Mafia Betrayal

Chapter Thirty Nine

Charlotte

"Can I get you anything, babe?" Luca asked through the door of the bathroom. I groaned, appreciating his concern, but all I wanted was to be left alone so I could puke in peace. In the middle of the night, a wave of food poisoning hit me like a brick wall, and I'd been up ever since. The last thing I wanted to do was unlock that door and let him in here.

"I'm fine, Luca. Why don't you just take Layla out to do something fun? I'll be just fine here." It was Christmas Eve of all days, and I didn't want everyone else cooped up at the house just because I was sick.

My mother and Carmen were making Christmas Eve dinner and would be busy with that all afternoon, so if Luca and Layla were out of the house, I could finally have some peace and quiet and try to kick this thing so I could enjoy Christmas with my family.

"Can I bring you something to eat first? You need to keep your strength up." The word eat almost made me throw up again. Yeah, that was not happening.

"No, I don't think I can eat anything right now. I promise I will in a little while. I just want to take a hot shower and lay down for a bit." Luca wouldn't go away without at least the promise that I'd try to feed myself.

"At least let me help you in the shower. You're weak and dehydrated. What if you pass out and drowned?" I bit back my laughter. Was that another attempt at seeing me naked, disguised as concern?

"I'm pretty sure no one has ever drowned in a shower, Luca. The water doesn't build up enough." I laughed softly, mustering up as much strength as I could.

"But you could hit your head." He defended. "I can just sit in there with you and..."

"Would you get out of here, please?" I begged. Even talking was exhausting me right now.

Luca was quiet, but I could tell he was still standing at the door. At least, he was respecting my wishes not to come inside; that was major progress. Normally, he'd be banging the door down and threatening to kick it in so he could come in and help me. Was it so much to ask to puke in peace?

"Fine. But call me if you need anything. We can be back here at the drop of a..."

"Luca!" I shrieked exasperatedly. "Go entertain our daughter. I'm fine."

"Okay, okay." He chuckled, finally conceding. "I'll see you soon."

"See you soon."

"But just to be clear, just because I'm letting you win right now, doesn't mean you make the rules around here." I could hear the smug grin he was wearing through his tone. The man was impossible.

"Bye Luca."

"Bye, baby." I heard footsteps heading out of the room and the door shutting as he left. Finally.

Instead of a shower, I opted for a bath, filling the tub up with scalding hot water and bubbles and lowered myself into it. It felt like heaven. I hadn't taken a bubble bath in months, and I had forgotten how much I loved Luca's tub.

I soaked until my skin was wrinkling and then got out, wrapping a robe around myself. I was feeling a bit better and after a nap, I was sure I'd be good as new.

The sun was shining into the bedroom window, and it looked much nicer outside than I would have expected for December. Normally, New York was frigid and snowy this time of year, and I was a tiny bit disappointed. We'd spent the last few Christmases on a beach, and I was hoping for a little snow cover. I slid the door open and stepped out onto the balcony, wrapping my robe a little tighter around me. It may look nice, but the chill in the air was severe. I sucked in a sharp breath of the cool air, shivering as I tiptoed to the edge of the railing.