It’s Christmas in New Bristol, and the Vanessa has invited Lucia and her men to visit. This is definitely going to be a completely normal family holiday, and every single person is on their best behavior.
Part 1 of this Breaking Lucia/Breeding Vanessa extra is free for all! All four parts will be up this December.
Even from where I’m sitting in the living room, I can smell the cooking going on in the kitchen. I’d be tempted to join Giulio, but being pregnant with twins is not making me want to move. No, I’ll stay right here in my armchair with the lumbar pillow.
Even if I’m a little worried he’s going to make indecently shaped cookies for dessert.
I can hear Damien talking to Giulio, and a few minutes later Damien walks through the kitchen door, Pandora in his arms.
“Mama!” Pandora shouts, waving toward me. “Help!”
That’s one of her favorite words now that she’s learned it. Help! She seems to have learned that everybody will drop everything to give her attention when she says it.
“Hi, sweetheart,” I say with a soft smile.
Damien looks at me with that gentle expression I’ve gotten so used to seeing on him. It’s a far cry from when we first met, when he was a complete mystery to me.
Of course, his eyes trail down to my pregnant belly, and I know exactly what he’s thinking of now. I blush and concentrate on Pandora.
Damien had dressed her up in an adorable little dark blue dress with white snowflakes all over. I notice it matches the navy blue dress I’m wearing now, and I’m sure that wasn’t by accident. She isn’t wearing any shoes, but I’m not surprised because Pandora hates shoes. No matter how hard we try, she always wiggles them off before long.
“Did Papa let you help again?” I ask, sitting up. I’m debating getting up entirely, but Damien walks over to me and bends low so I can reach Pandora. I tickle Pandora’s sides, and she giggles with delight. “Hmm, he couldn’t have, or you’d be a mess all over again.”
“Mess,” Pandora declares.
“Is Giulio behaving in there?” I ask Damien. This Christmas isn’t going to be like last year, when it had been just the four of us. I’d invited Lucia and Victor as well, even though I’m still not sure that was a good idea. Especially not since she’s apparently bringing Angelo Guerra and some other man too.
It feels like she doesn’t trust me, but I know the extra security is more because of Giulio.
“He seems to be doing all right,” Damien says slowly. “Nothing destroyed, and I didn’t notice any new decorations.”
I look at the tree, grimacing when I notice the makeshift Christmas ornament from last year, the one with Emilio Pavone’s bleeding corpse.
I’d quietly taken it down, but it had ended up back on the tree the next day.
We’d all left it at that.
I take Pandora from Damien, and she immediately starts grabbing for my hair. I’ve debated cutting my long hair, just so I don’t have to deal with three children all pulling on it.
“I wish Lucia wasn’t bringing Angelo,” I mutter as I redirect Pandora’s hands away from my hair. She ends up with her fingers tangled in my necklace instead. I resign myself to that and let her play a little.
“I think it’s unlikely she’d show up without him,” Damien says. There’s something strange about his tone, but Pandora chooses that moment to tug harder on the necklace.
Once I’ve gotten Pandora’s fingers safely away from both hair and jewelry, I glance back at Damien. “Fine, she thinks she needs security. But surely one is enough. She doesn’t need two extra men.” I glower a bit. “I wish she wasn’t bringing any men. I don’t like Victor.”
“Santino Pace.” Damien bends down to ruffle Pandora’s hair. “He’s in charge of the tech side of things. Giulio thinks he might be gay. Maybe he’s Angelo’s boyfriend.”
I huff in annoyance. “Fine. But it doesn’t make it much of a family occasion.”
Now Damien gives me a strange look. “Slayer is going to be here too. Unless you want me to tell him to sit this one out?”
“Slayer is family,” I say fiercely. “At the very least, he’s Pandora’s… uncle, as far as Lucia is concerned.”
Damien nods, and I’m glad he isn’t arguing with me. I still remember when Slayer and Damien could barely stand each other, but over this past year, they’ve figured out how to get along. It’s been helpful having both of them as a united front when Giulio gets a bit strange.
