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For as smart his brother was in business, Nick felt Joey was playing Russian Roulette with his love life. Relationship retarded, emotionally autistic…both could describe how Joey treated women and relationships. There were plenty of good girls Joey could’ve gotten serious with if he didn’t like his player image so damn much. But for every good girl Joey entertained, there were plenty of whores that he brought home to the family. Nick knew that was intentional. The more ratchet and ghetto the girl was, the more the family would leave Joey alone about his dating choices.

Instead of enjoying a quiet evening with his submissive wife, Nick had to entertain his brother and console him over his broken heart? A broken heart that he more than likely contributed to? If it wasn’t for the fact his cock was in desperate need of release, Nick would’ve been flaccid already. Nick and Zerrin barely had any alone time since the birth of their son just a few months prior. Now the first opportunity for them to resume some sort of pre-Pietro normalcy was coming to a standstill so Joey’s broken heart can be consoled.

A slow rage burned inside Nick’s heart. He had to forgo a blow job to help his brother out.

What kind of fuckery is that?
He silently wondered.

“Master,” Zerrin felt the tension arise from Nick’s body, scooted her way to Him and laid her head on His lap. “Are you mad at me?”

“No.” Nick’s voice was serious and he petted her head. “You had good intentions and

that’s what matters, though tonight wasn’t the night I wanted to entertain my brother.”

“He needs another perspective on why things went wrong with Zoe. He’s really broken up over her.”

“He pretty much told her it was his way or no way,” Nick countered, “that’s not the way to have a relationship.”

“He needs guidance, Master,” Zerrin pressed, her voice soft. “He needs someone to knock some sense into him.”

Nick stifled a groan and slightly adjusted his position on the sofa. “Oh, I’ll knock something into him, all right.”

“Master…” Zerrin purred. She shook her head from side to side, sweeping her lips across her Master’s still-erect cock. “Please? For me?”

Nick let out a breath and let his head fall back against the sofa as he let his girlfriend please him. She may have been the one bound and submissive, but it was clear which one had the power at the moment. She literally had him by his balls. “I hope his visit is short,” was all Nick could muster out.

“You can do whatever you want to me, Master…” Zerrin replied before she enveloped

Nick’s cock into her hot mouth and sucked on it slowly.

Nick looked down at his girlfriend and watched her please him. “Oh, you’re damn right about that…”

****

“Hey, brother!” Nick opened the door and greeted Joey.

“Sorry, I’m running late,” Joey offered as he stepped inside Nick’s home, “I got swamped at the shop so I had to stay late and figure things out.”

“It’s fine. I’m just finishing up dinner now so your timing is perfect.” Nick headed to the kitchen.

“Oh, I’m glad. I thought I would be interrupting your evening tonight but Zerrin insisted that I come over,” Joey took off his coat and looked around, “where is Zerrin, by the way?”

A slow smile curved Nick’s lips as he thought about his earlier activities with his

girlfriend. He tied her to their bed and used a variety of implements on her for both pleasure and punishment. His favorite moment was seeing her reaction to the ice cube treatment he applied to her nipples and trailed them to her slick and wet heat before he dived in with his tongue. He never heard her moan his name so beautifully over and over. “She’s currently tied up at the moment but she’ll be available shortly.” He grinned. “But while she’s busy, let’s take a moment to rap, bro. Tell me what’s going on.”

Joey walked over to the bar and perched himself on a stool. Nick slid over a whiskey glass and a bottle of Glenfiddich. “She left me because she thought I was going to control her.”

“What made her come to that conclusion?” Nick genuinely asked. “That didn’t just come out of the sky now.”

Joey briefly thought about his relationship with Zoe. Did he spoil her too much? Whatever she wanted, he made sure she got it. He should’ve known the way she reacted when he presented her with a new car that it was the beginning of the end. Any woman would’ve been happy with a Mercedes SUV but Zoe seemed annoyed, pissed even.

When it came to her career, he did inquire about her sketches from time to time, though he would admit there were times Zoe would talk about her designs and the terms she used went over his head. Maybe it seemed like he didn’t care but he really did.

