Samuel had forgotten that he was the only one who had to pack anything as his mother's wardrobe was limited due to what she had brought from the hotel. She hadn't been expecting to stay for so long but Agatha, Julian's wife had clothes that she could borrow for a few extra days.
Evalyn wasn't so worried about how that would work out once they reached the Vedova Nera estate, she knew that there would be clothes leftover that she could borrow for the three days before they would be coming back.
Lena still wasn't anymore comfortable with him leaving than she had been the night before or after talking with Jovani that morning. She no longer worried as much as to whether his cousin was going to do anything to him, but that didn't mean she wasn't worried about him going to an unfamiliar place and everything that he might have to deal with when he got there.
If it turned out that there was someone there who had a high level of power than Jovani, then his safety might not be as promised if whoever they were didn't approve of Samuel even if they were family. These were just some of the concerns that had been going through Lena's mind.
Knowing that she wasn't going to be seeing him for a few days, she accepted the hug that her fiancé wanted to give her even though she wasn't any closer to figuring out her feelings than she had been the night before.
"I'll just be a few hours away." He reassured her.
"It won't be as bad as when your father was in England and really not much different than when we separated before my birthday."
"Those two things aren't comparable." The princess argued after the hug had ended, she shot Jovani one more cold look that told him he better make sure pay upon death that nothing happened to Samuel, or there would be more than just a little hell to pay for it.
Jovani offered her a mock salute in response to the glare, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew to take it seriously. It didn't matter to her that he knew what to expect when they got there. She didn't like that she knew nothing of the place, the people, or the way that the family was being run.
"Of course it is." He argued.
"I'm going to be spending time around family again. Just this time it's family that I'm getting to meet for the first time in a setting that I haven't really been that familiar with. Everything around that though I'm sure will just fine." His comparison wasn't incorrect, the unknown part was just the biggest issue.
"Plus, once I'm back we will be able to go pick up the rings and that takes us one step closer to the engagement actually happening. Or at least it should as I don't think there'll be anything else that'll happen along the way to hold it up." He was joking about the last part to try and lighten the mood.
Aside from Lena, Leo also expected a hug from Samuel and to also tell him to be careful and make sure that he took care of himself while he was there and let them know if anything at all happened. He hardly liked Jovani more than his sister did, but only because of what he did not because of what he thought he might do.
Zane also had a few things to say to Samuel before he left which surprised the other since he didn't think there was much of a reason for Zane to want to speak with him. Most of it was warning him to be mindful of where he was because what he was getting ready to step into was quite different from the family dynamic that he was used to being in.
In concept, Samuel understood that quite well, but not having experienced it before, he knew that he was going to have to be more mindful of what he saw going on and who he interacted with. There was most likely going to be a hierarchy that he would need to get accustom to moving within now that he was going to official be a part of the family.
Jovani although impatient to be leaving, stood by quietly as he watched all the interactions going on between everyone. Even though they had only been around each other for a few weeks, they had certainly been getting closer with one another. It made him wonder how well Samuel would be able to fit in with the Vedova Nera family. Though, it was rather different now since most of it was mixed family rather than actual blood relations. They were still a rather close group.
Clive knowing how much the Princess was worried about the situation offered to drive Jovani and them to the estate, but he waved the other man off. Claiming that it would be pointless to do that since he had driven himself here and it only made sense that he drove his car back and forth anyways.
Once they were outside and everyone and all their things were packed into the vehicle, Jovani relaxed considerable since it was just him, Samuel and Evalyn.
"Now that this has been taken care and we are ready to set off, there's a lot of things that I can finally get to talking about." Jovani remarked as he leaned back in the driver's seat and turned to two passengers who were sitting together in the back.
"I think that you will find that you fit in with everyone and the expectations much easier than you might think. I'm the kind of person who prefers to tell others straight out what to expect so I hope you'll accept my apology over the fact that there was much I couldn't discuss with the Red Scorpion family. Rules and all that." Jovani explained rather quickly as he turned around so that he could start the car up.
"Is it that you didn't want to talk about things or that you're not allowed to? I never remember such a rule being in place when I was around." The unspoken part was that that was almost twenty years ago.
"You're right, that rule didn't used to exist when you were there, but things changed over the years due to a number of different events." Jovani answered as they pulled out of the driveway.
"It used to be that events could be talked about within other mafia families if it was relevant to them and only people who were excluded were those who were completely outside of the family." He explained.
"But, then some trust issues happened and people either used things that we said against us, or we had people within the family gossiping to try and create excuses to break ties with smaller groups or take them over because of something or other that they would end up saying. It created quite a mess that I must say." He sighed at the last part and shook his head.
"So now the rule is that we cannot talk about anything within the family regardless of anything until we get the correct permission from the head of the family to do so or there is important reason to do so."
"Couldn't you have gotten permission before you showed up here though? I mean you had a week to ask." Samuel pointed out. Jovani offered a small smile in response to this.
"Ah, under normal circumstances that would be how it would work. However, because Samuel is part of the family but never having been around them before, I'm not quite allowed to vouch for the fact that he's a safe person to talk with anything about along with the Red Scorpions." Jovani clarified.
"Which is exactly why I need to steal you for a few days to get everything sorted out plus the permission for the engagement as well."
"Who is the head of the family now by the way? You never did offer a name when that question was asked earlier. I'm sure that's something that you would be able to say now that it's just the three of us." Evalyn asked, watching as Samuel pulled out his phone when it buzzed. He had expected it to be a text from Lena, but was surprised when it was from Leo instead. Apparently Lena was already in a worse mood since he left. He would have to text her sooner rather than later by the sound of things.
"Very sharp as expected, Ev, but that's something that you will have to wait to find out about now that we are on the road. I'm sure that you can manage a few hours until you find out and I think the surprise might be well worth it as well." Jovani replied.. At least in his opinion he thought that the wait would be well worth it.