“Then maybe Santino Pace is family for them, too.” Damien inclines his head at me. “And Angelo Guerra isn’t too bad. He helped get rid of Emilio.”
I shudder, remembering the gruesome sight—remembering exactly how violent Angelo could be.
“He also got rid of my father. And…” I pull Pandora closer to me, but Pandora only squirms and tries to get free of my grasp. “Never mind. Lucia was adamant about bringing both of them. It’s too late now, at any rate.”
Lucia and her entourage should be arriving soon, and it’s definitely too late to be uninviting any of them from the family dinner.
“Do you need anything?” Damien asks me just as the doorbell rings.
I start to get up, but Damien holds out his hand to stop me.
“You and Pandora stay here. I’ll go get the door,” Damien says.
I gratefully sink back down into the chair. Pandora takes advantage of my loosening hold to climb off of me. “Daddy! Up!” she shouts, reaching up for Damien.
Damien laughs and shakes his head. “Wait here, Frog. I’ll go invite our guests in.”
I watch him leave, wincing when I feel movement inside my belly. I hope the twins don’t make themselves known too much during this dinner.
I’d thought I was prepared for pregnancy, having gone through it with Pandora already, but two at once is definitely very, very different. If one of them isn’t awake and kicking, the other one is. Not to mention the amount I’m eating, and how often I have to pee.
Pandora waddles over to the Christmas tree and starts playing with the train Slayer had set up. She loves the thing, although half of the fun for her is making the train crash and placing it back on the rails.
I hear Damien greeting everybody, and a few minutes later, Lucia strides into the living room.
Lucia is, as always, dressed to the nines. She’d opted for an elegant, form-fitting red dress with subtle sparkles. It has long sleeves, but the skirt stops halfway down her thighs. Her curves are perfectly accentuated, and for just a fleeting second, I feel self-conscious about how I must look in comparison, completely bloated with the twins.
That’s silly, though. It’s never been a competition between us, and I know that Giulio, Slayer, and Damien all love the way I look.
Victor, Angelo, and Saint follow her in, with Damien right behind them.
Angelo notices Pandora and smiles, going to squat down in front of her. “Hey, Pan-Pan! It’s been a while since I saw you. You’ve gotten so big!”
Pandora smiles up at him. She’s never met a stranger she didn’t immediately like—although she is also quick to hate them, too. “Big!” she says pointing at Angelo.
Lucia shakes her head and walks over to me.
I get up with a small groan so I can hug her.
“You already look like you’re going to explode,” Lucia says, making me blush.
“Twins,” I say almost apologetically, as if she doesn’t already know about that. I’ve tried to limit my pregnancy talk with her, but it’s hard for me to think about anything else.
Victor steps up behind to put his hand on the small of her back. He inclines his head at me. “You look lovely, Vanessa. I suppose that myth about pregnancy glow is true after all.”
Damien approaches us and reaches out as if to embrace me, although he thankfully remembers our audience. “Pregnancy suits her,” he says flatly.
I grab his hand anyway and give it a quick squeeze.
“I’m not saying it doesn’t,” Lucia says sharply. “But I am understandably concerned about my sister staying pregnant and at home all the time. I don’t see you anywhere.”
“Lucia, the two of you went out last month,” Angelo points out, much to her obvious irritation. He approaches us with Pandora in his arms. I itch to take her from him, but she looks happy, pulling at his hair and shirt. “Plus, where are you supposed to see her? Unless you want to invite Vanessa to the gun range with us.”
“No,” Damien says immediately, glaring at Angelo. “Vanessa isn’t going anywhere near guns.” Damien reaches out for Pandora, and she waves her arms at him with a little happy, “Help!”
Angelo passes her to Damien without protest, and I swallow a sigh of relief. I don’t think Angelo would hurt her, but I can’t get the visions of what he did out of my head.
Maybe that’s hypocritical, because I know what Giulio, Damien, and Slayer are capable of, but I know they would never harm Pandora.
