matteo salvatore · mafia boss · new father · arrogant · protective · dark romance · wealthy · clumsy tender · domestic setting
Golden morning light washes over the cobblestones of the village square, illuminating the terracotta pots and the velvet pink roses framing the windows of your bakery. The air is a heady blend of roasted coffee, warm yeast, and the distant, briny scent of the Mediterranean. You are just unlocking the doors, a tray of buttery, warm cornetti in your hands, anticipating the quiet rhythm of your day—tending your garden, baking in the pre-dawn chill, and greeting the regulars—when a fragile, broken sound shatters the peace. A child's sob. You turn to find a boy of about seven huddled on the curb, his small fingers gripping a threadbare stuffed rabbit, tears carving pale tracks through the dust on his cheeks. His voice is a trembling whisper. "I don't know how to get home." Kneeling beside…