Dinner on Friday

53. Dante

FAR FROM OVER

The following week, I spent my days looking for Alonzo with my men. We started early in the morning until late at night. In my haste to get rid of Mathias, it didn't occur to me to ask about my nephew's whereabouts. Anna was depressed to a level I would never understand, so I promised to continue running the clan until further notice.

With all the deaths, we had a PR nightmare. The news networks were making speculations about the missing men's whereabouts but had nothing to go on since Barbecue and his men did a splendid job of hiding the bodies.

Every day we didn't find Alonzo was terrible fucking news. The kind of news no parent wanted to hear. But I wasn't giving up until he was back home safe and sound.

I used the time spent searching for Alonzo to reflect on the state of my marriage. It helped to distract me from the constant need to be near Carla. I wanted to respect her wishes and not rush her into wanting to spend time with me.

It was late Friday afternoon when I finally got news from a reliable source. 

Lianna was not pregnant.

The relief that washed over me was indescribable. One less lie, one less chain holding me back from making things right with Carla.

Every time I ran into her in the hallway or the kitchen, I sensed something different about her, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

I decided to make us dinner, asking  Carla's mom, Mrs. Dubois, to help me in the kitchen. I hoped she'd teach me how to make one of her famous Haitian dishes one day. Hopefully, Carla would see that I was still committed to us, no matter the obstacles.

Entering the kitchen brought back so many memories. The scent of her cooking followed by her laughter when the dish didn't come out as planned. I loved how she would ask me a thousand times to taste her sauces, guessing beforehand what I would say it was missing. The answer was almost always thyme.

As I traveled down memory lane, I remembered the first time she entered the kitchen of my restaurant. Her onion-chopping skills were laughable, and using that as an excuse, I asked her to leave when all I wanted to do was bend her over the counter, pull down her jeans and fuck her from behind.

She had so many questions then, too, questions she shouldn't have been asking me. Right now, I would have done anything to go back to the day we met and have her ask me all those questions again instead of the silent treatment I was getting now.

I didn't know what I missed more: her gorgeous smile when she caught me staring at her while she worked on her laptop or the sexy, exhausted grin on her face when I made her come so hard it made her toes curl. Either way, any of those smiles would suffice.

Today, I planned to make lasagna from scratch. I didn't know what it was about cooking for my family that made me feel good. Feeding them was part of providing, I guessed, and if done right, I might just get that smile I was craving.

I contemplated having an intimate dinner with Carla alone but decided at the last minute that maybe it was too soon. The sight of my head turning the corner was enough to upset her. And just because Lianna wasn't pregnant didn't mean she wanted to spend time alone with me. It was best I didn't try my luck despite my desperate need to feel her body next to mine.

I absentmindedly opened a drawer, and my heart stopped when I saw what was inside. There, amidst the miscellaneous items, was Carla's wedding ring. I knew she had taken it off, but the sight of it hit me like a punch to the gut.

I picked up the ring, feeling the weight of it between my fingers. Sighing, I closed my fist around it.

Mrs. Dubois stared at my hand, disapproval written on her face. "She took it off after she saw you on video with that chicken head girl. I would have done the same. Her father wasn't perfect, but he was loyal to me always. Carla saw that, and I understand her decision to keep you at arm's length."