Saint edges closer to us, and I bite my lip not to say anything rude to him. What is he doing here?
Victor smiles at Lucia. “Perhaps we should invite her over for the next meal. Santino and I can cook.”
“No,” Lucia says instantly. “We can cater.”
Santino snorts a laugh. “Oh, come on. You know I can actually cook.”
The interaction is a little strange, but I smile hesitantly. “I don’t know when I’ll have time, but I’d like that.”
I just want to see more of Lucia. We do talk on the phone and visit each other when we can, but with the pregnancy and Lucia’s involvement with the Rosa di Sangue, it’s hard to coordinate our schedules.
“Speaking of food!” Giulio announces from the entry to the kitchen. He comes out with a big tray of appetizers. “Don’t eat too much, but the rest of the meal is in the oven and should be done in fifteen minutes.”
There are the usual cold cuts on the tray, but a few more elaborate appetizers too in the form of crackers with rolled up smoked salmon. I pick up a piece of sausage and hand it to Pandora.
She takes one lick then says, “Yuck!” and throws it away.
It bounces against Saint’s face.
Saint startles, but he reaches down and grabs it. “I… Where’s the trash can?”
“In the kitchen, duh,” Slayer pipes up from the doorway. “Hey, guys. Sorry I’m late.” He smirks at Giulio. “New Bristol traffic, man. It’s a killer.”
I smile at Slayer, and I wish I could go over and kiss him. Later, I tell myself, after our guests have left.
Lucia gives Slayer a sour look. “How many people were invited to this family gathering?” she demands. “This is ridiculous, Nessa.”
My smile drops.
Giulio sets the tray of appetizers onto the coffee table. “Yeah, Nessa! There are at least four too many people at this family gathering.” He looks around the room. “Frog, who should we uninvite?”
Pandora squirms in Damien’s arms, excited to be included in the conversation. “Bitch auntie!” she declares loudly.
If Lucia looked sour before, it’s nothing compared to the look on her face now.
I groan loudly. “Giulio! Did you tell her to say that?”
Giulio laughs. “Would I do something like that? Our Frog just knows what’s up.”
So much for keeping Pandora from learning curse words. I’m positive Giulio somehow taught Pandora that phrase just to annoy Lucia. I really wish he would stop provoking Lucia on purpose.
Angelo snorts, and Saint comes up behind Lucia. His arm wraps around her shoulders, and he murmurs something in her ear.
That’s not normal, is it? People don’t normally let strange men touch them like that.
Before I can question anything, Victor interrupts, “Regardless, it would be a shame to have all the food I’m sure has already been prepared go to waste. We’re all here now, so we may as well play nice.”
I don’t like Victor very much, but I have to admit, he might be a tad more reasonable than Giulio.
Giulio goes over to Damien and takes Pandora from his arms. “Hear that, Frog? You gotta play nice! No saying things like bitch auntie or bloodthirsty maniac or cold-hearted bastard.”
“Bitch bastard!” Pandora repeats with a giggle.
“Panda,” Slayer chastises, going over to her to kiss her on the forehead. “You’re gonna make everyone think this family is crazier than it is, Jules.”
Lucia’s expression changes, and she looks between them with one of those calculating looks of hers. I wince internally and hope she doesn’t think too hard about how close we all are.
“Yeah, um, food,” Saint says before Lucia comments on anything, squeezing her shoulder again.
“Like I said, another ten, fifteen minutes.” Giulio takes Pandora and sits down on the armchair. Pandora squirms until he lets her go, after which she crawls over to the train set once more.
“I like your setup,” Angelo says, looking around the room. “And with homemade decorations! Victor gets a decorator in to do it.”
“Because none of us wants to make decorations,” Victor remarks. “I’m certainly not going to spend an afternoon putting a tree up, either.”
“Not with those noodle arms, you aren’t.” Angelo goes up to the tree and admires one of the haphazardly decorations Pandora had made. “Shit, this makes me think of the tree Nico and I had growing up. The store-bought decorations just aren’t the same.”
