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And the Widow, who came swishing in wearing one of her long, black, starched dresses.
Bianca came in, too, and Adriano wrapped an arm around her.
“Oh, wow,” I said, surprised.
“‘Oh, wow’?” Niccolo joked. “The conquering hero wakes up after defeating death – and his first words are ‘Oh, wow’?”
“Actually,” Lucia beamed, “they were, ‘Hey, baby.’”
“Much more romantic,” Niccolo agreed.
“I just didn’t expect to see you all here,” I said.
Dario approached the bed and grabbed my hand in both of his. My big brother was normally stoic, but I could see the barely contained emotion behind his smile. “I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to Papa… so there was no way I was going to risk that again.”
I arched an eyebrow. “That bad, huh?”
“Aaaaah, he’s just being dramatic,” Adriano said.
“Not too dramatic,” Lars said. “You were shot 17 times.”
I stared at him. “…what?!”
“Now who’s being dramatic?” Niccolo quipped. “Yes, you were shot 17 times… but only three bullets got through. We’re going to have to send a fruit basket to Signor Guillardo.”
“I think something a little better than that,” Alessandra said reproachfully.
“Okay… a gold-plated fruit basket,” Niccolo relented.
Alessandra bent down and kissed me on the cheek. “You scared us.”
“Ah… it was nothing,” I said, and smiled at my other sister-in-law. “Bianca went through a lot worse when she saved my life.”
Bianca smiled and gripped my hand. “I didn’t get shot 17 times, though.”
“Yes, don’t downplay how incredibly brave you were,” Lucia scolded me. “You were amazing.”
Then she leaned down and kissed my lips softly.
When she stood back up, the Widow cocked an eyebrow. “Massimo… where is my granddaughter, and who is this young woman you’ve replaced her with?”
“Cut it out, Nona,” Lucia said, though she was smiling.
“Not that I’m not happy to see all of you,” I said, “but where are Roberto and Valentino?”
I noticed that Alessandra stiffened and looked unhappy.
“Both of them send their regards,” Niccolo said. “Roberto is on his way back from Hong Kong – he should be here within a few hours. And Valentino is in Sicily. We’ll see him soon enough.”
“Sicily?” I asked. “Is he meeting with them like I met with Signora Fioretti?”
Alessandra seemed to get even more irritated by the question.
Dario tried to put his arm around her, but she pulled away coldly.
Niccolo ignored the drama and gave me a plastic smile. “You could say that.”
I could tell something was wrong. I was just about to ask what it was when the Widow interrupted.
