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Salvatore frowned my way, trying to grasp the point.
“Routine.” He answered just with one word. He wanted me to close the subject, so I nodded and sat in the chair he pulled out for me.
“So, Grazia,” Bruno winked at me from across the table, “you get along with my wife.”
“Yes, we go way back.”
I’d never seen someone lose their smile as fast as Bruno after he registered my words.
Salvatore threw his arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer to him.
“Easy, Grazi.” He spoke in my ear, but I was sure I heard a smile in his voice. “Pietro, I’m sorry we’re late, cousin.” He quickly changed the subject.
“All good. The food was just delivered before you came. We wouldn’t even be having this dinner if my sister wouldn’t be so pushy.” Pietro pointed an accusing finger at Chiara and she winked. “Is everything good in the city?”
“Yes.” My husband said. “We weren’t late because of business, we were late because when I went to pick Grazi up she was dancing and I watched her longer than I should have.”
“Ha!” Pietro scoffed. “You know, I thought thatfinallybeing married to her would cure you, but you have it bad.”
Salvatore pulled my face to his and kissed me unapologetically. “Yes, I do.”
I blushed, I couldn’t help my reaction. Pietro was right. I waited for that crazy attraction to tone down when we started spending every day together and went to sleep in the same bed every night, but it never happened. We were married, there were no more walls to keep us apart – none that Salvatore didn’t bulldoze down – but I still reached for him every minute. I still bit my lip and hid my eyes when he called me beautiful. I still woke him up in the middle of the night just to kiss me. I had it bad too.
Salvatore’s phone started ringing the same time Pietro’s did and everyone at the table looked at them. It wasn’t just a coincidence, it was business.
Yannis cleared his throat and nodded at my husband. “All good?”
“A rat just arrived on our island. Nothing that concerns us.”
Just like that, my heart climbed into my throat, choking me. The cavalry was here to arrest my brother while I was having a nice candlelit dinner with my husband and his cousins.
“We should eat.” Salvatore said like nothing happened.
A cold shiver crept up my spine slowly. Someone put some lobster on the plate in front of me, but I had no appetite for food. It was pretty clear to me that the information Salvatore got earlier was true and he wasn’t going to lift a finger for Guido. He just sat in the chair next to mine, relaxed, talking to Yannis about the last game AS Roma played.
Feeling suffocated, I pushed my chair back and rose to my feet.
“Grazi, are you ok?”
“Yes, Sasa. Just…” I had to come up with something. “I’m just going to go and wash my hands.”
Chiara told me where the bathroom was and then everyone returned to their conversation. As soon as I was behind the bathroom door, I locked it behind me. Pulling out my phone from the back pocket of my jeans, I dialed Guido’s number twice, but didn’t get any answer, so I tried calling every single one of my brothers. Not a single call went through. There was no way no one saw I was calling, but they choose not to answer, because I wasn’t their sister anymore. I was just Salvatore Fiori’s wife. Trying to call my father was out of the question, so the only one I had left was Pina. I haven’t talked to her since I was in Milano and I hated to mix her up in this mess, but what was I to do?
I pressed on her name before I had a chance to talk myself out of it and finally someone answered.
“Oh, my God, Grazia.” She whispered my name.
“Yes, Pina, it’s me. I really need to talk to you.”
“You called me.” This time her voice was high-pitched and cracked.
“Yes I… are you crying?”
“I just didn’t believe you’d speak to me again.”
Ariana. With everything that happened, I never stopped to think how this affected her.
“I wanted to, Pina, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk calling you.”
