“No… I mean… this is just a wonderful gift.” Kara had to accept the phone because Angelo’s fiancée would. When she and Angelo pretended to do their fake break-up, she could give the phone back to him. Unless Angelo wanted her to keep it. She could remove the SIM card and use the wi-fi at coffee shops or local libraries if she needed to.
“How did you manage to get this? It’s Christmas day, no stores are open.”
Matteo smiled. “I got it on the way home from the hospital. There’s a 24-hour phone store that’s open every day of the year. I wanted you to have it so you could contact us whenever you need us.”
Not whenever she needed to talk to Angelo, but whensheneededthem. His family. The family who believed she would soon be a part of them. At that moment, she wanted the lie so badly to be true.
Kara’s throat constricted. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Dante removed the phone from the box. “I’ll set it up. Then I’ll run Angelo’s phone back to the hospital.”
Kara handed Angelo’s phone to Dante and embraced the wave of gratitude she felt, and tried to ignore the twinge of guilt that nipped at its heels.
Francesca draped a blanket around her shoulders and passed her cup of hot cocoa. Kara hated to admit it, but she was enjoying pretending to be a part of Angelo’s family. She wanted to live the fantasy, if only for a little while. But she was lying to them, possibly putting them in danger, and that wasn’t something she could easily forget.
It’s just a few weeks. No one will track me down. It may be eveneasierto hide here..
An hour later, Alessia told the kids it was time for bed.
“Kara! Come read me a story!” Millie demanded.
“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Who was she to refuse?
The family would check in on Angelo tomorrow morning after everyone had a chance to sleep. Kara followed the Millie to the bedroom that she and Nicholas were sharing. Two twin beds, one on each side of the room were ready for them with the covers pulled back.
Millie changed into her PJs and held out a big book of Christmas stories, watching Kara expectantly. Nicholas was already in bed, reading his own book quietly. He smiled shyly at Kara as she sat on the edge of Millie’s bed.
“Okay, where do you want me to start?” Kara asked.
The little girl opened the book to a specific page. “This one.” She started to cuddle closer, resting her head against Kara’s shoulder.
Kara held her breath for a moment, feeling a strange sense mixture of homesickness and deja vu. Her mother used to read stories to her years ago, just like this. She’d forgotten her life had contained sweet moments like that. The stress, dread and panic of her daily existence had erased so much of the good she’d experienced in her life. It was getting harder and harder to force herself to leave a city each time she moved. She wanted so badly to stay here, to live this life that she’d begun to build… and now that she’d been pulled into Angelo’s cosmic orbit she knew it would be that much harder to walk away when it was time to start over.
It would be so easy to love this little girl, to love all of the Vertuccis, really.
I have time. I can enjoy this… while it lasts.She relaxed, letting go of the breath she had been holding, and started read.
Angelo was half-asleep when the door to his hospital room opened, and Dante stepped inside.
“Hey,” he greeted, his voice still a little raspy.
Dante walked over, setting Angelo’s cell phone on the table beside the hospital bed. “I thought you’d want this back.”
When Angelo saw that, a sudden fear for Kara stabbed his chest.
“Is Kara okay?” He’d wanted her to keep his phone since she didn’t have one.
His little brother smiled reassuringly. “She’s fine. Dad bought her a cell phone while I took Kara to her place to pick up some clothes.”
With a breath of relief, Angelo sank back onto the bed. But Dante’s face lost some of its cheerfulness.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Angelo asked.
“Kara’s going to stay in your bedroom. Is that okay?”
“Of course.” He wasn’t about to have her sleep on the couch.
There was a beat of silence, and Angelo sensed his brother wanted to say something.
