La Cosa Nostra

Chapter 3

I wake up the next morning and get dressed for the day. Heading downstairs, I feel something small bump into my leg. Looking down, I realise that the something small is actually a little boy. He looks up at me with wide innocent eyes and a toothy smile. Realising that this is probably Frankie, Luca's son, I crouch down and return his smile.
"Hey little man. You must be Frankie."
He nods eagerly, "Who are you?" He says in an adorable voice.
"I'm Alessa."
"Uhyessa?" I chuckle at his pronunciation of my name and nod.
"Yup. Where's your papa?" I say looking around for Luca.
"I don't know. I hungry. Want food."
He then takes my hand, surprising me and pulls me towards the kitchen. He's a chatty kid, rambling on about some cartoon when we bump into Luciano.
"Uncle Luci!"
Luciano looks up and breaks into a smile. I had to admit, he looked really good when he smiled.
"Hey kiddo." Frankie runs into his arms and that's when he looks up and realises that I'm the person holding Frankie's hand. Instantly, that smile drops and an intense glare replaces it.
"What are you doing with him?"
I stare at him confused. Why was he so mad?
"I was taking him to the kitchen. He said he was hungry."
"You stay away from him." He then turns around and leaves the room with Frankie in his arms. Confused and slightly angry, I walk into the kitchen and spot Angelo and Emilia sitting at the counter eating breakfast. Beside them is a blonde woman I haven't met.
Emilia spots me first and greets me enthusiastically. Greeting her and Angelo back, I turn to the blonde who sends me a warm smile.
"You must be Sofia, Luca's wife."
"I am. It's nice to meet you Alessa." She leans in to give me a hug. Okay, looks like the women in this family were huggers.
Awkwardly returning her hug, Angelo chuckles. "I was just telling Sofia how Emilia scared you when you met her yesterday."
I scowl at him and he just smirks while taking another bite of his breakfast.
Before I could say anything, an older looking woman comes towards the island.
"You must be Ms Morino. I'm Magdalene, the cook."
Shaking her hand,"call me Alessa please."
She smiles." Well then Alessa, what can I get you for breakfast?"
"Oh, that's okay. I can make my own plate."
"I insist, dear. What do you usually have?"
"Umm, just coffee is fine."
She stares at me in horror before saying in a stern motherly tone. "Coffee is not breakfast. Sit down while I get you a proper meal. No wonder you're so skinny."
The other three chuckle as she gently pushes me towards a stool at the island before heading of to get me food.
"Magdalene is like a mum to all of us. Never say no to her food." Sofia says.
"How could anyone say no to her food? It's delicious." Angelo says and Emilia rolls her eyes at him.
"Everything is delicious to you. How are you hungry all the time?"
"I need the energy to keep you satiated." He says winking at her. Sofia and I groan at his words while Emilia blushes profusely. He smirks at her reaction before giving her a quick kiss. I gotta admit, they were pretty cute together.
Magdalene then places a plate in front of me and my eyes widen at the amount of food that's on it.
"Eat." She says in a stern tone. Not wanting to argue with her, I shovel a forkful of eggs into my mouth, sending her a cheeky smile. She laughs at my reaction and gives me a motherly pat on the head before heading back towards the stove. Angelo was right though, she was an amazing cook.
Remembering my altercation with Luciano just now, I turn to Sofia. She looks at me when I call her name.
"I met Frankie just now. He said he was hungry so I was bringing him to the kitchen. Uhh, Luciano saw us and got pretty angry. I'm not entirely sure why but I'm sorry if I overstepped or something."
She shakes her head, frowning at me.
"Why are you apologising? I'm fine having you around Frankie. I trust you. "
"No offence, Sofia but you just met me."
She chuckles at me, "call it a mother's instinct Alessa. I know you won't hurt my son. I don't know why Luciano got angry with you though."
I wave her off, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. "Don't worry about it."
Just then, the man in question walks in, a scowl on his face. His eyes immediately latch onto me, a furious look in them.
"You stay the hell away from my nephew, you understand?"
"Luciano!" Emilia admonishes him, hearing his tone.
I force myself to remain calm. "I bumped into him in the hallway. He said he was hungry so I was bringing him to the kitchen."
"Luciano, it's fine. Luca and I don't mind having her around Frankie." Sofia says trying to calm him down. He just glares at me, not calming down a bit.
"You should mind."
"Excuse me? He was hungry, I wasn't gonna just leave him there." I say, feeling angry. He's behaving as if I tried to kidnap the kid or something.
"I don't trust you around him, Alessandra."
I bristle at his underlying meaning.
"He's a child,Luciano. Do you honestly think I would hurt a child?"
He shrugs, "who knows what you're capable of."
That's it. I open my mouth when I notice Luca walk in behind Luciano, Frankie in his arms.
I take a deep breath, before standing up and placing my empty plate in the sink.
Luciano hasn't realised that Luca is behind him and he says sarcastically, "What? No snappy remark because you know I'm right?"
I turn and glare at him icily, "What I know is that I'm not having this conversation in front of him," motioning towards the father and son duo standing behind him. Luciano turns and I notice his face fall a bit when he sees them standing behind him. Luca has a confused look on his face while Frankie is happily playing with his father's hair, oblivious to the tension in the room. Grabbing my coffee, I walk out of the kitchen trying to soothe my anger. I had to admit, I was a little hurt. Did he seriously think that low of me? Did he honestly think I would hurt an innocent child?
I head into my room and decide to channel that anger towards the real reason I was here; Connor O'Sullivan. I needed to refresh my memory and look back at his profile again. I'm in the midst of reading his pretty extensive file when there's a knock on my door. Looking up, I see Luca standing there.
"We're having a meeting about Connor in Luciano's office." I nod and grab my laptop. As we descend the stairs in silence, Luca suddenly says,"Luciano is very protective of Frankie. He loves him like his own."
"I know. I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't mean to-". Luca cuts me off," you have nothing to apologise for. Sofia and I have no issue with you being around Frankie. Ignore Luciano."
I laugh quietly at his statement. Honestly, I didn't care what Luciano wanted. I just didn't want Luca and Sofia to think that I was going to hurt their child. It was relieving to know that they were okay with it because Frankie was adorable and I would love to spend some time with him.