“He can’t be trusted, speaking out of turn to you is just the beginning. I wouldn’t be surprised to know he’s somewhere scheming and plotting now. I love him Bella. He’s my blood. But he’s disappointed me so many times. Fabiana would be alive if he hadn’t been so reckless, and then of course I wouldn’t have missed the birth of my bambina.”
Mira rested her chin on his chest running the tip of her finger over his lips. “I do think he loves you too. But you men, especially you two, are very complicated in how you show your loyalties. I think he had motives in telling me what he did.”
Giovanni nodded. “Yes. I can’t trust anyone.”
“That’s not true, Giovanni.”
He smiled looking down at her. “Of course I trust you, Bella. There is just so much we can share in this. Not because I’m excluding you out of my life. If I’m silent you have to know I’m protecting you from my life.”
“I’m not talking about me. You can trust Domi. Isn’t he your consigliere now?”
Giovanni heaved a deep sigh. “Domi’s young and inexperienced.”
“What he lacks in age he makes up for in heart. He’s loyal, and he’s smart.”
Giovanni laughed. “Listen to you. You don’t know Domi.”
“I know him.”
“Right?” Giovanni continued to chuckle. “So now you’re my consigliere?”
She smiled. “I’m just making conversation that’s all.” She kissed his chest then rose.
He watched her, curious. “Where are you going?”
“To shower. Do we have clothes here?”
He lifted on his elbows and felt himself stiffen again as he stared lustfully at her nude ass moving away. “Yes, but don’t put on any,” he called after her.
She laughed and went to the back room trying to locate the shower. Lying back he put his arm behind his head. Dominic had been the voice of reason during many stormy days. His Bella was right. The phone near the bed rang. Giovanni sat upright. No one had the number besides Dominic and Catalina, a call couldn’t be good. He leapt from the bed and plucked the cordless from the base. Extending the antenna to make sure he picked up a good signal he answered it.
Immediately he heard the loud screaming and crying of his bambina.
“Ciao?”
“Giovanni?” Catalina paced the floor holding a wailing Eve who kicked and howled in her arms almost causing her to drop her.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t find her pacifier, and she won’t stop crying. Where’s Mira?” Catalina asked.
“Try singing to her, Catalina.”
“I did that! I sung to her and I fed her, but she keeps saying ‘ninny’…‘ninny’…that has to be the blasted thing but I can’t find it.”
He headed to the bathroom. “Put her on the phone.” He had to pull the phone from his ear from her cries. He tried to sing the lullaby to her. Eve screamed louder. He opened the bathroom door. Mira was nude in front of the mirror trying to find something to pin her hair up with. She looked up and smiled. “Something wrong?”
“Somebody lost their ninny.”
Mira accepted the phone. “Hello?”
“Mira, thank God. Do you have an extra one of her pacifiers?”
“Check the inside pocket of her baby bag. It should be with the rest of the bags that the men brought into Giovanni’s room.” She glanced at him and winked. “I mean in our room.”
“I did it’s not there.” Catalina said.
“I have a black duffle and there is a night case inside with my toiletries I think there’s one in a plastic baggie.
“Okay hold on.”
Giovanni slapped her on her rear and went to the shower. Mira shook her head at him. She made her mind up that on Miss Eve’s second birthday she was going to make her retire the pacifier. The tantrums she threw when she couldn’t locate it were extreme. Several minutes passed and Catalina came back on the phone. Eve was quiet.
“Found it!”
Mira laughed. “Are you okay? Do you need me to come back?”
“We were fine until we couldn’t find the thing. My goodness, it took me ten minutes to figure out what a ninny was.”
Mira nodded, “Well, she should be sleepy anyway. Give her some milk in her cup and she should go straight to sleep.”