Chapter 148: Something Didn’t Sit Right

That answer didn’t help.

If anything, it made Veronica feel worse.

“What is it with these men?” Veronica sighed in exasperation.

Seriously.

One mafia boss who would apparently burn the world down for her.

One former boyfriend who had somehow decided the correct response to heartbreak was to join the fucking mafia.

“He made it sound as if he had genuinely moved on though but after Ricardo told me that, I just…something didn’t sit right. And Ricardo thinks he should be banned from the store. A member of the Bastione familia coming around the shop of a Genovese’s girlfriend is trouble.”

“Tina, we sell pizza. Anyone can walk in here and get whatever they want and I get their money. I am not banning anyone from the store unless they make trouble.”

Valentina sighed, clearly recognizing the argument was already lost. “My advice? Stay away from Cassidy. Do not engage. Not even a little bit.” she said.

“Yeah…maybe you are right.”

“I am definitely right.”

Veronica rolled her eyes slightly but didn’t argue further.

Deep down she knew Valentina had a point.

*****

The next morning, Luca was ready to leave.

He moved quietly through the guest room, already dressed, jacket back on, phone safely in his pocket. He checked the time briefly then stepped out of the room and headed downstairs.

The house was quiet.

The living area was empty when he reached it.

He frowned slightly. “Mum?” he called. He walked through the living room slowly, scanning. He turned and headed back up the stairs once more, listening carefully. “Mum?” he called again as he moved down the hallway, heading toward the direction he had heard her moving the previous night. “Mum?” He paused outside one of the doors.

He opened the door to her bedroom and found her still on the bed asleep.

For a moment Luca simply stood there, leaning lightly against the doorframe, watching the slow rise and fall of her breathing.

He rubbed the back of his neck quietly.

He did keep her up too late anyway.

Their conversation had dragged well into the night, bouncing between awkward tension, uncomfortable honesty, and the strange, almost normal moments that kept surprising him.

His eyes drifted to the bedside table.

The thermometer caught his attention immediately.

Luca frowned slightly. “Mum?” he said softly, stepping closer and gently shaking her shoulder.

Carol stirred slowly, blinking up at him through half-lidded eyes. She stretched lazily and gave a dramatic yawn, bringing a hand up to her nose. “Hey, what time is it?”

“Are you okay?”

Carol sniffed faintly and rubbed her nose again as if proving a point. “Just a little under the weather.” She said and faked a sneeze. “I’ll make you breakfast.”

Luca immediately shook his head. “No! Stay. I’ll get you something warm.” He reached automatically for the blanket, adjusting it slightly where it had slipped down her shoulder.

Carol watched him quietly for a moment, the corner of her mouth twitching like she was suppressing a small smile. “Don’t you have a flight to catch.”

Luca hesitated.

Technically… yes.

There were meetings waiting for him in New York. Problems waiting for him. Enemies waiting for him.

His phone sat quietly in his pocket, still on airplane mode. “I can stay to take care of you…that…is…if…if…you want.” He wasn’t sure what to think here.

The woman was giving him whiplash.

One second she wanted him gone, the next she was feeding him pancakes in the middle of the night like a perfectly ordinary mother.

“Of course, if its not too much trouble. I don’t have anyone around anyway.”

For years he had convinced himself she didn’t need him. That she had chosen this life away from the Genovese name because she wanted nothing to do with him.

But hearing the quiet admission that she was alone here in this big quiet house…

“I’ll stay.”

Carol nodded slightly. “Thank you.” she said, lying back on the bed once more.

Luca reached down and pulled the blanket snugly over her shoulders, tucking it in slightly. He cleared his throat quietly and stepped back.

“I’ll make tea,” he muttered.

“Do you know how to make tea?” Carol questioned.

Luca chuckled under his breath, glancing back at her with a raised brow. “I’ll do my best. Then I can order some food. I might step out for a bit, use a payphone in the city but I will be right back, okay?”

Carol nodded slowly, pulling the blanket a little higher around her shoulders like someone settling comfortably into the role of a patient. “Thank you.”

Luca gave a small nod in return and stepped out of the room, pulling the door closed gently behind him. His footsteps faded down the hallway and then toward the stairs.

Carol waited.

One second.

Two.

Three.

The moment she heard the faint creak of the stairs and the distant movement in the kitchen below, her eyes opened again.

And she smiled.

Apparently the boy still cared about his mother.

For years she had worried that the world Luca had chosen—the violent, ruthless, unforgiving world of the Genovese familia—had burned every soft thing out of him.

That the boy she raised had been replaced entirely by the man his father had molded.

But seeing him fuss over her this morning, awkwardly offering to stay and take care of her like he wasn’t one of the most feared men in New York…

It told her something important.

Somewhere in there, the boy was still alive.

Carol turned slightly on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She still didn’t agree with the life he chose. She probably never would.

But he was still her son.

And she had missed him more than she liked to admit—even to herself.

If he would stay for a couple of days, that would be splendid.

Not because she needed taking care of.

But because time was a strange thing. It slipped away faster than anyone expected.

And mothers rarely got second chances with sons who had walked too far into darkness.

Downstairs, a cabinet opened and shut loudly.

Carol smirked faintly.

Judging by the noise, Luca was currently losing a fight with the kettle.

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