Page 288 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

He hid it, sure.

She still saw it.

“What happened?” he asked one more time.

Calmer.

Quieter.

Still as stone.

“It’s okay,” she told him.

John made a grunt under his breath—dismissive, yet heated. “Nope. Try again.”

“Her mom,” Greta said. “She came over, yelled at Siena, and hurt her.”

John’s gaze darted to the girl beside Siena. “And who are you?”

“One of Matteo’s other daughters,” Siena muttered.

To his credit, John didn’t blink a lash at that. Nor did he out the fact he had been the one to take Greta’s beloved father away, either.

“Well … hello,” John said. “You were the one that called me?”

Greta nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Siena looks after us,” Greta said as though that explained her loyalty.

“Who are you?” Giulia asked.

John glanced over his shoulder at the girl. “Johnathan.”

“Johnathan who?”

“Marcello.”

The two girls passed looks between one another like that explained everything. Their silent conversations could sometimes be annoying, but in that moment, Siena had other things to focus on.

John, mostly.

Always John.

His hands cupped her face, and he brought her in closer. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and a tear escaped the corner of Siena’s eye. He made quick work of wiping it away, though.

“I saw the news,” Siena whispered.

John nodded. “It went well.”

“Could have told me.”

“This wasn’t really my show. More … Andino’s.”

Siena nodded once. “Oh, I see.”

“Your head has one hell of a knot on it, and those scratches look really bad.” John looked her injuries over again. “I don’t like the looks of this—you should go get checked out.”