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The next morning, I skip my normal stop at Sweet Temptations in an attempt to give Amelia some space and go straight to Pop’s house to catch him up on the trip and the new information we’re working on about the Sabatinis. As I pull through the front gates, the Bluetooth in the car alerts me to an incoming call from Dean.
I left him a message earlier with instructions on how I wanted Sweet Temptations handled today. “What do you have for me?”
“Yo, Sammy. Got your message from earlier. Sorry, I was a little preoccupied.”
“Just tell me it wasn’t the new girl at Sweet Temptations, and we’re good.” There’s no answer from the other end. “Oh, come on, man. Just leave Amelia’s shopgirls alone. Christ, she already wants to kill me.”
Dean coughs. “It wasn’t Lyla. Anyway, I’ve already talked to Marco. All was quiet overnight. I’ll be at the shop to check in soon and then fill you in later.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it. See you at the restaurant.” She might not want to see me, but she’s not getting rid of me that easily.
With that settled, I walk up the front steps of my father’s compound and step through the massive arching doors of the house. The heavenly scent of the imported Italian coffee Nonna insists on drinking draws me into the kitchen like a kid following the Pied Piper. I’m greeted by the additional smell of freshly baked banana bread and Nonna as I enter.
“Mi principino,” she claps her hands, then reaches out for me until I bend over in front of all four feet, eleven inches of her and let her grab my face.
No one knows exactly how old Nonna is because she refuses to tell us. Her long white hair is neatly pulled up in the same style she’s worn for years. A gold cross that belonged to my grandfather before he died rests on a thick chain around her neck that she never removes. A summery red cotton dress with long sleeves is covered by one of her many aprons, and a smile revealing the history of our family in its depths spreads across her face when she forces me to taste her banana bread.
I take a bite from the piece in her hand, then kiss her cheek. “Sei bellisima, Nonna.”
“I want you to bring your principessa over soon, Samuel. I have a new recipe for her to try. But you must go for now. Your father is in his office, and he is grumpy this morning.” She takes a piece of banana bread from the counter and wraps it in a white linen napkin. “Take this with you. He’s always happier after he eats.”
She’s not wrong.
She’s also met Amelia and loves to torture me about bringing her around. I’ve brought Nonna to Amelia’s shop but haven’t brought Amelia to Pop’s house.
Not yet.
You don’t bring girls who are friends home to meet the family.
You bring the girl home. The one who’ll be your family.
I won’t do that until she’s ready.
I bend down and kiss Nonna again before moving down the hall to my father’s office. His door is open as he reads over something in a folder in front of him. “Mornin’, Pop.” I knock on the door as I enter the room and drop into one of the chairs across from him.
The lines on his face seem deeper today. “Do you ever just sit? Do you always have to throw yourself into the furniture, Samuel?”
Guess Nonna was right. Not in a good mood this morning.
I nudge the banana bread across the desk toward him.
He peeks under the folded cloth and pushes it to the side. “How did the meeting with the Tremblays go?”
Guess there’s no foreplay happening today. “It went as well as can be expected, Pop. They might be saying Louis and George are equals. But they’re not. Louis is reckless. He’s careless. George is calculated. He sees the bigger picture. George is in charge. He accepted my offer. It’s done. The money has been moved. The evidence is safe and enough to keep them in line. The alternative isn’t an option. Nobody wants to see their kids gutted and hung.”
Pop stops what he was doing and leans back in his chair, blowing out a long breath. “There is nothing on this planet I wouldn’t conquer for you and your brother. Nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe. Let’s hope they feel the same... and that she’s worth it.” His eyes level me from across the desk as he sips his coffee, then breaks off a piece of the bread.
“Awfully deep for first thing on a Monday morning, Pops.” I reach across and attempt to break off my own piece of bread only to have it pulled away from me.
“What’s the update on the Sabatini front? You said you had news.”
I spend the next hour going over the information Bash and Emma gave me yesterday and walking him through what we’re going to do next. Pop isn’t much of a tech guy, so I brief him on the main points of it all. “Give me a few more days, and I should know what kind of time frame we’re looking at.”
“Good. We need this over. I owe it to your brother. And you.”
