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Everyone found a seat at the table, and our eyes locked on one another. It was like nobody else existed in our small world.
I wanted to tell her how much I loved her. How we could make this work after everything was over. How much I wanted to start over.
As the tension grew thicker, she blinked, looking away.
I knew she felt every bit of the desire and longing building up between us.
“This looks fabulous,” Melanie hummed as Sadie patted her shoulders.
“Zack is the best chef in town.” Sadie smiled, sneaking another look at me.
I shrugged. “I try. Anyone care for some wine?”
Before Jax sat down, he nodded and walked into the kitchen. “Tell me where it is, and I’ll do the honors. You have a seat. You’ve done plenty for our family.”
“I wish I could do more,” I said, shaking my head. “In the fridge.”
“Me too. I feel so helpless,” Melanie said softly as Sadie took a seat between her and her sister.
“We’re all doing the best we can,” Elena said, smiling at Melanie, “And we’ll come out of this stronger as a family and ready for whatever the world has to hand us.”
Sadie groaned. “Honestly, I think this is all I want the world to hand me. I’m pretty much beat.”
Melanie nodded. “I can understand that.” She pressed her lips into a thin line as Jaxson opened a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Sadie had already placed the wine glasses for everyone at the table.
Sadie helped plate everyone’s food as silence settled over the table with people eating pasta, drinking wine, and enjoying the evening.
Except it was anything but normal.
“My brothers have been keeping tabs on Carmella, and she is still very much planted in New York.”
Relief dashed through Sadie’s expression. “That’s good news.”
I nodded in agreement. I’d spoken briefly with Jaxson about the items left in Sadie’s apartment, and we both agreed it wasn’t a coincidence.
But with Melanie here, it didn’t seem the place to bring up that topic again.
“I’ve read as much as I could about the incident,” Melanie said, looking at Sadie. “But I don’t know the why of it. How did you become the target?”
Elena let out a deep breath as Sadie stared at her plate. I wanted to reach over and pull her into me, shield her from the nightmare that had become her life.
Sadie straightened in her seat and brought her gaze to Melanie’s. “My sister wrote a crime blog, and she was narrowing in on some stuff that implicated some high-ranking politicians. So, to silence my sister, they targeted me.”
“Wow. I’m so sorry.” Melanie took a sip of wine. “That’s just unbelievable.”
“In every sense of the word,” I said, watching Sadie.
She went back to eating, and I wondered what made Melanie ask that so point blankly when she’d been so careful to tiptoe around Sadie before.
Unless she was blaming Sadie for what happened at her shop.
But that didn’t seem like Melanie’s usual character.
“Well, I’m keeping the coffee shop closed for a few days while we put in a security system and just to kind of regroup.”
Sadie smiled sympathetically. “Take as much time as you need.”
“Yeah. That’s what my parents said, too.” She chuckled. “This just gave them another reason to have me come back to live in the town I grew up in. So, I can’t even imagine what you’ve gone through.”
