Falling for the Mafia Boss

Chapter Sixteen

Mia Pov

I took Donnie’s advice and ran with it, spending every moment with dad that I could for the last three days. I even went to the extent of making a family recipe book with all of his recipes that we will one day miss. With moms help, we scrapbooked all his favorite memories as he told us about them, not leaving out any details. I don’t want every aspect of him to die with him. I want to be able to share all the pieces of him I can with my children since they will miss meeting him.

When you think about settling down, getting married, and having kids, you see yourself showing up at your parent’s house for a nice Sunday dinner. The kids run up the sidewalk and wrap their little arms around your parents, screams of pure innocent joy ripples through the quiet neighborhood. You and your husband greet them with the same bone-crushing hugs. After dinner, the kids will sit Criss-cross-apple-sauce in front of grandpa and listen to all his wonderful stories while you and your mom clean up after dinner. You would tuck your kids in bed that night, way too late, and they would reimagine those stories as if they experienced all the adventures themselves before they drift off to sleep.

That’s what I used to dream of. Now it’s hard to think of a future without him. Who will teach my son that perfectly cooked pasta is the way to a girl’s heart? Who will go pick up my daughter from a party she had no business being at because she was too scared to call her parents and too embarrassed to call her brother? Who will pick me up and mend my broken heart when my husband goes through his mid-life crisis and bangs his secretary? I always dreamed that my dad would do all those things.

Dad would have done it all with a smile on his face. But cancer will rob that from me. The sickness will leave my future kids with no grandfather… and me with no dad. The glue that holds this family together will be buried in a casket and left 6 feet under the ground for us to never reach again.

“Why the long face Stellina?” I don’t even recognize his voice anymore. Once a strong voice that I would hold close to me for protection, is now cracked and weak. “What’s troubling you?”

Tears burn my eyes, but I refuse to let him see me cry. Not because I don’t want him to see me so vulnerable, but because I don’t want some of our last moments together to be in sorrow when his death will bring plenty of that. “It’s nothing. Just sadder today than yesterday.” I stand up from my chair and sit on his bed, grasping ahold of his hand. “Tell me again about the day Donnie was born. That’s my favorite story.”

Dad shakes his head, “I don’t want to talk about Donnie, Stellina. I want to talk about your mother.”

“About Mom?”

“Yes.” He chirps. “When I die-“

“Dad NO-“ I try to stop him, not ready to have this conversation.

He squeezes my hand giving me strength and raises his brow, scowling at me like the stern father he is. I bite my tongue and lower my head in submission. “When I die Stellina, your mother is going to need you. We cannot rely on Donnie to be here for her emotionally. I know your heart is set on Austin-“

“I’m not moving to Austin.” I shut him down immediately not wanting his last days to be filled with worry. I haven’t told him everything that happened with Dylan, and I don’t plan to, but I will not be leaving mom. I have decided to stay for a bit, just to make sure she and Donnie will be okay after dads gone. “I’m going to hang out here for a while. Maybe get a job at the new hospital. I know Donnie and mom are going to need me, and if I’m being real, I will need them too.” … and there is a certain Italian who has caught my attention…

He pats my hand, a soft smile on his face. “Oh good. Your mother loves you the most, you know.”

“Me the favorite!?” I scoff and roll my eyes. Dad and I both know that is a lie! Donnie is her favorite and has always been. Something about a mother and a son’s bond can never be greater than a mother and daughter's. Never.