La Vita Dolce Ch. 15

"What were you doing with my mommy?" Gabriel demanded in a small voice, a frown on his cherub face.

Gianni seemed to snap out of it and then crouched down to Gabriel's eye level, smiling. "Hi there buddy. Your mom and I were just talking. We're old friends."

Gabriel was looking at Gianni curiously. "You look my daddy," he said simply and Natasha felt as though the ground were tilting under her feet.

Gianni's gaze flickered to hers briefly before answering. "That's because your daddy is my brother."

Gabriel seemed to consider this. "But I've never met you."

Gianni laughed and reached out to ruffle Gabriel's dark curls. Natasha felt like her heart was slitting in two, like she might scream.

"Well your dad and I don't get along so well."

"Oh," Gabriel seemed to ponder this.

"Look we have to go." Natasha picked Gabriel up as Marcella opened the back door and Natasha settled Gabriel into his car seat. Marcella settled into the passenger seat.

Gianni caught Natasha's arm. "It doesn't look like married life agrees with you."

Natasha went rigid. "It agrees with me fine. Now please let me go."

Gianni regarded her silently though his grip didn't slacken. His voice was quiet when he finally spoke. "You don't look good, bella."

He meant it. She wore a pair of wide leg black slacks and black ballet flats paired with a white fitted knit t-shirt. Over it she wore a Burberry trench coat. She was dressed immaculately. The springy curls he had loved had been straightened to fall past her shoulders. Her makeup was flawless. She was beautiful still and to anyone else she would have looked fantastic. But not to Gianni.

He perused her critically. She was thinner than he had ever seen her. Natasha didn't have the weight to lose when he'd known her. She had always been slender with the most sensuous curves he could imagine. Now she looked as though a strong wind could blow her over. There were cleverly masked dark circles under her lovely azure eyes.

He didn't want to let her go. She'd betrayed him, lied to him in the worst possible way. He'd spent the last three years telling himself that she could rot in hell and it didn't mean shit to him and now... Now, looking the way she did--so completely lost and vulnerably--he wanted to save her all over again.

She snapped him out of it quickly. Her voice dropped a couple octaves and hardened. "Let it go, Gianni. I don't want you. Just let it go." She shook him off. "Can't say it was good to see you."

She rounded the front of the car and got I. She did not look his way again although the little boy and the nanny watched him with wide eyes as the silver SUV pulled into traffic and pulled away.

***

Luca's canary yellow Porsche was parked in front of the house when they pulled up.

'Shit. Shit. Shit.' Natasha cursed silently. What was he doing home in the middle of the day?

Her breathing stilled and she realized..he knew.

Steeling herself, she followed Marcella and Gabriel into the house.