Romeo The Mafia Casanova

Eden’s [POV]

Naz was clapping his hands in glee, then did a little knuckle dab with me as I taught him before pulling out his seat to grab his orange juice. “Mama, do you think that Uncle”

The door clicked shut with Romeo walking in, his jaw clenched, eyes averted for the first time in, maybe ever. He was watching the table, maybe the food? Was it because he was hungry, or was it something else?

I’d wanted to apologize for the other day when he walked in with all the blood. Was it ironic that tonight he was covered in more?

How was that even physically possible?

He leaned against the door in a way that reminded me a bit of Tristian early on. How I used to look forward to him coming home after a long day at work. I remember thinking that it was enough. I’d been in love with Romeo, but I’d started to love Tristian in a way I didn’t love his brother; the guilt had slowly dissipated as we found out we were pregnant, and then all of a sudden, things started to shift after Naz was born.

He had changed.

I stayed the same.

I made the meals.

I waited for him to come home with that same smile on his face and was welcomed with dark circles under his eyes and secrets he refused to tell.

“Looks good.” Romeo cleared his throat and awkwardly walked into the room, both hands clenched into tight fists with stains of blood that I knew was most likely a mix of his own and someone else’s. “I’ll just go wash up.”

“Is this going to be a habit?” I asked as he walked past me.

He froze, lowering his head like he was ashamed, and whispered, “The blood. Absolutely. I’ll hurt anyone who threatens you.”

I sucked in a breath; he kept walking.

Heart pounding, I felt like I was going to fall over when Naz casually walked over to me and murmured in a loud voice, “Is Uncle Romeo hurt?”

“Y-yeah, bud.” I ruffled his head. “He must have gotten in an accident, but he’ll be okay, don’t worry.”

“Okay.” Naz shrugged and went back to the dinner table. “He better hurry or I’m taking all the meatballs.”

With a smile, I joined him, trying to calm the tremble in my hands at his confession.

Was Romeo serious?

Was my life in danger?

Naz’s?

I sighed and took a seat, piling the spaghetti on Naz’s plate. I’d made something simple, Naz had begged to make his favorite meal for his Uncle, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him no.

After all, a five-year-old didn’t understand why it felt wrong to play perfect family at the dinner table when we were anything but that.

It was everything I’d had at the beginning.

Nothing I had at the end.

Most of the time, I’d had an empty seat across from me, a glass of wine in my hand while tears streamed down my cheeks. Nothing could stop the fear in my heart.

Now? I had hope.

What a dangerous word to rely on.

“Sorry.” Romeo was back in minutes. I’d yet to touch my plate, but Naz was half done with his. Most of the sauce was on his face, dripping down his chin. Naturally, he chewed with his mouth open as he talked to me about his day.

“It’s okay, Uncle Romeo; I was just getting a head start because I’m so hungry. Mom says if I don’t eat, I won’t be big and strong like my dad, and I want to be big and strong like him. Hey! You’re big and strong, Uncle Romeo. Do you eat broccoli?” He made a face.

Romeo chuckled, reaching for his wine glass. “Every day, three times a day. It’s what gave me these.”

He was wearing a simple white shirt that clung to his body like the many women he’d screwed, so when he flexed, I was surprised the shirt didn’t rip down the middle and just fall at his feet.

I’m sure he was used to that.

Clothing falling at his feet.

Women.

Nuns.

Plants.

How could anyone resist him?

“Holy cow!” Naz gaped. “Uncle Romeo, you’re huge!”

I choked on my sip of wine when Romeo gave me a quick look as if to say, huge everywhere, you should know.

“So if I eat my broccoli, I’ll look like that too?” Naz dug his fork into another meatball and shoved it in his mouth.

“Yup, but it only works if you do your homework and listen well to your Mama. Otherwise, the broccoli dies on the inside and makes you mean.”

Naz’s face fell. “Mean like a bully?”

“Yeah, like that.”

“W-was Dad a bully?”

Romeo paused, wine glass nearly to his mouth. “Why would you say that?”

“Because he screamed-”

“Hey,” I interrupted. “Stop talking with your mouth full, okay? Finish your meal so you can get to bed on time; I’ve already let you stay up past your bedtime so you could have dinner with Uncle Romeo.”

