Page 48 of The Saint

“Hmm.” Carmen sipped from her cup, and those dark eyes of hers twinkled, like the lights over the breakfast bar were dancing inside of them. “Paulo was right.”

My spine straightened. “I’m sorry?”

Carmen reached for my hand, grabbing it before I had the chance to tuck it into my lap. She pulled it her way, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze. “My brother told me you’d changed. That you’d grown up. Still the girl who would stand up for what’s right, but with the level-headedness he requires of those closest to him.”

“I…” I blinked, my mind going blank. When I finally recovered, I asked, “You were talking about me with Mr. D’Angelo?”

“Of course,” she said, as if it were nothing at all. As if her talking about me with her brother, the man who ran the organization I’d wanted to be a part of since I was a child, a man more powerful, more dangerous, than anyone I’d ever known, was something she did all the time. “He doesn’t make decisions without proper input. And after what happened earlier this year… Well, needless to say, he wants to make sure he has all the necessary facts before making the kinds of decisions that could affect the lives of the women and men he loves and protects.”

What happened earlier this year...

Fahrid Ahmad, one of D’Angelo’s lieutenants, had gotten into things he shouldn’t have, and he paid with his life. I was there when Arik and Queenie found him dead, and in the weeks that followed, saw firsthand how Ahmad’s betrayal had affected D’Angelo.

I’d been running on the assumption that Queenie had been the reason behind my getting my stars. And because of that, I had questioned my abilities, the very idea that I belonged at all. After all, I’d done nothing since getting them, was given nothing to do but sit back and wait.

But D’Angelo had questioned Carmen about me?

Had he questioned Lorenzo? Or Arik? Had he questioned anyone else?

Before I could even wrap my head around this, footsteps pattered across the tile floor. The smile that spread across Carmen’s face tugged harshly at some space that felt suddenly empty inside my chest. She slipped off her chair and rushed into her husband’s arms as he came through the door.

If I grew up understanding what love was, it wasn’t from watching movies or television or my own parents. It was because of Carmen and Lorenzo Giordano. It was here in this house, where I saw a husband worship his wife, a wife dote on her husband, and the kind of work it took to make a marriage last.

Even though I’d seen the two of them like this before—locked in an embrace with a kiss that seemed unending—I never felt comfortable with the pureness of their love. It was hard, being present when the two of them were mostly alone. Being witness to this.

And it hurt, wondering if Rolly and I would ever have what they had, or if I’d ruined it for good.

I turned my back to them, trying to focus on the cooling tea in my cup and not on the quiet moment the two of them were having. It wasn’t until Lorenzo cleared his throat, the sound coming from far too close for comfort, that I spun in my seat.

“Jael David.” Dressed in a dark blue suit and a light blue button-up, the man stared at me with the same ocean eyes I’d been drowning in the past week. Even with the tie hanging loosely around the open collar of his shirt, he looked like every fancy businessman I’d seen since I moved back to the city.

“Mr. Giordano, sir.” I snapped to attention, extending my hand toward him. His grip was firm, the hard glint in his eye like that of his brother-in-law as he looked me over.

He shoved his hand in his pocket when he stepped back, and a smile broke across his face. “Would you look at that?” He tossed a glance at his wife, who was beaming.

“She’s all grown up.”

“That she is.” Lorenzo stepped forward once again, this time placing his hands on my upper arms and staring down at me with a smile that made him look so much like his son. “Welcome home, polpetta. We’ve missed you.”

Lorenzo pulled me into a hug I wasn’t expecting, but once I was in his arms, it felt like exactly the thing I needed. I closed my eyes and hugged him back, glad, for once, to not have Rolly here. I didn’t want anyone to see just how badly I needed this: the love of this family. The kind of affection that had been withheld from me since the last time I stepped foot inside these walls.

He dropped a kiss to my head, then pulled back again, hands going to my arms once more. He shook his head, a wide, almost sad smile upon his lips. “I asked that our family be allowed into the room when you got your stars.”

“You did?”

He nodded. “It would have meant so much, to all of us. But Paulo felt it was best if it was just your brothers there. I hope you know how proud we are of you, Jael.”

My eyes stung, and it felt like a boulder had made itself a home at the base of my throat. I swallowed it down, but my voice still sounded rough when I tried to speak. “Thank you, sir.”

He squeezed my arms, then released me as he glanced at the clock on the wall. “I do wish I had more time to catch up, but I have a meeting I need to get to.”

Carmen squeezed in beside Lorenzo, helping him tighten his tie. He dropped a kiss to her lips, then faced me once more.

“Now that you’re back, I expect you to come for dinner sometime.” He leaned in, his face serious but not intimidating. “With or without my son.”

“Lorenzo,” Carmen chided, smacking his arm lightly.

My gaze dropped. I wasn’t sure I could handle another moment of their love on display. What I found, though, had a smile pulling at my lips and a small chuckle tumbling free.