Page 132 of Effortless

“Yeah, I’ll take you.”

“Yas!”

Again, loud.

Tom stood, and put a hand on both girls’ bobbing heads. “Let me go talk to Ma for a few minutes, and then we’ll go. Okay?”

“Okay,” both echoed.

Then Sara said, “Come on, Rebeka. Let’s go get ready.”

Rebeka happily followed along with her older sister. Despite Tom not growing up with siblings close to his age so that he had a friend, he was happy his sisters had each other. The two looked out for the other, and he hoped that continued on.

Quickly, Tom found his mother.

In her library.

She looked up from the book in her hands at his presence in the doorway.

“Tommaso.”

“Hey, Ma.”

“Where’s your father?”

Tom shrugged. “He’s got business to celebrate tonight.”

A new made man.

The boss always had to celebrate a new recruit.

Abriella didn’t ask questions, simply patted the seat next to her on the leather couch. “Come, sit with me.”

“I told the girls I would take them to a movie.”

“The princess one?”

“How did you know?” he asked, chuckling.

“They haven’t stopped talking about it since I showed them the trailer.” Abriella glanced over at him as he sat down. “But that’s not why you came over tonight, is it?”

“How did you know?”

His repeated question made his mother smile. She touched his cheek with her fingertips, and then looked back at her book before she set it away.

“I just thought maybe you would come see me today sometime.”

“Why?”

“Camilla went home today, didn’t she?”

“This morning, yeah.”

Abriella nodded. “Something on your mind, Tommaso?”

“Something is always on my mind, Ma.”

“Something about her, I meant.”