Chapter 21

Alessandro's POV

I hear Lilani ask, "Why are they laughing at me, Ali?" I bent down to her and said, "They think they are funny, but they don't have any manners." I tell her.

Lilani replied with a small "Okay". Then I hear her introducing herself: "Hey, I'm Lilani, Lisa and Ali's favorite sister." Johnny greets her first, "Hey little one, I'm Johnny," and then I hear the other two.

"Hey, Lilani, we are Alessandro's best friends; I'm Kevin," Kevin says to Lilani.

"And I'm Jake". I hear them introduce themselves to her.

"I'm playing with Nonna if you need me," Lilani says to us.

"Okay, no running around," Lisa tells her. She's very protective of Lilani. Lisa takes my hand and says, "Let's go sit outside." She tells us Johnny and the other two follow us outside.

"I will be right back; I'm just going to get some beer," Lisa says, then walks back inside.

You've got yourself a keeper there, Mancini. Dammit, I wish I had a girl like that. Where did you find her?" Kevin asked.

I shake my head and say, "It's a long story, guys; I will tell you another day".

"I hear Viola left the country, and her parents still owe me money." Johnny suddenly says

"Yes, I made her leave, but Antonio didn't see anyone else with her at the airport". I say.

"How did you manage to get her to leave? You never told us what happened when we talked yesterday". Johnny asked me.

"She caused trouble; I went over to her apartment and threatened that I would sell her to you." I simply shrug.

"You think I would want her? Dammit, luckily she chose to leave. Yesterday, when you told us about Viola, I remembered that her father owns me money. That's when I heard from my men that she was gone, as well as her parents. Johnny explains.

"Well, all that matters is that she's out of my life. I will ask my men who are watching her to let me know if her parents are with her." I tell him.

"Let me know what you find out," Johnny says.

"Tell me, how did you manage to get Lisa? Does she know you're a dickhead?" Jake asks about changing the subject.

"Haha, very funny," I reply.

"O, I think she married Mr. Hotness over here because of his dick guys. Remember in school how every girl he slept with fell in love with the man?" Kevin says, and I know what he's talking about.

What was the name of the girl who named him Hulk? Kevin continues laughing.

I hold three fingers up and say, "Choose one Barbie." Everyone laughs at Kevin's nickname, which he got from me in school. It's good to have my friends back.

"But know how you two met, and how long have you been married?" Jake asks in a serious manner.

"Like I said, it's a long story, and if I am not mistaken, we have been married for a month now," I tell them. I hear Lilani running and sitting next to me.

"Are all of you friends with Ali?" Lilani asks them.

Yes, little one, we are all friends of Alessandro," Jake says.

"Wow, Ali, you have a lot of friends. They are just as huge as you are." Lilani whispers or tries to whisper, but I guess the guys heard her.

"Yeah, we all like to stay fit," Kevin tells her.

"Okay, that explains why you all look like Iron Man". Lilani declares.

"How do you know what Ironman looks like?" Kevin asked her.

"I actually have all the action figures at home," Lilani explains.

"Why thank you, little one?" Kevin says. Lilani tells me she's going to go to Alice again before her sister goes all hulk on her for running around. Lisa appears and asks

"Do you need more beer? Antonio is on his way with the cooler box now." Then I felt her sit next to me.

"Thank you, but we are still alright," Johnny says.

"So tell me, Lisa, how did you and Alessandro meet? Because this dickhead was so stubborn that he even pushed us his best friends away, we cried for days, ate ice cream, and cried some more", Kevin says, making crying sounds.

Kevin, shut the fuck up; you make us sound like a bunch of pussies", Johnny says.

"He didn't tell you?" Lisa asked, her voice filled with confusion.

"No, I left the story for you to tell, honey," I tell her sweetly.

"I think you should do the honor of telling our love story." I tell her, silently hoping I don't regret it.

"Are you absolutely certain, my love?" Lisa asks sweetly. I nod and Lisa begins to tell

Well, you see, Alessandro always went to the park with Antonio, my sister, and I was on vacation at that time and went to the same park. Lilani went up to him and began calling him Papa. Alessandro became pale as a ghost and asked Antonio to describe the little girl. Alessandro's face was laced with guilt. Lilani does look like him, with black hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin." Lisa paused and squeezed my hand, making me regret my decision.

