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“No,” I reached out to make him take his arm down, to not draw any additional attention to us, but the waitress was already coming over.
“I don’t think I can eat anything, Salvatore,” I whispered.
He studied me, his eyes curious. Concerned? “Your niece will be there today, right?”
I nodded, glancing up at the waitress who stood quietly, clearly not happy about having to serve a Benedetti. Did they see me as a traitor? Did they know I’d been made to do this? To be with him? It was in that moment I realized they likely did not know about the contract. But even so, wasn’t I myself confused?
“Let’s get six of those éclairs boxed up to go too,” he said to the waitress, then turned to me. “She has a sweet tooth from what I saw.”
I smiled. “That’s nice. She’ll like that, and so will Izzy.”
The waitress returned and delivered the coffee and Salvatore’s pastry and set the additional box of eclairs up at the register. Salvatore took a big bite, and I chuckled.
“What?” he asked, looking for a napkin.
“You have some cream,” I pointed, then reached over to wipe it off when he missed. “Right there.” I pulled my hand away and without thinking, licked off the cream. He watched me, and as soon as I realized what I’d done, I pulled a napkin out of the dispenser and wiped off my finger.
“They’re very good,” Salvatore said, not commenting.
“You don’t care that no one wants you here, do you?”
He raised his eyebrows and picked up his espresso. “No. Why should I? Besides, I’m not even sure it’s true.” He looked around the café. “What happened, happened five years ago.”
That was when things had been at their worst. When fighting on the streets had turned this neighborhood from a quiet, safe place to a bloody one.
“And we’ve kept peace since.”
“By killing off most of your enemies.”
“Both sides lost people, Lucia. We just won the war your father started.” He drank the last of his espresso and stood, looking pissed. “You finished?”
I rose to my feet. “I need to use the bathroom.”
He nodded and took out his wallet as I made my way to the tiny bathroom. Once inside, I locked the door and gripped the sink, looking at my reflection. I had to find some way to be okay with all of this. This was my life now. I belonged to a man whose name I hated, but who made me question everything I believed. I needed to make sense of it all. To find some way to survive this. I splashed water onto my face and patted it dry, taking a deep breath before walking back out to find him waiting for me, his expression hard.
We drove to the house in silence. Turned out I didn’t need to give Salvatore directions. He knew the way, and by the time he pulled up in front of the large, two-story brick home with the wraparound porch and swing hanging from a branch in the overgrown tree in the front yard, my heart was racing.
Salvatore switched off the engine and turned to me. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his thumb resting against my cheek as his mouth moved into a small smile. A sort of truce, maybe.
“Relax,” he said.
“It’s that obvious?” I asked, holding onto the box of éclairs.
“Yeah.” Salvatore’s cell phone rang. He looked at the display but declined the call. “I’ll walk you in, then I have to make a call.”
I nodded, oddly grateful, and climbed out of the car.
“Aunt Lucia!”
I turned to find Effie running across the lawn toward us.
“Effie!” She crashed into my legs. Salvatore’s hand at my back kept me upright. “I’m excited to see you too.” I hugged her with one arm. “Look what Salvatore brought for you.” She pulled back, and I opened the box of éclairs .
“Oh!” She squealed and looked with huge eyes from the box to him then back. “Thank you!”
The front door opened, and Izzy stepped outside followed by Luke.
“Huh?” I didn’t realize Luke would be here.
Izzy came toward us, her mouth pasted into a smile. I glanced at Salvatore to find his eyes locked on Luke’s.
“What the hell is he doing here?” he muttered. I wondered if he’d meant to say it out loud at all.
“Those look great,” Izzy said, her eye on the box Effie held. She took my hand and pulled me to her side, her gaze on Salvatore. “Thanks for dropping her off.”
“Oh, I can stay,” he said, taking me by the arm and pulling me to stand beside him. “I’d love to see where Lucia grew up.”
“Didn’t you have to make a call?” I reminded him, unsure where my loyalties should lie.
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “It can wait.”
“Luke came by to help. Luke, this is Salvatore Benedetti,” Izzy said, introducing them.
