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He starts to say something. Maybe he wants to reassure me again that I don’t have to accept Momma’s request to help the family, that my mistakes don’t make me solely responsible for our issues, that I deserve some time off, but he doesn’t say any of that. He simply nods.
And that, right there—him accepting my choice to do this—is another reason to love him. Every day adds one more reason.
Spotting a sibling-relationship-building opportunity, I drag Sandesh to a stop before the wide, arched doorway leading into the library. Inside the brightly lit room, Rome sits at one of the long tables in front of a computer, typing like a lunatic. He’s another cyber geek in the making. Maybe feeling my eyes on him, he glances up. Such a cute kid.
I smile at him. “You available to train tomorrow around noon?”
He turns left and right in aWho me?kind of way.
“No one else in the library, kid.”
Registering this, his lips twitch into an uncertain smile. He gives me a tight nod.
Yeah. Can’t blame him.
I turn away, meet Sandesh’s alert blue eyes.
He rests his nose against my cheek. “He’ll come around.”
He’s right because I’ll continue to reach out to Rome to make sure he’s okay. I’ll find a way to talk to him, so that he knows—no, so that hefeels, he belongs here. I’ll do that for Tony, who never felt that he did.
When I got back from Mexico, I finally read Tony’s letter. In it, he spoke of his pain at never feeling good enough. He spoke of not thinking he deserved to be in The Guild.
I never knew. Also, I never asked. That’s something I intend to change with Rome and with all my siblings, including Bella.
As we walk, Sandesh squeezes my hand. “You okay?”
The easy thing to say would beyeah, but it isn’t the real thing to say. Swallowing regret and sorrow and the ache of missing Tony, I say, “No. But I feel better being here, knowing I can change things. Promise you’ll back me up with Momma.’
“Yeah. But if your mother says no—”
I shake my head and continue down the hall. “She won’t. Trust me. I can convince anyone of anything. I am a kick-ass public relations specialist, remember?”
Sandesh bites his lip and nods at me like he wants to say something else.
He doesn’t say a word. Smart man.
We pass the intersecting hallway and someone steps out from the elevator and calls out, “I see it worked.”
I startle. Even with a baby bump, my gorgeous sister is stealthy. “What worked?”
Dada points at my wrist, at the braided band of light and dark leather with the garnet woven within it. “The proposal. You said yes?”
Sandesh nods. Looking like he’s won the blue ribbon, he holds up his bracelet. “She did.”
Dada moves closer and examines it, then her critical gaze looks to me. “I can show you how to fix this.”
Face heating, I glare at her.
Sandesh pulls his hand away. “No, it’s perfect. Thanks.”
Aww. Love for him, sharp and steady, fires another neuron and etches another cherished memory.
Dada looks like she wants to argue the fact, but I interrupt with, “Just saw your baby-daddy out front, surrounded by munchkins playing soccer. You might want to rescue him.”
With that distraction firmly tossed, I lead Sandesh the rest of the way down the hall to the open doorway on our left.
Holding his warm hand loosely in my own, I slip into the drawing room.
