Vengeful Matrimony | ✔️

Chapter 72

NICHOLAS

"What do you mean you don't like your mama?" I heard Giselle's voice from inside the room we'd converted into her studio. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"You are..." The little boy trailed off like he was trying to remember the word to use. "Nice," he completed. "Gianna is not nice."

"Why don't you call her mama?" Giselle asked, her tone filled with curiosity. "Did she ask you not to?"

I didn't hear a reply from the boy, so I assumed he'd either nodded or shaken his head. I pushed the door open, and for the first time since Gianna arrived, I came face-to-face with her son.

He looked nothing like her from his mop of curly dark hair to his facial features. He was dressed in one of Giselle's t-shirts that looked like a dress on him.

He ran over to Giselle when he saw me, hiding behind her back. Her shoulders shook with laughter as she turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"There's no need to run, O. He's not the big bad wolf. You don't need to be afraid of him," she assured him.

He peeked at me from behind Giselle, his bright green eyes filled with curiosity.

"Is he your friend?" He whispered, or attempted to. I heard him clearly.

Giselle cut her gaze over to me briefly before going back to address the little boy. "Something like that. Go say hi."

Orion took reluctant steps toward me, stopping just a foot away from me. I kneeled in front of him, so I was at eye level with him.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Fine, sir," he mumbled, staring at his feet that peeked out from underneath his shirt.

I shook my head at him, slightly amused. The kid had more manners than half of the men I dealt with in the Cosa Nostra. "Niko is just fine." I looked around the room, finding an empty bowl of ice cream on the floor next to half-eaten cookies. "I see you were having some fun. Did you paint that?" I asked, gesturing at the canvas that was now filled with strokes of color.

For a kid his age, he did well. It looked like they offered him a paintbrush, some red and black paint, a blank canvas, and free rein.

"Actually, I did," Giselle said, rising to her feet.

"Oh." Shit. "It looks great," I amended, backpedaling on my earlier comment. "Of course, I knew you painted that," I said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes at me as she gathered the ice cream bowl and plate of cookies into her arms. "Sure you did. There's dinner in the kitchen. Sara returned home tonight, but she's spending the rest of the week here. You missed Cara and Kingston. They left already."

I winced, rubbing the back of my neck with my palm as I rose to my full height. "I'm sorry. Shit came up."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. Work happened." She flashed me a smile I could tell didn't reach her eyes before looking down at Orion, who'd scurried back to her side. "Come on, O. It's time to go to bed."

She ushered him out of the room, and just as they burst into the hall, his little chatters resumed. They must have really bonded today.

I wasn't hungry, so I didn't bother going down to the kitchen. I made a beeline for the bedroom, and by the time Giselle entered the bathroom, I'd already finished showering. So much for shower sex.

"Where's Gianna?" She asked as I dried off my dripping hair.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Well, for starters, you took her shopping today, and she hasn't returned since then. You only just returned as well."