Free Mafia Captive by Kitty Thomas Page B

life, with food on her table, clothes in her closet, and her bills all paid.
    The doorbell rang. He pulled away from Faith, but she clung to him. It was a strange turn of events. Leo gently took her hands off his shoulders, linked one of his hands with hers, and took her to face the firing squad.
    The first person to arrive was his mother. He’d had no doubt it would be her, though she was coming all the way from Vegas. Gina Raspallo was absolutely punctual in everything, as if she had an internal mechanism that forced her body to be at the proper place at the proper time without deviation. Leo’s father had died of a heart attack three years before, and his mother had become more punctual in the intervening time.
    “Leo! Oh my baby! I missed you. You never come to see me,” Gina said, bending and dropping the diminutive Yorkie that scrambled to get out of her arms. She pulled Leo into a bear hug.
    Max scrambled into the entry way at the sound of the yapping. The golden retriever found the Yorkie fascinating in every way, like a chew toy, though he had never hurt the other dog. The Yorkie began to hop up and down at the sight of Max, his short legs barely making it an inch in the air before he landed again.
    “And this must be your girl!” Gina released Leo and turned her attention to Faith, who had stepped behind her son.
    Faith squeaked when his mother hugged her. “Let me see that ring!” She squealed in delight at the engagement ring. “Doesn’t our Leo have the best taste ever? I’m Gina, but you can call me Ma.”
    “Ma…” Leo said. “Don’t push her so much. You’ve known her thirty seconds.”
    “Well, she’s gonna be family isn’t she?” His mother pierced him with the glare he’d been waiting for. The how dare you get yourself engaged without letting me meet her first glare.
    She stepped back and appraised Faith, causing the redhead to shrink back. “Well, she’s not Italian, but at least she’s Catholic. I’ll take it. And I expect lots of grandchildren! She’s young enough, at least. I was worried you’d pick somebody older. You know it’s really better for a woman if they have the babies young. Now, what do you need me to do for dinner?”
    Leave it to his ma to say the most inappropriate things about the childbearing years. He was surprised she hadn’t mentioned Faith’s great birthing hips.
    “Ma, I told you. I’ve got people. We don’t need you to help with dinner tonight. You just got here for God’s sake. Relax. Go for a swim or something.” He’d had the temperature and pH of the pool tested just that morning.
    “But it’s Christmas Eve. I don’t know why we don’t come here a few days before and cook all together in the kitchen like we used to. All the Brooklyn family gets to bring covered dishes, and I’m stuck doing nothing. I want to cook something for my boy. Now!”
    It was pointless arguing. Once Gina got an idea into her head, woe to the man or woman who tried to stop her. Leo led her to the second kitchen, keeping a tight hold on Faith’s hand.
    Most of the time, he used the smaller family-style kitchen, but with his family here, everything had been upgraded to the large kitchen and even larger dining room. The doorbell rang again, and he left Gina with the kitchen staff to go greet the new guests. His mother was their problem now.
    ***
    Faith fought to keep control of herself. If she had a meltdown now, she wasn’t sure what Leo would do. Meeting his mother had been bracing to say the least, but when the woman had mentioned grandchildren, Faith felt the world drift away into some strange oblivion she couldn’t seem to hold onto anymore.
    Grandchildren.
    She’d been afraid to look into Leo’s eyes after that. But he had to know this couldn’t work now. He’d promised he wouldn’t require sexual intimacy from her. In a big family that expected big families, this would never work. How would he keep them at bay if they were chomping at the bit for