La Famiglia (21 page)

When Catalina spoke with Teddy he pretended nothing happened. He claimed he had so much to do in America that he could barely keep things straight. And it was true.
Mirabella’s
was thriving. Still Catalina knew differently.

“Uh, he’s been to Italy remember? You were the one who told me he and Fabiana scouted out Milano before you came.”

“Oh?” Mira said. “I thought maybe you meant he came recently. Damn him. He has an excuse every time we speak. I’ll call and invite him to Sicily.” Mira said. “I’m dying to see him.”

Catalina forced a smile. “Yes, you do that. Things are going so well. I’m thinking I will have to travel to America soon,” Catalina said. “Carole is going to be part of a feature spread in this year’s Metropolitan Museum Gala. She’s working on that collection for
Mirabella’s
. I have to be included. She can be… you know, how she is,” Catalina said.

“I want her gone.” Mira exhaled. She placed her hand to her belly. One of the babies kicked her so hard she nearly peed herself. “I want her out of my fashion house. Why do I have to keep explaining this to you all? It’s my damn company!”

“Mira—”

“Why aren’t we interviewing more designers? There’s a talented designer over at Fendi that would be perfect for us. He just did a national interview saying he would love to work under me since I’ve ‘risen from the dead’,” she said with air quotes. “Damn it!”

“Giovanni said no, Mira,” Catalina sighed. “It’s a family business. After Carole it will be you and me. No other designers.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s saying no to! I want the bitch gone!” Mira shouted.

Catalina’s brows shot up with surprise. Mira had to laugh at her expression. She rarely cursed. She shook her head smiling.

“Well okay. I think I get it now. Don’t go into labor over it,” Catalina smiled.

Mira closed her eyes and rubbed her belly to settle the babies. “My temper is getting the best of me lately. I’m sorry. I understand why Giovanni wants us to wait. We’re taking on a lot with
Fabiana’s
. We have to make sure there isn’t too much of a shakeup in our company. Chaos could affect my brand. But I’m not going to sit here and let my work, my fashion house, the one Fabiana and I built from scratch become Carole Montague’s. I’m not going to do it!”

“What do you want me to do?” Catalina asked.

“You said you have been working on your own collection? Right?” Mira asked.

“Yes. I brought my sketches—”

“
Perfetto!
I have an idea,” Mira grinned. “You’ve seen Rosetta today haven’t you? I’ve taught her to sew and all she wears are clothes she’s made. Beautiful dresses. I think she’s wearing the blue one today.”

“I saw her,” Catalina said with a flippant cut of her eyes away.

“She’s a good seamstress. Quick learner. And she’s helped me with this collection I’ve been working on. We’ll call it The Scarlet Letter, it’ll be FWS&S.”

“I don’t understand?” Catalina frowned.

“We’ll release the first line in Fall under the scarlet letter F. Remember the collection is different shades of red. And then we’ll do winter and have a line under the letter W with muted shades of dark red, and then we’ll launch Spring and Summer with resort and bikini wear, a line under the letters S&S with bright exciting shades of red. It’ll be huge. It’ll be
Fabiana’s
, and you will be the head designer. With my designs of course.”

Catalina’s eyes stretched. “And mine? Can I have some of my designs included?”

“We’ll see,” Mira smiled.

“I love it! But it’s lying to Giovanni. If he learns that you are designing while pregnant for me he’ll be pissed.”

“That’s the beauty of it. I’m really not. I will give it over to you and Rosetta for final approval. And I will let you manage the launch of the line. I’m really going to stand you up as a designer. And when you emerge using my work you will blow their socks off. It gets Carole Montague out of my company, keeps my husband happy, and protects my babies from me overworking myself. And finally I can out some of these ideas I have in my head while I sit around and wait for my babies to be born.”

“So we tell Giovanni?” Catalina asked.

“Let me worry how it is explained to your brother. He’s sensitive, hard-headed, but reasonable when I put it to him the right way,” Mira smiled.

