Page 121 of Unravel Me

Veyron tilts his head slightly, hesitating before he speaks.

"You see, my former boss has very good connections in the police department, and he also has access to vehicle registration records. Mauro's Jeep is registered under the name Mauro Silvano Santoro. So… he actually uses this surname."

I blink, and for a moment neither of us says a word.

"That still doesn't prove anything. Renato chose Mauro as his heir. He could've recently changed his last name to carry on the family name."

Veyron nods slowly.

"Umm. Maybe you're right. I just thought you should know because if it had been something official, like legally taking their last name, I'd expect the employees to know about it. After all, he's supposed to be their future boss, the heir of the Santoro estate and enterprise. But maybe I'm reading too much into it." He glances at me innocently. "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation," he adds with a smile that's just a little too wide, and I know he's only saying it for my sake.

I feel myself growing more and more tense. I keep shifting my weight from foot to foot, almost rocking in place. I need to end this conversation now. My nerves are a bit frayed.

"Veyron… thank you so much for coming here. If I had the money right now—"

Veyron waves both hands dismissively.

"Oh, Jared, don't mention it. I had a nice little vacation out of it. Besides, I also have a pretty lucrative contract to advertise Renato's company, so all is good! I’m walking away from this with a good client!" His boyish smile returns. "I'm really glad things between you and Mauro worked out so well, and I hope your relationship keeps growing stronger until, eventually, all these mysteries are finally explained," he says warmly.

I nod.

"I think they will. Magical ABOs are often very cautious, and they tend to reveal their secrets slowly. I can't be a hypocrite. I have a small gift of my own that could probably be called magical, and to be honest, I've never told anyone about it. I haven't told Mauro either. I also have plenty of other secrets, things from my past that I still haven't confessed to him, so I don't think it's fair to expect us to dump every detail of our lives on each other right at the beginning."

Veyron narrows his eyes for a moment.

"You know, for that reason, people usually date for quite a while before they make a life-changing decision like this," he says with a hint of dry amusement, a crooked smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.

"You have a point," I admit with a quiet sigh. "But I'm going to do what my instincts are telling me to do. I believe Mauro is my fated mate, so I will stay here, for better or for worse."

Veyron's expression turns thoughtful.

His gaze drifts off into the distance before he quietly says, "I'm jealous. I wish I could find mine too. A lot of my cousins have their True Mates already. I don't."

"So why don't you just ask Storm for help?"

"Umm, we don't get along very well. Everyone keeps telling me I should try talking to him, though. Maybe one day I'll finally do it. Who knows."

I hold out my hand, and he shakes it.

"Thank you, Veyron. You're a really good guy. I wish you the best of luck, and don't hesitate to talk to Storm. Finding happiness is worth a little hurt pride." I smile a little wistfully. "As I know better than anyone, it's rare and incredibly hard to find. It's worth its weight in gold."

About half an hour later, Veyron packs up and drives away.

I'm standing on the front porch with Silvio and Mauro beside me.

"Such a nice young man," Silvio says, watching Veyron's car disappear down the road. "And smart! I hope life treats him well."

To be honest, I hope the same for Veyron. In those brief moments when his wide smile faded, I caught glimpses of the sadness and longing hidden beneath it, and I'm pretty sure he dreams of finding his special person every single day.

But I have things to take care of now, and I want to get everything settled as quickly as possible. I step aside and make a brief phone call to Alex, who, thankfully, unlike Veyron, isn't nearly as interested in interrogations.

He simply accepts with genuine excitement that I'm certain I've found my True Mate and promises to bring Tommy here tomorrow.

Silvio notices me walking around the patio and comes outside to join me, with Mauro following close behind.

"Jared, would you like to come into town with me today? There's a wonderful store that has beautiful furniture and decorations for children's rooms. We still need to finish Tommy's room."

I hesitate for a moment, blinking, because I was just about to have the conversation with Mauro, but I simply can't say no.