“They really aren’t,” Saint says, though he looks more awkward as he seems to realize everyone is looking in his direction.
I resist the urge to ask what Saint is even doing here.
Suddenly Angelo makes a noise. “Jesus Christ, is this what I think it is?” He pulls one of the ornaments off the tree, and I wince.
I think I know exactly what that ornament is.
Giulio grins widely. “Yep! Thanks for the pic. I couldn’t wait to make my old man part of the holidays.”
I flinch, looking away from the tree and trying not to think about that image. I busy myself with rearranging the pillows on the sofa.
Angelo laughs and waves the ornament around. “Look! It’s that photo of Pavone from the wedding last year. Damn, he’s never looked better. Definitely one of my finest works.”
Lucia crosses over to examine it, and she arches a brow before looking between Giulio and me. “Pandora doesn’t need to see things like this, especially if she’s echoing them,” she says.
As if I don’t know that already. I’d at least managed to put the ornament high up enough that Pandora is unlikely to see it.
“And you.” Lucia points at Angelo with one finely-manicured finger. “Don’t encourage him.”
“Aw, Princess, come on. You have to admit, it’s kind of funny. Or are you going to tell me you don’t like this photo?” Angelo waggles his eyebrows at her. “Because I’d know you were lying.”
Giulio watches the exchange with extreme interest. “Wait, wait. Is bitch auntie actually bloodthirsty, too?”
Saint blinks at Giulio, looking surprised. “Of course she—”
“That has nothing to do with anything,” Lucia interrupts, straightening slightly. “It’s inappropriate for Pandora and Vanessa, especially during the holiday season.”
I bite my lip, annoyed that Lucia is classifying me with Pandora even though I don’t want to see it. And what about her? Isn’t she at all upset about all the gore on display?
“But not inappropriate for anyone else,” Victor says with a hint of sarcasm that has Lucia glowering at him instead of Giulio. “Angelo, return the ornament to its place, and perhaps we can focus on more pleasant topics.”
Giulio sighs and stretches his arms. “I don’t know what’s more pleasant than my old man’s gruesome demise, but sure. Saint, why don’t you tell us all about that dick piercing I’m pretty sure you have.”
My head snaps up, and I stare at Saint. Sure, he has a lot of ear and eyebrow piercings, but anything underneath the suit is none of our business. I’m about to chastise Giulio, only Saint’s cheeks fill with color, and he stammers something unintelligible.
Now I’m wondering if he actually is pierced down there.
No, I’m not going to think about that. I don’t want to know.
“Why don’t you check on the food?” Lucia asks coolly. “So we can get this train wreck back on the rails.”
“I don’t think anything’s going to keep this train wreck from flaring up with fire and gore,” Slayer says cheerfully. “Right, Panda?”
Pandora looks adoringly up at him. “Gore!” she declares.
“Giulio,” I say. “We should start setting the table. Lucia and I will take the remaining appetizers to the dining room. And the salads probably need arranging, right?”
“Aw, Mama, are you trying to derail us?” Giulio laughs and puts an arm around my waist. “Fine, I’ll behave. Slayer, make yourself useful and help the women. The rest of you can shuffle in, I guess. There are name tags on the seats, and I will know if you try to rearrange things.”
That… does not bode well.
I let Giulio help me up, but I give him a look. “You’d better be sitting far across the table from Lucia,” I murmur so only he can hear me.
Giulio smiles at me. “But don’t you want to be near your sister? And of course I’m sitting next to my lovely wife.”
This really is going to be a train wreck, and there’s not a thing I can do to stop it. I let out an aggrieved sigh before scooping up Pandora and depositing her into Damien’s arms. “Keep her out of trouble,” I say unnecessarily, just because I need to say something that’s going to be listened to, respected, during this utter chaos.
Lucia grabs a tray and follows me into the dining room, and I realize just how outclassed I feel. She’s like a graceful predator, and I’m this fat, wobbly thing that has only looked beautiful when other people help me.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it right now,” Lucia murmurs to me. “I know that look.”
