Aria put down the hose, then turned to her children. “Go upstairs.”
Marcella did without protest but Amo came outside. “Wow, that was cool. I thought you’d pull knives on each other.”
“Amo,” Aria said firmly. “Upstairs now.”
One look at her expression and he turned on his heel, grumbling. She stepped between Luca and me. “What’s gotten into you?”
Luca rubbed his chin where a bruise was forming. My cheek was throbbing fiercely where he’d punched me. “Nothing,” we said at the same time.
“Nothing?” Aria repeated. “Oh, okay, so you just beat each other for fun?”
“We had a difference of opinion.”
Aria shook her head, then her eyes moved back to the living room where Gianna had appeared. She joined us on the terrace, taking in the mess we’d made. We’d broken two flowerpots and thrown over all of the chairs, not to mention that we were dripping wet thanks to Aria.
Gianna’s red brows puckered. “What the hell went on here?”
“They had a discussion with their fists,” Aria muttered.
“Aren’t you too old to brawl like boys?”
“If you ask Luca, I’m like a fucking teenager.”
Luca took a step in my direction but Aria stepped in his way and hit his chest in warning. “Stop it, good Lord.”
He lowered his gaze to her. “Someone needs to beat the shit out of his head.”
“And someone needs to kick the arrogance out of your arrogant Capo ass,” I said.
Luca smiled coldly. “At least, I own up to my responsibilities and don’t run from them.”
“Luca!” Aria shouted.
Gianna’s eyes widened, her face flashing with guilt.
Fuck him. I staggered toward him. “Shut the fuck up.” I shoved him over Aria’s shoulder.
She gave me an indignant look. “Stop it.”
I stared into my brother’s eyes. “Don’t act all high and mighty, Luca. You’ve had your fair share of fuck-ups. I, at least, never cheated on my wife.”
Fury flashed in Luca’s eyes. Oh, I had him. He pushed Aria to the side, out of the way, and grabbed me by the throat, but I had expected the move and rammed my elbow into his throat. He coughed but didn’t release me. I rammed my elbow upward once more hitting him under the chin and jerked out of his grip, spluttering.
And then we were at each other’s throats again. Hands clasped at me, and then a high-pitched cry sounded. Luca and I both froze. Luca jerked back, his eyes scanning the floor, and he fell to his knees beside Aria who sat on her backside, cradling her wrist, grimacing.
“Love, I’m fucking sorry. Are you hurt?”
My own eyes sought Gianna who held her hand protectively over her belly, standing a few steps back. “You almost hit my belly,” she said angrily.
“Fuck. I’m sorry,” I rasped as I moved toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, and her eyes moved to her sister. Luca was moving Aria’s hand up and down gently, looking guilty as hell, and I felt like the biggest asshole in the world for letting it get that far, for wanting to let it get that far. I’d wanted to fight someone, had wanted to punch and hurt, and Luca could pack a punch like no one else. Fuck. He only wanted to help me and Gianna.
“I’m fine,” Aria said firmly. “It’s not broken, just bruised.”
Luca kissed her wrist, then her palm before he leaned forward and kissed her lips. Fuck, my brother was one of the craziest, cruelest, most brutal assholes I had the fortune of knowing, and yet he made his marriage work, and was a fucking great father.
And what about me? I couldn’t even take care of one kid.
Gianna nudged me lightly. “Hey, what’s wrong? Is it because you felt the baby kick?”
“The baby kicked?” Aria asked excitedly from the ground. She let Luca pull her to her feet and came over.
“It is still,” Gianna said. “It’s going crazy today. You can feel it.”
I took a step back as Aria rested her palm against Gianna’s belly, then smiled brightly. “My God, it seems to be step dancing in there.” She peered over her shoulder at Luca. “You have to feel that.”
I took another step back. Luca watched me closely.
“Go ahead, you should really feel it,” I said quietly. “I need to cool my fucking cheek. Don’t want a bruise to ruin my good looks.”
I turned and headed inside but not in the direction of the bathroom, instead I headed for the study where I grabbed a glass of Brandy. I felt like shit and not because of the pain in my face and ribs. I’d had worse injuries. No, my insides were burning up with emotions I didn’t understand. I downed my Brandy, hissing as the alcohol burned a trail down my throat, then filled my glass again.
“One for me as well,” Luca said as he stepped inside and closed the door. I filled another glass without a word and handed it to him, before downing my second. I hadn’t been shitfaced since I’d found out about Gianna’s pregnancy, wanting to be ready in case she needed me, but today felt like the perfect day to drink myself into oblivion.
“Did you feel the kid move?” I asked neutrally.
“No,” Luca said.
“Why not? You should have. The kid is a wild one. It kicked my palm really strong.” I fell silent, remembering this moment, and knowing it was better to forget it quickly.
Luca stepped up to me and downed his own drink. “I’ll say this once and it better get through your thick vain skull. You’ll be a great father to that kid. You’ll love it and protect it, and you’ll cherish every fucking second you spend with it.”
I glanced up. “I’m not going to be its father.”
“Yes, you are,” Luca said. “Because I won’t be, and Aria won’t be its mother. You and Gianna are going to raise this kid, understood?”
I frowned. “Listen, you might be Capo, but that’s not something you can demand. We got a deal.”
Luca smiled darkly. “You want to raise this kid, and you will, and now you take that pretty face out of my view and talk to your bitchy redhead, and straighten things out while I figure out a way to break the news to Aria, and then I will knock her up so we get our own kid.”
I stared at my brother. “You’ve lost your fucking mind.” But his words had lifted the heavy weight that had rested on my shoulders since we’d agreed to have Aria and Luca take the baby. Yet, Gianna didn’t want to be a mother, and I wouldn’t force her. I wanted Gianna to be happy more than anything else. I wouldn’t limit her freedoms even more than they already were, and being a mom would restrain her more than me.
A knock sounded and Gianna poked her head in. “I need to talk to you.”
Luca gave me a look before he set the glass down on the desk and moved toward the door. He stopped briefly beside Gianna and muttered something but I didn’t catch what it was. He closed the door, leaving us alone. Gianna frowned at the door then slowly turned to me. For a moment we only looked at each other and didn’t move. Fuck, how was I supposed to tell her that I wanted this kid, that I wanted to raise it with her at my side?
CHAPTER EIGHT