Mafia Kings: Valentino: Dark Mafia Romance Series #6 by Olivia Thorn

Mafia Kings: Valentino: Chapter 2

I was the middle child of five kids. Our house was crazy – total chaos. The only peace I found was with my grandmother in the kitchen. She lived with us and cooked for the entire family.

My father was a bricklayer, and my mother was a schoolteacher. With so many mouths to feed, their salaries didn’t stretch nearly far enough.

My father was very serious. People used to joke that he was more German than Italian.

Always be early. If you’re on time, you’re five minutes late.

You owe your employer your very best efforts.

Never, EVER give less than 100%.

My mother prized getting good grades above everything else.

I was not serious at all, which irked my father – and I was terrible in school, which exasperated my mother.

Me?

I just wanted to cook.

My grandmother passed away when I was 11, and it was the saddest day of my life…

At least for another ten years.

But I kept on cooking and preparing all the family’s meals by myself.

I didn’t mind. I actually loved it. Working in the kitchen made me feel close to Nonna, like she was still with me.

I’ll say one thing: my parents never complained about my cooking. That was the one thing they didn’t criticize about me.

When I hit 12, I developed another obsession:

Boys.

I went boy CRAZY.

All I could think about was the cute boys at school. I would fantasize about kissing them.

I dreamed up ways of getting them to notice me. At first I tried making cannoli for them – hard pastry shells stuffed with sweet ricotta cheese and things like chocolate or nuts. They loved them, but they didn’t do anything but ask me for more cannoli.

When I finally got the attention I craved, it didn’t come from the boys in my own class – but older boys in school.

Much older.

I’m joking! They were only two or three years further along than me.

But they still seemed so worldly and cool.

Some of them even smoked.

Oooooh!

Real bad boys.

And I got plenty of their attention!

All it took was getting boobs.

I ended the school year flat-chested and came back the next fall more developed than every other girl in my grade level. All the older boys came flocking to me after that.

It was uncomfortable dealing with grown men leering at me, which felt icky and gross –

a couple years older

Bring it on.

for the first time when I

had sex for the first time when I was 14, with my first

all downhill

and cute boys… that was all I

secret by sneaking

at 18 from her boyfriend, which – since my parents were devout Catholics – meant automatic marriage. Her boyfriend

sure as hell couldn’t get pregnant. As a result, I always used condoms,

candy to me and my sister so we wouldn’t snitch on her. Once she moved out, the candy stopped. But when I started sneaking around, I had to bribe my younger sister again, who demanded her cut

around… but I couldn’t hide my terrible

father both yelled at me non-stop, telling me I was ruining my life. But I already knew I didn’t want to go

Bleh.

profession while you’re a teenager and go to a school specifically for that. You basically choose your life path when you’re

industry – an istituto professionale. That was the

would be tons more cute guys at university, I might

people talked. Probably some boys bragged about sleeping with me, their parents overheard, they started gossiping about it, and then some busybody decided to inform my

have to hear from other people that my daughter’s the town slut?!”

That stunned me.

that he’d found out

that he would ever call

to

was totally unfair. Yes, I’d slept with a few more guys than other girls had – but almost everyone in my class was hooking up. It’s not like I was the lone sinner in a sea of saints. And I wasn’t sleeping with just anybody. Most of the time I had boyfriends, and I was always faithful to them

to stay in relationships

they clamped down hard. I couldn’t sneak out anymore at night, which

sisters – my grades, my behavior, the way I dressed – but one day my

like your sister and marry

just like I did, but got knocked up by one of the guys she was banging?” I said

me in

at her, stunned

back to the bedroom I shared with my

would have never done that, I thought. Nonna NEVER would

to move

the way, all Italians who aren’t on the university track graduate at 17. It’s not like I did anything

over, I went looking for a job so I could get

that I came from a small town in Tuscany, the vast countryside in central Italy. Our town wasn’t a tourist attraction, so there wasn’t a lot of

Florence, the

made a lot of snarky comments about my sex life,

move to Florence. I lived with two roommates in a tiny apartment,

many cute guys as I wanted. And there were plenty of

to parties and discos, drank too

Except for one

trap and make 2000 gallons of spaghetti per day – but I didn’t

up, but that wasn’t even a possibility. Everybody I interviewed with said I had to go to a

them I’d already learned how to cook from my

learned how to cook from her grandmother. You need more

have the money for a culinary institute, and I couldn’t ask

WOULDN’T ask my parents. I didn’t want to owe them

I already knew they wouldn’t give me a cent. They’d say that if

reality was they didn’t have any money to

gallons of spaghetti a day and tried to

I was as good at saving as I’d

tried – I really did! It’s just that what little money I had left over every month magically

in Florence, life was great… until it wasn’t

felt trapped in

fun with boys, but I never

to