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“Because it’s a sacred thing to do. It’s tradition,” I tell her.
Her eyes flick to my cross. “Right. Why am I talking to you about this? You’re the only one in our family who actually has a relationship with God.” She makes an irritated sound as she pushes her dark hair over her shoulder. It’s always unruly. “I should be complaining to Gemma. I know for a fact she always hated church.”
Gemma is one of our older sisters. Emilia is the oldest, followed by Gemma and Francesca. After Francesca is our brother, who’s also my best friend. We don’t see Emilia and Francesca all that often because they live in LA with their husbands, and we still reside in New York. However, Gemma lives in New York with her husband, Viktor.
Antonio has just recently taken over as head of the family business after killing Franco, our uncle.
Franco took over when our father died. Antonio was only twelve at the time, too young to take over, and Franco used that to his advantage. But then, just a few months ago, Antonio killed Franco and took his rightful place as leader of the business.
With Franco gone, home has felt much more relaxed. He knew how to suck the fun out of everything. But I’m still not used to my brother being a boss to me. It’s strange.
“Maybe you need to invite God into your life, Mia,” I tell her as we walk outside. Theo’s behind us, and with every step I take, I can feel his presence more and more. “It might do you some good.”
“How? From what I can tell, God is pretty boring. All he does is smite people.”
“He does more than that,” I respond, feeling indulgent.
“Like what?” she tosses back.
“Like …”Forgives you for having lustful thoughts about your completely off-limits bodyguard.There’s no way I’m telling Mia any of that. “Like …”
Mia huffs. “See? Even you can’t tell me. And if you, of all people, can’t give God a good word, then why should I believe in him? And who even says it’s a man? God could be a woman, you know.”
“God is not a woman,” Mom says as reach the car. She opens the back door, and the twins scramble inside. “Mia, don’t say such ridiculous things.”
Mia rolls her eyes and shoots me a wink before sliding in beside Lucia and Luca.
“Cecilia, there’s no room back here,” Mom says, getting into the back seat and planting herself between the twins to make sure they don’t get into more trouble. “You’ll have to sit in the front.”
“Here,” Theo’s deep voice rings out. I almost gasp when he reaches around me and opens the passenger door for me. I sneak a quick glance at him. He gives me a small, easy smile as he nods at the seat.
“Thanks,” I squeak, fumbling onto the seat like an idiot. Fortunately, Theo doesn’t make a comment. He just rounds thecar, giving me a good look at his muscular arms underneath his jacket, before sliding in beside me. Theo smells like the muskiest, musky man I’ve ever smelled. I don’t even know how to describe it except … he smells like what a man should smell like.
My cheeks flush at where my mind is going. How stupid can I be? Of course, Theo smells like a man. Heisa man.
Being this close to him, I can sense every movement he makes, from checking the rearview mirror to turning the keys in the ignition to putting his seatbelt on. I’m dumbly staring at him, and it takes me a beat to realize he’s looking back at me. And he’s talking.
I jump. “What?”
He nods at my lap, and I curl my hands together. “You need to put your seatbelt on.”
“Right.” I deflate slightly as I do as he says. He’s instructing me like I’m a little kid who needs to be reminded to put on her seatbelt. How humiliating.
“Luca, stop!” Mom scolds loudly, making me turn around to see what’s going on. Judging by the chagrinned expression on Luca’s face, he was trying to hit Lucia again. “Why can’t you just stop? You’re always acting out, and I’m tired of it. You’re ten. You’ll be eleven in just a couple months. You need to grow up.”
Luca angrily looks away, wiping at his face. In profile, he looks so much like our uncle Franco for a second, it scares me.
Mia shoots me a look, telling me silently how awkward she feels. I give her a smile. Lucia has her head bowed and won’t look at either Mom or Luca.
Mom eventually sighs. “Luca, I’m sorry. You just need to learn to stop acting out. It’s getting tiring. I know you’ve taken the death of …” She pauses. “Of Uncle Franco hard, but it’s time to move on. He’s been gone for months now.”
“He was like a dad to me,” Luca mutters, still facing the window.
A flash of pain crosses Mom’s eyes. “I know he was. But he’s gone, and you need to accept it.”
“Why did Antonio kill him?” Lucia asks in her sweet, angelic little voice. Between her voice and the question, it just doesn’t match.
“Because he was a bad man, your uncle.”