Maybe it wasn’t enough.

Maybe it was too late.

“The one woman I wanted to be with and treat her like a queen, deserted me.” Joey took a sip of whiskey, “maybe I am a
testa di cazzo
.”

“Maybe,” Nick stirred marinara sauce as Joey shot him a death glare, “but your heart was in the right place, though your actions may not have been perceived that way.”

“Zerrin told me the same thing and I still don’t get it.” Joey shook his head.

Nick turned down the fire and wiped his hands. “Did you ever felt intimidated by Zoe and her ambitions?”

“What? Hell, no!” Joey declared. “She can tell you I supported her every step of the way.”

“Did you support her as long as she didn’t do better than you?” Nick asked.

“Are you kidding me, bro?” Joey asked.

“I’m being serious as cancer right now,” Nick leaned over the counter. “Let’s look at it: she had her own car, her own house, her own career…why in the hell would she need
you
?”

“Okay, I thought you were supposed to comfort me in my time of need?” Joey

deadpanned.

Nick showed a half-grin and took a sip of whiskey. “You’re so used to playing Captain Save-A-Ho that when you have a woman who has her own, you don’t know how to act. Instead, you go all out and overcompensate. She has a car? Well, you upgrade it. Her home is too small?

You set the plans in motion to get her a bigger one. She was saving up for a nice, expensive purse? Well, you buy it for her on the spot! She has career ambitions? You make sure she has the financial backing to get it started. Joseph, you have made Zoe’s life to be about you. You, you,
you!
You were suffocating her, my brother. You backed her into a corner and not only did she come out swinging, she knocked your ass out.”

“So once again, it’s my fault?” Joey asked.

“She shouldn’t have lied, no doubt about that. If she didn’t want to live with you, she should’ve been forthcoming about it.” Nick agreed. “But I can see why she did. She probably thought not telling you about the apartment was her way of, ‘See? I can do this by myself without your help!’ and well, it backfired.”

Joey shook his head in disbelief and disgust. “The one woman I would’ve given up just about everything for and for what? Absolutely nothing in return.”

“That brings up another good point – how was Zoe supposed to act? Best case scenario –

what were you expecting to get out of this generosity?”

“Well, I expected her to…” The harsh realization stopped Joey from finishing his sentence.

“You expected her to what?” Nick asked. “Go on. Come out with it.”

“I expected her to move in with me.” Joey forced out the words.

“Again – you, you, you. You thought it was about her but really, it was about you the entire time, my brother.”

Joey rubbed a hand over his face as the harsh reality of his actions once again bit him in the ass. “So what do I do now?”

“Wait. If she’s serious about you and making it work, she’ll come back. It has to be her making the first move, not you.”

“And if she doesn’t.”

“You know that saying, ‘it’s not you, it’s me’?”

Knew it? Joey perfected that line with each conquest. “Go on.”

“It would apply here. It was never about you; it was her.”

****

“You’ve had a pout on your face for the past several months and I know it’s not because of the upcoming Fashion Week.” London commented to her sister.

Zoe forced a grin as she helped her sister put away food after Sunday dinner. “I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“A lot regarding a certain somebody we can’t talk about anymore?” London wondered

aloud.

“If you must know, yes.”

“It’s been a couple of months, Zoe. Everything was fine over the holidays and then you two were broken up by Valentine’s with no explanation on your part.” London commented. “Not that it’s any of my business but I saw how happy you were and I honestly thought he was The One. What happened?”

What did happen? Her? Him? Both of them? Everything? Anything? Nothing? “I’m not

quite sure,” Zoe answered honestly.

“Sounds like it was a combination of both of your faults, not just one.” London observed.

Zoe sat down at the breakfast nook and let out a sigh. “I never wanted to be a housewife, London. Truth is, I’m not quite sure if I ever want to be married. But I know I didn’t want to be attached to some dude because of his name, money, and connections. I didn’t want anyone to think the reason why I have any success is because of him or the reason why I’ve made a name for myself is because he gave me a head start. And I know he wanted to help and I honestly believe he thought he was. But he made me scared. It was no longer about me, if it was ever about me. And I guess I wanted to prove a point to him. I guess I wanted to say, ‘Hey, I can do this without you. I can be successful without you. I can accomplish everything with you.’”