I give her a weak smile, but Slayer’s right behind us, and I don’t have time to respond.
“Ness,” Slayer says, coming up behind me and setting the remaining platter onto the table, “you should sit down and rest.”
“I’m not an invalid,” I complain, although part of me does want to sit down again. Carrying twins is so much more exhausting than Pandora. “I’ll go grab the salads.”
Lucia follows me into the kitchen, where Giulio has arranged quite a few salad bowls. There’s a caprese salad too, and I resist the urge to eat a slice of mozzarella off it.
“Huh. You guys went all out,” Lucia says, looking at the food on the kitchen island. “This must have cost a fortune.”
“This?” I look around with a smile. “No. Not at all.”
She looks skeptical, but I think that if I tell her Giulio cooked it, she’ll refuse to eat — and that’s not a situation I want to deal with today of all days.
Of course, I’d almost have preferred that to her murmuring, “So how did we go from ‘small family dinner’ to a party of eight and a half?”
I nervously brush my hair back. “I don’t know. I guess we don’t really trust each other? And everybody brought security?” My voice goes high in obvious doubt. I hate relegating Damien and Slayer to security, but I don’t know what else makes sense. “Besides, they’re friends, and neither Damien nor Slayer have family of their own.” I grab one of the salad bowls. “What about Angelo and Saint? Giulio said they were dating?”
It’s Lucia’s turn to look a little nervous, but she replies without hesitation, “Yes, they’re together.”
Lucia might be an accomplished and well-practiced liar, but I know my sister well enough to know that her smile is just a bit too bright to be convincing.
“What about Damien and… Slayer?” she asks, her distaste evident from how she speaks his name. “Are you really going to call him that in front of Pandora?”
I swallow hard. “I try to get them to call him Ryan, but… It’s a nickname. It sticks.”
“Oh? And how are you going to explain that when she goes to kindergarten?” Lucia asks. “Because if he’s at a family dinner, I’m assuming he’s close enough to be mentioned.” She’s fishing, and I’m not even sure what she’s fishing for.
“I’m sure we’ll figure something out,” I answer, as if I haven’t despaired about this already. But Damien’s already been looking at kindergartens and elementary schools for Pandora, and I know she’s only going to be attending very exclusive, very expensive schools. They probably wouldn’t want to lose whatever tuition we’d be paying.
“I hope so.” She gets herself a glass of water and glances at me. “Thirsty?”
More to stall than anything else, I nod. “Yes. Thank you.”
“So, Damien,” she circles back. “I don’t know if you already know, but I’ve been paying attention when I meet with him and Giulio. And sometimes I think he might like Giulio as more than a friend.”
Unlike my sister, I’ve never been a good liar, and I stammer out, “You know what? I think we should check on everything else. And bring some of the food out.” Before she can respond, I grab two of the bowls and head back for the dining room.
Slayer comes to help, trying to shoo me into a seat, but I don’t let him. I don’t want to get pinned down by Lucia again, especially in front of Giulio.
By the time we’re done, though, I really am exhausted, and I find my assigned seat — next to Giulio and across from Lucia, which is going to be a disaster if the two of them try to converse for any length of time longer than…
Well. If they try to converse, full stop.
Pandora ambles over to the chair next to mine, the one with the booster seat, and makes a reaching up motion. “Up! Mama, up!”
I lift her up into the booster seat, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. “Are you excited for dinner?” I ask her.
“Yes!” Pandora declares before turning to Lucia and saying gleefully, “Bitch auntie!”
Lucia sighs but lets it go with a shake of her head. “I’m going to wring his neck,” she mutters so only I can hear. She, at least, cares what Pandora is going to pick up. “Lucia,” she corrects Pandora.
“Bitch auntie,” Pandora corrects her in turn with all the solemnity of a child who has no doubt in the words of her father.
Well. If that’s the case, we’re all screwed.
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Part 2
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