“One thing, Mira. I want to use some of my work.
Per favore.
I want to be a
true
designer. I know I’m not fully ready, but if you are using me as the face of the fashion house, then it’s going to be my talent too. I can’t be just a mask for you,” Catalina said.

Mira hadn’t considered Catalina’s ambition in her plans. It would be wrong to use her this way and not let her have real creative input. “I’ll draw from your ideas if they align with the overall vision. Go get your work. And find Rosetta. Let’s put my designs and yours together and see what we come up with.”

“Oh my! Oh my goodness! I’m so excited.” Catalina put her hands to her mouth. “This is going to be wonderful.” Catalina clapped.

“Help me up. I got to pee.” Mira tried to push up from the sofa. Catalina helped her rise to her feet. Mira felt so much better with her new idea. It would only be a matter of time before she could get Carole Montague out of her company for good.

* B
*

“
Lucciola
, put it down,” Giovanni ordered. He looked up from his desk when he heard the first bang of glass on a wood surface. Eve turned, sucking her cherry red pacifier. In her hand she held an ashtray made of crystal. She blinked at him and then looked at the ashtray as if trying to decide.

“Put it down,” he said in a stern tone.

Eve shoved the pacifier to her cheek with her tongue. “Mine,” she said. She plopped down on her butt and put the ashtray between her legs to play with it. Giovanni reached for the phone and dialed Santo again when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Catalina stuck her head inside. She smiled at him. “I came for Eve?”

“Take her. She doesn’t listen to Papa,” Giovanni said.

“Giovanni! You can’t let her play with this!” Catalina rushed over to take the ashtray from her. Eve protested. “I also want to talk to you,” Catalina said. She put the toddler on her hip. 

“Is that so?” he glanced up at her. “Everything okay? How are things at Fabiana’s?” he asked. Catalina looked different. Mature. He wasn’t sure he liked the change. The more independent his sister became the more he worried. Maybe allowing Dominic and her to marry would settle them both and bring them back into the family? He’d been considering his disgust over their relationship and their future.

Catalina laughed. “As if you don’t know how I am. I know you have your men keeping an eye on me. I can’t go to the bathroom and they aren’t at the door.”

“That’s not me. Thank Domi for the surveillance.” Giovanni corrected her. Though he had to smile at the truth in the statement. He got regular updates on who Catalina kept time with, her schedule, and her bathroom breaks. He wasn’t a fool. Milano was
`Ndrangheta
territory. The friendly binds between them and his clan was fragile since he acquired more territory in the triangle.

Rosetta strolled through the hall. She headed for the stairs, which meant she’d have to pass Giovanni’s office. She had hopes to run into Dominic. If she innocently inquired after him maybe Giovanni would tell her when he was expected. She slowed her steps when she heard Catalina’s laughter. Maybe Dominic had returned and they were all gathered in Giovanni’s office? She would stick her head in and say hi to him. So he could see how much she had changed. When she stopped outside of Giovanni’s office she found the door half open. From where she stood she could see in but they couldn’t see her.

Before Giovanni stood Catalina with a fussy Eve on her hip. Rosetta turned to leave when she heard Catalina’s request. It gave her reason to pause.

“That’s my sweetie. He’s always been my protector,” Catalina chuckled. “But he worries to much. You both are too overprotective.”

“You’re my baby sister. I’m allowed to be overprotective,” Giovanni replied.

“True.” Catalina said. She looked to Eve and gave her a kiss. “I wanted to talk to you. I have a request. You’re my Godfather right?”

Giovanni rocked back in his chair and frowned. “What are you up to?”

“Oh wow, so I want to talk to my brother and I’m up to something?”

“You asked to speak to your Godfather, so you don’t want to talk to you brother.” Giovanni arched his left brow.

Catalina purposefully pouted.

He waved her off. She took a step forward. “It’s about Domi, Gio. We need to talk about him and me.”

Her brother’s gaze lifted from the page he was reading. “Continue.”