“And it turns out, you can’t?” London smiled.

“I gave up the best thing I ever had and I still have nothing to show for it, London.

Nothing. I’ll be moving to New York in a couple of months and chances are, if I’m not already blacklisted there, I will be shortly. I don’t have any friends there. I don’t have anyone showing me the way to go. I don’t have anything because I thought I was better off without him. I broke his heart and ruined a great relationship just to prove a point. I can’t get him back.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” London replied. “I look it at it this way. You both are wrong. He was wrong for having unrealistic expectations of you. You were wrong in not being completely truthful with him. It really comes down to a basic misunderstanding that was blown out of proportion by two very intelligent, and strong-willed people. But now that you know what went wrong, you have two choices: you can fix it and try to work on your relationship or you can leave it alone and chalk it up as a learning experience.”

“I don’t know, London Bridge…” Zoe shook her head. Reconciling with Joey sounded

ideal but she was pretty sure she was Public Enemy Number One on his short list. “I don’t think reconciliation is ever going to happen.”

London placed her hands over her sister’s. “Do you still love him?”

Love him couldn’t begin to describe the feelings Zoe had towards Joey still. Her heart yearned for him like he was a new designer drug. “More than anything.”

“Chances are, he feels the same way. When it’s right and you both have gotten the

stubbornness out of your respective systems, you two will find your way back to each other.”

She smiled.

Zoe turned to her sister. “When did you become so smart?”

“Age and experience, young grasshopper. Age and experience.”

Twenty-Seven

A year later…

It was like he had envisioned it, just like the other two openings.

Madre’s third store finally opened on Long Island. Balloons, free miniature bouquets, pastries, and several local bands marked the occasion. Children got free face paintings and balloon animals. Event planners set up tables and offered their services to anyone who inquired.

A mini-carnival and food vendors were also present to entertain the guests.

Joey felt if he was going to go big, he had to go all the way.

Once again, Nicola and the entire D’Amato family were present – taking pictures,

mingling with local celebrities, and doing press interviews. Joey gladly stepped out of the way to give his mother the much-needed attention she deserved. After all, she was the face of
Madre’s
; he just happened to run it.

“Each time I think you can’t amaze me, you do something completely incredible.” Kieran approached his brother as they watched from inside the
Madre’s
offices.

“I meant what I said that I wanted the family to be taken care of first.” Joey replied back as he watched their mother give yet another interview. “All of this is to secure our futures.”

“And we all thank you for it.” Kieran agreed. “Speaking of business ventures, are you coming to the show tonight?”

“I don’t know.” Joey answered truthfully. “I have some work I need to do so I might be a no-show.”

“Work could wait for a night, don’t you think?” Kieran replied.

Joey turned to his brother and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from really cursing Kieran out. “
Che cazzo?
And why do you want me at the show, K? To ease your guilty conscience? So you and Tee can play matchmaker? Or for you to finally rub it in my face with a big, fat
told you so
?”

“I’ll admit I was an ass. I cared more about our business venture than about your feelings and I was wrong in that. But I also gave you my blessing.” Kieran reminded his brother. “Listen, I know how things are between you and Zoe and if you don’t want to come out tonight, I understand. But at least consider coming for me and Tiana. The whole family is going to be there and it would be nice if you were there as well.”

“I’ll think about it.” Joey answered. “If I go, I’ll just stay for the show and leave shortly afterwards so it won’t make anyone uncomfortable.”

“That’s fine by me, brother.” Kieran gave his brother a hug. “I still think you two should get back together. She asks about you all the time.”

Joey’s heart tightened up and he had to catch his breath momentarily. He didn’t want to hear that. He would’ve rather had Zoe hated him with all of her might than to inquire about how he was doing. “That’s lovely.”