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He smirks. “We’ll see.”
* * *
“It’s eleven p.m.,Elena. Where the hell were you?” my brother demands as soon as I appear in the doorway of our kitchen.
There’s a bowl of ice cream in front of him. Mint chocolate chip, which is gross. He shovels down a large spoonful while glaring at me. I roll my eyes.
“Cut the shit, Tony. I have a human locator following me around everywhere I go,” I say as I take a seat, referring to Carlos, who doubles as both my driver and bodyguard whenever I’m in New York. “You know exactly where I was.”
I’m exhausted after my bizarre conversation with Roman. I was hoping I could get home and sneak into my room for a good night’s rest but no such luck.
“Why’d you spend so long at the home base?” he questions.
“I was comforting Rosa,” I lie.
I doubt he’d be happy to hear I was with his best friend. For some reason, he doesn’t trust me with Roman.
“Hmm, how’s she holding up?”
“As well as she can, considering.” I shrug.
He sighs, running a hand through his dark hair. My big brother is six feet tall, with lean muscles and hazel eyes. I can’t count the number of times over the years that I’ve been told he’s really attractive. I guess if I looked at it from a non-sibling angle, I could agree. But I’d never admit it to him. The man has an ego the size of Texas. Tony’s cocky, brash, and prone to picking fights. But he also has the biggest heart, even though he tends to hide it.
“I thought you’d be off getting drunk somewhere,” I say, reaching for his bowl of ice cream.
Just because I hate the shit doesn’t mean I wouldn’t derive some pleasure from taking it from him. Unfortunately, he shifts it away from me, narrowing his eyes in warning.
“I would have, but Rome kicked us out and Mikey’s no fun.” He pouts. “He’s upstairs in the room, sleeping.”
I smile. Out of the three of them, Michael’s probably my favorite. He doesn’t talk much and can usually be found hunched in front of a computer. I’m pretty sure he’s a hacker. He has a secret room in the De Luca home filled with gadgets. I stumbled on it accidentally once but I’ve never admitted that.
Michael’s the only one who used to include me when we were younger. He’d ask me to play video games with him or just talk. He’s Roman’s cousin, a De Luca, but his parents died when he was younger and Maria and Ricardo practically adopted him.
“He has the right idea, I’m exhausted.Buona notte, fratello.”
“Actually,sorella, I think you should talk to Dad before you go to bed.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“He was just looking pretty rough when I left him. He’s in the observatory with a bottle of whiskey.”
My heart clenches. Everyone’s finding comfort in a bottle of whiskey tonight. I nod once and offer my brother a small smile before heading up the stairs to the attic that my dad turned into an observatory. He did it for my mother, who loved to watch the stars. And he loved her so much. I’m sure he would have done anything for her. In the end, she left.
My dad’s standing in the middle of the room when I arrive. He takes a sip of the whiskey in his glass, staring in the direction of the mounted telescope with a faraway expression on his face.
“Hey, Papa,” I say, drawing his attention.
He turns, and when he notices me, his face splits into a grin. I walk forward and he immediately pulls me into a hug. We haven’t really spoken since I arrived. He was too busy with his duties to the family.
“There’s my favorite little girl,” he says, ruffling my hair.
I push his hand away with a smile. “I’m your only daughter, Daddy.”
“And you’ll always be my favorite,” he retorts. “Come on, let’s sit.”
He leads me to the couch in the room and I take a seat beside him. His arm goes around my shoulders and I lean against his chest, feeling content. We don’t speak for a few minutes.
“You okay, Daddy?” I question softly.
