?"

"Good. They're with me in New York. Crazy as ever." I smirked.

"I'm sure the three of you make a great team." Elena laughed, but then her face fell a little bit. "How about Gabe and Seth, do they... are they doing alright?"

"They're doing good. Gabe and Lily got married a few years ago.Seth is too caught up in the business to do much else."

She sucked in s sharp breath as a tear escaped her eye. It was clear how much this hurt her. She missed her family, her husband, her children. She got Charlotte out of that world, but at what cost?

"Good." She finally said, nodding. "I'm so glad to hear that."

"They've missed you. We all have."

"I can't imagine what you must think of me, Luca." She shook her head as another tear fell. I wasn't sure how to respond, so instead of saying anything I was silent.

"Does she know?" She asked me, uncertainty and fear on her face.

"No. I've been honest with her about who I am and what I do, but she has no idea about the rest of it." I assured her. A wave of relief washed over her face and she became a little more at ease.

"How did you find her?" Her voice was still shaky, but she was starting to relax. It was uncanny how much she reminded me of Charlotte, especially when she was nervous. They had the same mannerisms, the same tone of voice, even their body language was similar.

"I went into her gallery and bought a painting from her. I had no idea who she was, but after I left that night, Silvano's men attacked her."

"The robbery." Elena eyes widened as the pieces fell into place. "I should have known."

"Angelo and Carlo went back for my jacket and stopped them mid attack. They brought her back to my place, and for the last several weeks, we've been protecting her.  Angelo and I dug into her past, but none of it made any sense until Antonio told me what you guys done." It hurt me more than I expected retelling the story. Thinking of Charlotte in that position shredded my heart, and I'm sure it was just as hard on her mother.

Elena's face twisted. "What we did?"

"Antonio told me about how you wanted to get her out of the Mafia, and so you came up with the plan for the explosion."

"Of course, the bastard would say that." Elena scoffed, shaking her head. "I didn't do anything. I wanted her to stay there, because I knew it was the safest option."

I frowned, listening intently as she spoke.

"Once everyone knew about her, and we started getting threats, I begged Antonio to get her better protection. To keep her safe. But it was too much trouble for him. He never wanted a daughter, and when Charlotte was born, I could tell how detached he was from the very beginning. He puts on a good show, but he doesn't give a damn about her. We didn't leave, he sent us away. And he kept Seth and Gabe away from us, refusing to let us even have contact with them."

"Son of a bitch." I clenched my jaw. Angelo was right—Antonio didn't care about either one of them and he did the most convenient thing for himself. It was disgusting, the most vile thing he'd ever done, and for a man like him, that was saying a lot.

"What else did he tell you?" Elena asked.

"Not much." I said. "He told me he didn't want me to see her, because it would drag her back into all of this when he fought so hard to keep her out of it."

Elena couldn't contain her laughter now. "Well, at least some things never change. All he cares about is his reputation. He doesn't want you with her because she'll find out the truth eventually. Everyone will. And then the image he's built of himself will all fade away and everyone will see him for who he really is."

"Elena, I had no idea..." I started.

"I know, Luca." She said. "No one did. That was the point. And as much as I hate to admit he's right, I don't think we should tell her. All it will do at this point is hurt her. She thinks they're dead and she's already moved on from that. I'm not sure what good bringing it all up again will do."

"Except if she and I..." I trailed off, unsure how to finish that statement. "She'll find out."

A smile pulled at Elena's lips. "Didn't you just tell me this was about you protecting her?"

"It started that way." I sighed. "But the more time I spend with her, the more I realize it's much more than that. I really care about her. I might even be starting to fall in love with her." That was a lie. I was definitely falling in love with her, which was hard for me to admit. I had never let a girl into my life like this before, and saying it outloud seemed to magnify the situation. I could only imagine what my dad would have to say about all of this.

"You know, when we left, I was so hurt and upset and I thought that there was no way she and I would ever make it. Antonio said he would protect us, but that's hard to do on separate continents." She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't until we were here a few months, and I saw Charlotte doing normal things with her friends, having a real childhood, that I realized it was actually a blessing. I was always worried about what her life would be like in the Mafia, because knew what being a Mafia woman meant. I'd seen it happen to so many girls, to me, to your mom. I wanted so much more for her." She took a deep breath.

"Elena, I can't imagine how hard it must have been to do that. And I admire you so much for protecting her like that. I can protect her like that, too. I would never let anything happen to her."

"I know." She squeezed my hand. "All I'm asking is that if you are serious about this, that you really care about Charlotte, then leave her wild. Let her have a normal life and don't force her to be someone she isn't."

Elena's words knocked the wind right out of me. There was nothing normal about my life, and if I brought Charlotte into it, it would be hard to keep her separate. Elena knew that, and in her own way, she was telling me to let Charlotte go.

"Shouldn't we let her make that decision for herself? She's not a child anymore Elena. It's her choice." I didn't want to fight with her. We were both coming from a place of love and concern for Charlotte, we just had different ideas of how to make that happen.

"What are you going to do when she finds out who she really is? And that you hid it from her? You think she's going to be okay with that?" Elena continued. "She's going to end up with her heartbroken, Luca. We both know this can't work. You can't love her like she needs. You're a Don. You're married to the Mafia life, and that doesn't leave much room for anything else."

I bit my tongue, fighting back all the words I wanted to say. I wanted her to know that I loved her daughter. That for the first time in my life, I considered a life outside fo all of this for her. That if I had my way, she would never have a broken heart again. That she would never have the chance to, because this never would end.

"She's not grilling you, is she?" Charlotte said, coming up behind us suddenly. She snaked her arm around my waist.

"Not at all, we were just getting to know each other." Elena smiled, changing her demeanor drastically. "Did you guys catch anything?"

"We got five mom!" Noah announced proudly, holding up the net. Sure enough five crabs were squirming inside. "Look Luca!"

"Looks like I missed all the fun!" I laughed, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Well let's get them inside and cleaned up so we can eat!" Elena put her arm around Noah and led him inside, leaving me and Charlotte on the deck over looking the ocean.

I put my arm around her and pulled her close. Her face was only a few inches from mine and I studied every curve of it. Her skin was silky smooth, except where it was creased around her mouth from her smile, forming two tiny dimples. Elena's words echoed in my mind as I stared into Charlotte's eyes. Was I being selfish for wanting her in my life? Was I putting her at risk more than she already was? The longer I let this go, the harder it would be to walk to away. Charlotte was embedding herself in every part of me, leaving her mark on me like the most intricate tattoo.

After a few seconds, Char's brow furrowed and her smile turned to a frown.

"What's wrong?" She asked, leaning back slightly.

"Nothing," I said, stroking my thumb underneath her eye and pressing my lips to her forehead in a slow kiss. "Just a little mud."

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's get inside."

She took my hand and I followed her inside, more confused than I had been when got here.


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