“That’s because he’s my new hero!” Naz announced. “I thought about it, and Spiderman isn’t that cool. He doesn’t carry a gun-” Dear God, save me from this child’s over shares. “-and when I get scared, I think Uncle Romeo’ll come help, so that makes him a hero, right Mom?”

When I got scared, he always helped.

I didn’t say that out loud.

I just nodded my head, muttering, “Uncle Romeo will always be there for you, Naz.”

“Us!” He thrust his fork into the air. “For us, right, Mama?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but Romeo beat me to it. His hand found mine under the table and squeezed, locking eyes with me as he said, “Always.”

The rest of dinnertime passed by pretty quickly. Naz talked about school, but Romeo didn’t talk about the blood, or about cleaning money, much to Naz’s disappointment. While I put Naz to bed, Romeo did the dishes without me having to ask him to do them. I imagined his back muscles flexing every time he wiped a plate. He didn’t like using the dishwasher for some reason.

I was beyond exhausted by the time I was done and was intrigued to find Romeo already in bed, the lights off when I walked into the master suite.

I quickly washed my face and grabbed my black satin shorts with a long-sleeve black shirt before climbing into bed. It had been a long day.

Hell, it had been a long month.

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Years.

Freezing, I scooted closer to the bed and nearly died when I hit Romeo’s warm body.

Slowly, I inched myself away only to have him wrap an arm around me and tug me against him.

Instantly, I relaxed as his breathing deepened like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Holding me against his heart.

Tears welled in my eyes.

Was I that starved for affection?

That a simple spooning he wasn’t even aware of made me cry?

I swiped the tears under my burning eyes and tried to clear my mind. I was nearly asleep when I heard a scream.

I jolted up in bed.

Romeo already had his Glock in hand. Naz bounded into the room and jumped between us. “Monsters!”

“What?” I pulled him close.

He was shaking like a leaf. “I saw monsters in my closet.”

Romeo, clad in nothing but low-slung black sweats, got up out of the bed, gun in hand, and popped his neck. “I’ll take care of this. Do not leave this bed until I come back.”

I nodded, and he left.

Naz gasped. “Mama, he’s gonna kill the monsters.”

I held my son close, wondering if it was a figment of his imagination or if there was real danger in our house.

Five minutes later, Romeo was back. “Found the monster…”

Naz gasped again. “You did?”

“Yup, a squirrel right outside your window, thought you looked fun and wanted to play.” He smiled at Naz and pulled him in for a hug, careful to keep the gun away.

Over Naz’s head, he murmured, “Bad dream, all clear.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding, mouthing “Thank you.”

Romeo put the safety back on his Glock and tucked it into the nightstand next to him with one hand. Pulling Naz against him in a sitting position, he asked him, “You want to sleep here tonight?”

“REALLY?” Naz nearly took out of the room with his yell. “You’d let me? Dad always made me go back to my room, and sometimes… sometimes, I got scared and didn’t sleep.”

If the man wasn’t dead, I’d kill him for that one confession alone.

“Naz.” I put both hands on his shoulders. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

He sniffled, “I thought you might get in trouble.”

Not him.

Me.

What else had my son seen? I’d originally thought I did such a good job protecting him, making sure he saw the hero every time I dealt with the monster.

“Hey.” Romeo fell onto his back.

Naz copied him.

Both guys with their hands behind their heads, staring up at the ceiling, shooting the breeze.

“Let’s try to get some sleep. No matter what, you can always stay here if you need to. Sometimes it’s nice to have people chase the bad away.”

“Thanks, Uncle Romeo.” Naz yawned.

Then Romeo yawned.

Both of them smiled at each other, and I nearly looked away when the small dimple in Naz’s cheek made itself known.

Romeo frowned a bit. “Hey, I never noticed that before,” He reached out and touched Naz’s face, then pointed at his. “Family trait, I suppose.”

“Cool, Uncle Romeo! I have one part of you and one part of my dad now. He said I got his hair and brains!”

“That you did.” He laughed. “Now, let’s sleep.”

I was the last to lie down.

The last to turn on my side and pull the covers up.

The last to probably even close my eyes as the past came back to haunt my future.

When it came to Romeo Sinacore, it always would, wouldn’t it?

We weren’t meant to be… then why was he sleeping in my bed like we were one big family?