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“I’ll miss you too.” I knelt down, trying to stay on balance with the heels I was wearing, and took her face in my hands. “Don’t frown. Your face will get stuck like it.” She giggled, a failsafe to have me forget about everything else around me. “I’ll always be here.” I moved my hand to her chest, placing my palm over her heart. “And here.” I tapped the side of her head. “And if that fails, you can steal Mama’s cell and call me.”
Her bottom lip popped out. “But what about morning cuddles?”
I blinked, not sure what to say to that. Every morning I held my arms open when she woke up, and we spent at least twenty minutes talking about nothing and everything all at the same time.
“Auntie will have morning cuddles from Uncle Lorenzo now,” Noemi said, her voice sickly sweet.
“You will?” Vida stared up at me, her eyes wide and innocent, and I had no idea what to say to her. “Uncle Lorenzo?” Her attention moved higher; her brows raised. “Will you make sure Auntie Aida gets her morning cuddles?”
“I…” He cleared his throat, his hand landing on my shoulder. “I’ll make sure.” His fingers squeezed, and I didn’t think he was aware he was doing it, not consciously anyway.
“Okay, then.” Vida stepped back and lifted her hand in a wave. “Love you, Auntie Aida.” She paused and grinned wide, showcasing her missing front tooth. “Love you, Uncle Lorenzo.”
“Love you too, sweetie,” I whispered. I felt a lump build in my throat as I stood, watching my family get into a car that would take them home. The tears burned the back of my eyes, and all I wanted was to get into the car with them, to go home where I knew what would happen in the morning. I didn’t even know where I was sleeping tonight, and if I didn’t get this damn dress off soon, I was going to go out of my mind.
“Shall we?” Lorenzo said, but I didn’t look up at him as we both turned around. The doors shut behind us thanks to the house staff, and it was now too quiet. Only Lorenzo and I were left in the grand foyer of the mansion. “I can show you upstairs,” Lorenzo continued. He made it sound like a question, but he was already walking toward the staircase, so I followed. At least it would mean I could get out of this dress.
The d
ouble-sided staircase was grand, just like everything else in the house, and I wondered if it had been built the same time as the mansion or whether it had been added later. Elaborate Bs were carved into the wood, gilded with gold just like in the mansion’s front doors.
“This side is where everyone else sleeps,” Lorenzo said as we got to the top of the stairs, pointing toward the left. He turned right and started to walk down the wide hallway. My heels sunk into the plush burgundy carpet, and my eyes widened. Should I have taken my shoes off up here? Crap.
“This is our wing.” We had a wing? He halted in front of the first door on the right. “This is an extra bathroom.” He pointed to the door opposite. “Guest room,” he continued, pointing to the next two doors. “Guest rooms.” Then he stopped in front of the next set of doors. “This is us.” He pushed open the door on the right and waved me inside.
“Wow,” I whispered. In the middle of the room sat the largest bed I’d ever seen. The crisp white bedsheets begged me to get inside them. “This is…amazing.” It was just as elaborate as the rest of the mansion. A doorway to the left led into a dressing room and a closet as big as my bedroom and Ma and Dad’s bedroom put together. Then, through that, was a bathroom with a shower, a single sink, and a toilet.
“You have everything you need?” I heard Lorenzo ask, and it was only then that I realized he hadn’t followed me inside.
I frowned as I moved back into the main part of the bedroom, swiping my fingers across a dresser that had my toiletry bag on top of it. “Are you not coming inside?”
“No.” Lorenzo’s stern gaze met mine. “I’m across the hall if you need anything.” He took another step backward. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”
I blinked, not sure what to say, but before I got anything out, he disappeared through the door opposite my room. My room. I had my own room. I didn’t know why I was surprised by it. I didn’t know why I couldn’t hold back the tears that had been burning the back of my eyes from the moment my family had left.
My family. They weren’t my family now, though. He was my family. And I already hated him.
LORENZO
“Morning, brother,” a soft voice greeted.
I glanced up from my cell screen to see Sofia pulling out her usual chair. “Morning.”
“I see it didn’t take you long.” She pointed to the seat I was in—a seat I’d hesitated to take. For all of our lives, we’d had our set places at the table. My dad at the head, my ma at his right, and me at his left. Dante sat next to Ma and Sofia next to me.
But all that changed the moment I said my vows. The second I became the boss.
Now it was me sitting at the head of the table.
“It’s my rightful place,” I told Sofia and set down my cell on the table. I had a meeting in ten minutes, and she was the only one who had come down for breakfast so far.
Sofia shrugged, her highlighted hair drifting over her shoulder at the move. “It is. I just…I hadn’t expected it so soon.” She paused, her gaze meeting mine as her usual breakfast was placed in front of her. “It’s just different, I suppose.”
I knew what she meant, and if I was honest with myself, I agreed. It was different. Everything was different now.
“You’ll get used to it,” a voice said, and my lips immediately lifted at the corners. Ma always knew exactly what to say. Where Dad had struggled with the emotional stuff, Ma had excelled. She tapped my shoulder twice and placed a kiss on my cheek. “Morning.”
“Morning, Ma.” I tracked her movements as she pulled out her usual chair.