"So I walked up and apologized for Lilani's behavior, then Alessandro here began to stutter, "I... do I... know you? Exactly how old is the girl? At first, I didn't know what he was talking about, but then Lilani told me she had found her father. You guys should have seen his face; it was priceless. I swear, I have never seen a guy struggle to say a word before. I told him the truth, and he relaxed immediately.

Before I could go, Antonio came running up to me and told me Alessandro wanted to go on a date. We went on a few dates, and one night he went down on his knees and said, "Lisa, honey, you are an amazing woman; you love me and I love you, so let's get married", I said yes, of course. He didn't want a big wedding or to wait long, so two days later we got married, but I didn't make it to the honeymoon because Mr. Hulk over here kept me busy in his room for three days straight." Lisa ends her story and then puts her hand on mine and squeezes it.

Dammit, this woman asks for trouble. "I told you one of these days your ex-girl would show up with your kid," Johnny laughed.

"I must admit I thought Lilani was his daughter; they look alike," Jake says.

They made some more jokes at my expense.

"Alright, but seriously, Lisa, thank you for whatever you did; we got our best friend back," Kevin says seriously. Everyone cheered at that.

"I didn't do anything; this was his decision." Lisa replied. I feel like they are all staring at me.

"You did miss us, to your knucklehead". All three of them say it together. Lisa stands up and says, "I'm going to get the meat. You guys can take care of that." Then head inside.

We enjoy the rest of the day outside, telling stories to Lisa and asking her about herself. I'm strangely proud that his best friends and Lisa get along great. After we ate, the guys went to my private bar, and Lisa went to clean the kitchen.

"I like Lisa; she is fun and down to earth," Jake tells me.

Yes, I agree, she doesn't seem like Bianca, who was just with you for your money," Kevin also says. I listen to my friends talk about my wife-how beautiful she is, smart, funny, and knows how to have fun. I knew my friends never really liked Bianca. Whenever they were there, Bianca seemed upset and didn't talk to them; she would take my card and go shopping instead. Come to think of it, Lisa has never asked for any money since we got married.

I suddenly heard Lisa say, "Hi guys, thank you for coming today; it was nice meeting all of you; don't be strangers".

Lisa greets them and then says to me, "You can catch up with your friends; I will be heading to bed."

"Sweet dreams, honey, and thank you for everything today." I softly tell her, hoping that she won't read too much into the nickname.

Lisa's POV

The endearment Alessandro uses the whole day makes me feel happy, but I know it's just a show in front of his friend. I went to take a shower and thought of his friends. They seem happy to have Alessandro back; I can tell they are close. His friends don't look scary at all, and I like them. I stepped out of the shower, wrapped the towel around me, and went to the closet to get dressed. I quickly dressed and then went to Lilani. When I got there, she was already fast asleep. She enjoyed today. I think she overdid herself with all the playing. I walk up to Lilani and kiss her. Goodnight, baby girl". I softly said, Then I went back to our room.

Alessandro's POV

The guys and I spent the rest of the night drinking and playing games. "What is wrong with Lilani?" Kevin asked.

"I noticed she had a haircut, and Lisa was very protective towards her".

Alright, let me tell you the short version of everything. During Lisa and her sister's vacation, Lilani suddenly lost consciousness a few days after their arrival. Shockingly, the doctor informed Lisa that her sister was suffering from a brain tumor. Lisa cried in the park; grandma and grandpa went over to her, and she told them everything. Grandma made an offer to her. She will give the money for the operation if she will marry me, and the rest is history". I tell them about their parents' car accident.

"Wow, that's sad. Lilani means everything to Lisa; I can clearly see that. You've got a great girl now, Alessandro. Do not distance yourself from her. Johnny tells me

"I won't push her away, but I will never love her. I only love one woman, and you guys know it. Lisa is becoming a great friend to me." I say.

"All we ask is for you to give Lisa a chance," Kevin also says.

"I will think about it. I don't want to give her the wrong idea and break her heart; she doesn't deserve that." I say it again.

The four of us drink and play games until past twelve, when Johnny says it's time to go.

"We will visit you soon, and you know you are always welcome at our house," Jake says. We hug each other, and then I hear them leave. I press the button to call Antonio. Not long after calling him, Antonio came.

"Mr. Mancini, it's nice to see you smile again. I am also glad you finally reached out to your friends." Antonio says it truthfully.

I nod and say, "Yes, it's nice having my friends back." We went to the bedroom. I wash and then go to bed. I think about everything my friends told me. I know I have a soft spot for Lisa, but that can't be love. I must just tell her that we can be friends and not to expect anything more. With that thought, I fell asleep.