Page 8 of Bene

He kept saying that.

Bene couldn’t mean it.

Not yet.

Fake it until you make it.

That was going to be his new mantra. Until he could say it, and fucking mean it, Bene would simply do what he had to do.

“Also,” his mother said, stopping their dance suddenly with one of her sly smiles and then patting his shoulder when they let go of one another, “you have yet to ask your brother’s new wife for a dance, and all of your other brothers already did. I think it’s your turn.”

“I wasn’t avoiding it.”

“I never said that.”

Bene glanced across the room again.

Beni and August were still dancing, as close as ever, and seemingly oblivious to the rest of the room. He wasn’t sure it was very fair of him to go and break that up only because his mother thought it was his turn to dance with August. Not that it mattered. Cara got her way—it never failed. What she said went, as simple as that.

“When Beni asks me why I interrupted his time with her tonight,” he said, “I am blaming you, Ma.”

“And?”

Ha.

And they wondered where the Guzzi brothers got their attitudes from, really. They got it honestly—straight from the mouth of their mother.

“Love you, Ma.”

Cara beamed. “I love you. Now, go dance so I can get pictures.”

Bene pulled his mother in for a kiss to her cheek, which she then decided to use to hug him once more. He needed that, even if it didn’t linger, and he wouldn’t say it out loud. Not that he needed to because his mother likely already knew.

So was his life.

His mother hadn’t been wrong—Beni didn’t seem to mind when Bene stepped in, tapped his brother on the shoulder, and asked if he could cut in to finish the dance with August.

It did earn him a clap to the cheek as Beni asked, “How much longer do you think I have to entertain these people before I can get her out of here?”

“Beni,” August admonished.

His brother only shrugged, walking away while tossing over his shoulder, “Not a lie.”

Bene had already taken his brother’s spot, only he kept his hand a lot higher on August’s lower back, the silk fabric of her wedding dress soft against his palm while he led her back into the waltz. “Welcome to the family.”

August laughed. “Thank you.”

“I saw the floor plans for the house.”

“Did you?”

“Quite a home he’s building you.”

“There’s even a studio office.”

Bene nodded. “To write … create, whatever.”

“You helped him design it, didn’t you?”