“He’s… well… he really wants to marry me. Dominic wants me to be his wife.” She sat in the chair before him and put Eve on her lap.

“I told you both that you will have to wait a year,” Giovanni groaned. He dropped his head back and closed his eyes.

“I know. And I agree. We should wait. I, uh,” she lowered her eyes and tone. Unable to look at her brother as she explained, she used Eve as a distraction by allowing the toddler free play with her bracelets. “Dominic’s going to ask you to let us marry sooner. I have to be honest. I love him, Gio. I want to be his wife, but… I’m not ready. I have so much to learn about Mira’s company. So many exciting opportunities. I can’t get him to understand, to let me have a little freedom to do this. I thought, well I thought maybe you could talk to him. No. My request is that you help him see that we should wait, a year or two.”

“A year… or two?” Giovanni sat back dumbfounded.

The look on her brother’s face sent her into panic. She was taking a huge risk appealing to him this way. And behind Dominic’s back. It could put Dominic in danger. She knew Giovanni, and those stupid oaths these men took.

“Let me explain.” Catalina said.

“Yes,” Giovanni smiled, but the sinister way in which he did so made the blood in her veins cool. He leaned forward on the desk. “Explain it to me,
piccoletta
,” he said. “Explain how you go from one day not being able to breathe if you don’t have Dominic to the next day wanting to be free of him?”

“Have you seen what I’ve done with
Fabiana’s
?” she asked.

Giovanni did not respond.

Eve fought to get down out of Catalina’s lap. She struggled to hold on to the toddler and find the words. “I want to marry him, Gio. I do love him.”

“Then why are you sitting here trying to make sure that doesn’t happen?” Giovanni asked.

“I’m asking for your help. Look at what happened with Franco and me. Look at all that Dominic did to protect and hide our love. He put his life at risk, his brotherhood with you and Lorenzo at risk. I don’t want to mess this up with him, Gio. He’s my heart. But you know him. He’s like you. He doesn’t want a wife that’s a fashion designer, he wants a wife, and a mother of his children.”

Giovanni snorted.

“I am not saying I won’t be ready to marry him next year. Hell maybe even six months. I just want the chance to see what being Mirabella is all about.”

“What does Bella have to do with this?” Giovanni asked.

“I envy her. Not your wife. The fashion designer and business woman she is. She was so different than us. Her and Fabiana were both so different. Mira was the first woman I knew personally that was her own person. Mama never was, Zia never was. Name anyone else who is like Mira?” Catalina could see him processing her explanation. So she continued. “You’re the leader of this family. Dominic worships you. He’d do anything for you. Loving me is something he did for him. And he’s never done anything selfish in all of his life. Right, Gio? Help us. We’re struggling here. Help us have what you and Mira have.”

“Sure, Catalina.” Giovanni’s cold hard look was softened by his smile. “I’ll help you.”

“Don’t tell him that I asked you to step in. Please? Just make him see that we aren’t ready to marry. Not yet. Okay?”

Giovanni gave her a single nod. She tried to read the look in his twilight blue eyes. Was he agreeing to help her because he believed in them? Or had she made a big mistake by sharing with him her hesitation? “Gio, I love him. I swear it. I just… well you understand. You and Mira figured it out. Right? I do want to be his wife. Just not right now.”

Giovanni didn’t answer.

Eve said something to her father in her baby voice. He cut his eyes to his daughter and the smile on his face looked genuine. He sang a chorus of her firefly lullaby. And Eve kicked her feet laughing.

“Blow Papa a kiss. Like I taught you!” Catalina said. She made the gesture. Eve blew him a kiss.

Giovanni chuckled. Catalina relaxed.  Her brother understood.

Rosetta backed away from the door. She turned and nearly collided with Cecilia in the hall. The young girl stared at her frozen. Rosetta knew she was caught. She glared at Cecilia and prepared to ring her neck if she said a word to alert Giovanni to her snooping.