I make myself a little espresso before heading up the stairs because, if I’m going to be up at 4:30 in the morning, I’m at least going to be caffeinated. And then the hours pass more quickly than I thought they would. I shower, fix my hair, and change into the clothes that are delivered promptly at
I open my mouth, desperate to say something, to break the tension, looking around a little frantically, when I suddenly see Kent striding over to us. Daniel looks up at his father, transferring his rage to him now, but Kent just looks evenly down at his son. Not angry, not responding to his son’s
Daniel and I eat quickly and in silence, but as we do I can sense a shift in the energy between us. I know, somehow, that after a few minutes we’re on the same team again, despite our differences. I smile at Daniel, unseen, as he pops a slice of bacon into his mouth, newly determined to do better at
“Then what, Kent?” I ask, shaking my head at him. “You’ll lose business? Have to renegotiate your ties?” “We’ll go to war, Fay,” he corrects, his own teeth clenched now as he looks furiously down at me. My jaw drops open at this answer. War? Seriously, war? I’m important enough of a player – or
“The pleasure is all mine,” I say, pitching my voice lower and holding Alessi’s gaze. “But who, may I ask, are you?” “Fay,” Daniel says, coming to my side and wrapping a happy arm around my waist. “This is my Uncle Alessi, my mother’s brother,” he tells me, and I raise my eyebrows, surprised by th
“Come one,” he says, still smiling fondly at his uncle and…well, someone who acts quite a lot like an aunt, even if she isn’t biological family. “Let’s get you settled upstairs.” “Such a good little host,” Natalia says, pinching his cheek and smiling at him. Then, she shoots a little glance my way
The next afternoon, Daniel gets ready for the party with me in my room, and we’re alone for the first time since Alessi and Natalia arrived. He stayed up late with Alessi, drinking and laughing, while I begged off to bed by myself to be alone for a minute. Today, Daniel and I had taken our guests
Daniel pulls away from me, turning his back, but I can see the tension in his shoulders. I wait, trying to be patient, but he just stands there – I think wondering himself. I clasp my hands together, considering that…maybe he just doesn’t know. I’m still waiting for Daniel to turn back to me when
My dad greets him with such genuine joy and excitement that it makes my heart swell with joy. They talk for a few minutes about Dominic’s day before dad gives him a little nudge back towards the gate where Kent and I are waiting. Dominic gives dad a kiss before running ahead again. My dad waves to
“Papa!” Dominic shouts, startling me out of my reverie as he drops my hand and darts down the road. I look up, a huge smile breaking out on my face again as I see Kent on the sidewalk just ahead. His back is to us as he speaks companionably with the butcher, a heavy bag of his purchases already hung
As I walk down the street towards the little Italian kindergarten, the whispers start around me, as they always do. I listen to all of them, a big German Shepherd padding quietly at my heels. “Is that her?” “Yes, that’s the one – I heard she was her husband’s mistress before he married her – tha
Both Kent and I laugh, but Don Bianci – across the baptismal font from us – snaps his eyes up, perhaps not liking the joke as much as we do. But I just ignore it, because dad’s right, frankly – and it’s too happy a day to care. After the final blessing everyone applauds Dominic – he likes that, bl
“Well, it didn’t seem to affect your first very badly,” Ivan says with a shrug, peering around Kent to where Daniel is laughing with an arm around Jerome’s shoulders. “So…maybe keep it up.” I smirk, squeezing Ivan’s hand once more before standing and moving to Kent’s side, tucking myself against h
“Hey, gorgeous,” Ivan says, his mouth turned up in a smirk as I cross the churchyard, beaming at him. “Look who’s talking,” I say, laughing and reaching for him when I come close enough. Ivan wraps me in a hug, dropping a kiss to my cheek as I hold Dominic a bit to the side so he doesn’t get squis
He laughs, smiling at me genuinely. “Do I make you nervous?” he asks, blunt. I laugh, unable to help it. “Has no one bothered to tell you, in all these years, that you’re a little terrifying, Don Bianci?” He grins and shakes his head at me. “Well, considering what you accomplished, young lady, I
Two months later, we’re all gathered together again. And it is only with frustration that I see Gio and Janeen standing so close together that their arms nearly brush, even though they’re still not together. I roll my eyes, dismissing the problem for a moment as I move my eyes down to Dominic and
It's an incredible night. Kent didn’t lie, not at all, about the food either. I’m shocked by the mountains of dishes that continue to follow each other, one after another, long into the night. After a few hours of it I just mournfully watch the waiters go by because I couldn’t eat another bite if I