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I couldn’t help but smile at him. A good morning hug from Gabriel Calegari was familiar and comforting, but it was a far cry from waking up in his brother’s arms.
“Thank you for sending someone to pick me up,” I said as I stepped into his arms. He was warm, and strong, and... not Dante.
Breakfast was going to be torture. I had barely slept the night before and there I was thinking that I could be in Dante’s home while I tried desperately to forget him.
“My pleasure. Coffee?” Gabriel offered.
I pulled out a barstool and plopped myself down. “You might need more than one pot, but that’s a start.”
“That bad?” Gabriel laughed as he poured the coffee into a mug. He set it in front of me before reaching into the refrigerator. He set a container of French Vanilla creamer in front of me. “Here. I know you can’t live without this shit.”
“Bad enough. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Gabriel’s dark eyes studied me across the granite countertop. He leaned on his elbows, all the laughter fading from his eyes.
“Are you okay, Noemi? I know he’s my brother, but I’ll punch him in the face if you want me to. Hell. I don’t even care if you want me to, I may do it anyway.”
I achieved the desired ratio of coffee to creamer and took a quick sip. “No, no physical violence on my behalf, please.”
I’d had enough violence to last for quite some time. I just wanted peace, quiet and normal. Right then, having coffee with Gabriel and chatting about something other than his brother was the normal I needed.
“Alright for now, but if you change your mind, just say the word. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to try to drop him on his ass.”
Gabriel took a drink from his own mug, a large gray monster of a cup with the word “Bossman” on one side in bold black letters.
“Bossman?” I laughed.
One side of his mouth rose in a smile that reminded me so much of the half-smiles Dante would occasionally let escape. Gabriel’s smiles were more frequent and more easily given, but he looked so much like Dante then that I could have stared at him all morning.
“A gift from the guys,” he chuckled softly. “They think they’re funny. So, what brings you here this early in the morning after a restless night? Shouldn’t you be sleeping in?”
“Lilly invited me for breakfast. Where is she?”
Gabriel immediately stiffened. “She was supposed to meet you here? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. She texted me on the way home last night. Look.”
I pulled my phone from my coat pocket and showed it to him.
Gabriel’s brow furrowed as he took the phone from me and read Lilly’s text.
“Is everything okay?” I asked when he didn’t say anything.
“As far as I know. Look at this.”
Pushing his phone across the countertop, Gabriel pointed to the screen. “She sent me this text last night.”
“‘Too much wine. Crashing at a friend’s house. See ya tomorrow night,’” I read. “Tomorrow night? She must have forgotten about breakfast. That’s odd. Who’s the friend?”
“I don’t have a clue,” Gabriel muttered. “And she didn’t call you to say she wasn’t going to be here?”
“No. I’ve had my phone with me and there’s no missed calls. You look worried, Gabriel. Should we be worried?”
“No,” he answered quickly. “I’m sure she’s fine. If she had too much to drink, she probably just forgot. I’ll just send her a quick text,” he mumbled as he walked away.
He lied to me. I could clearly tell he was worried. Lilly was a spoiled Italian princess, but she wasn’t forgetful, and she didn’t drink so much that she had to spend the night at people’s houses.
I took a sip of coffee but didn’t notice the taste as my worries settled in, especially when Gabriel furiously typed into his phone. It was like I wasn’t even there when he paced the room, then exited through the swinging door.
