The Rocchetti Queen - Bree Porter Page 0,26
Dante was almost wailing in irritation. As soon as I had him back, he settled, but from the scrunched up look on his face, I knew he wasn’t happy with what had just happened.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” I whispered, drying off his head with my finger. “No, it wasn’t.”
My son looked like he disagreed.
The baptism came to an end, cementing my son’s soul in Heaven.
It was sad to think that one day he might very well be thriving in a life that would send him straight into Hell.
Due to the November chill, the reception afterward was held inside my house. After a furious cleaning, my house finally looked back to the way it had before the SWAT team had made their untimely entrance. We had also decorated the space with white flowers, blue ribbon, and little cookies in the shape of crosses—everyone loved the cookies.
I was heading to the kitchen to discover when the second wave of hors d’oeuvres would be ready when Chiara di Traglia caught me.
After the Adelasia scandal had come to light, the di Traglias had been furious. They placed a lot of blame toward Salvatore Jr and were growing irritated with the fact that Adelasia had yet to be found.
“Is there any more news about Adelasia?” Chiara asked.
It didn’t make me feel great to tell her, “I’m so sorry, Chiara, but there isn’t. I promise you my husband has his best men on the case. They will find her.”
Instead of looking disappointed, she just looked angry. “Three weeks and no word, Sophia. If you know something, you need to tell us.”
“I don’t know anything more than you,” I leveled. “We are doing everything we can to return her safe and well.”
“But still pregnant out of wedlock.”
I pressed my lips together. “A marriage between—”
“You’re damn right they will be married. A marriage is the only way to fix something like this!” Chiara hissed. “The shame this has caused our family is insurmountable—and it came at the hands of a Rocchetti.”
“I understand, Chiara.”
“No, you don’t!”
“Mama...” came a familiar voice. Simona headed over, baby Portia on her hip, eyes darting between us. “Mama, leave Mrs Rocchetti alone.” To me, she said, “I’m sorry if she disrespected you. she has been very tired—”
“It’s fine, Simona. You don’t need to apologize for her.” To Chiara I said, “We are doing all we can to find her. As soon as there is even a hint of her whereabouts, I will tell you.”
Chiara relaxed slightly, but still looked decidedly upset. Simona escorted her mother away, leaving me cold to the bone.
Before I even took another step, Nina Genovese was approaching me, shining in a purple gown. Her eyes followed Chiara and Simona.
“The di Traglias will cause some problems if they don’t have Adelasia back soon,” she warned me.
“I know,” I sighed. “My heart goes out to them.”
Nina inclined her head. “As does mine.” She gestured to my dress. “You look beautiful, Sophia. Have you been looking after yourself?”
“I’ve been attempting to. Dante makes it difficult.”
“Yes, they do not get any easier,” she mused, eyes gleaming. “When can we expect another little one?”
I almost choked on a laugh but forced myself to just grant her a smile. “Not for a year or two.”
“There is no rush. You are still young,” Nina replied. “How have you and Alessandro been? Having another person in the relationship can be tough.”
It was always hard with Nina to figure out if she was asking out of care or because she wanted some gossip. Nina had never given me a reason to believe that, but I was suspicious of everyone these days.
“He’s been wonderful. He loves having a son. I’m sure Davide was the same.”
Nina and I chattered about children while I checked on the hors d’oeuvres. It wasn’t until we were back in the living room, enjoying some cutely shaped cookies, when the conversation began to change.
Nina spotted Aisling at Toto’s side and made an irritated noise. When she remembered she was sitting with me, she added, “Toto’s mistress looks beautiful.”
I smiled. “Aisling always does.” Unable to help myself, I asked, “Do you not like her?”
“I don’t like Toto,” she told me. “I’ll never forgive him for what he did to Danta.”
“What did he do to her? I thought nothing was ever confirmed.”
Nina set her jaw. “We live in the mafia; nothing is ever confirmed, but it is known.”
I supposed that was a true enough statement. But it made my heart hurt to think that Aisling could