Chapter Fifty-Six
Luis
I leaned against the side of my car, checking the time for what had to be the tenth time.
I was early – very early, actually – but I wasn't going to admit that to anyone, especially not Sabrina.
I'd been looking forward to tonight for days, although I still wasn't sure I'd ever get used to the fact that she'd actually said yes.
After everything she'd been through with the Russians, I hadn't expected her to agree to dinner so easily. I'd assumed she'd need some time to settle back into life with her family before she was ready to think about anything remotely resembling a date.
Apparently, I should have known better. Sabrina was full of surprises.
The front door finally opened, and my heart gave one particularly hard beat. Sabrina stepped outside wearing black jeans, dark blue sneakers and a simple brown sweater, her hair falling naturally around her shoulders. Even from where I stood, I could tell she'd kept her makeup simple.
She'd only made it a few steps down the path when the door opened again, and she turned just as Dario came running outside.
Her entire expression changed.
The smile that spread across her face was softer than anything I'd seen before. She crouched to catch him in her arms, and he wrapped himself around her. His little hand patted her back a few times, almost as though he were reassuring her that everything was okay.
Sabrina pulled away only to attack him with kisses, pressing one to his forehead, then both cheeks and finally his nose. Dario burst into laughter, trying to escape her while she continued until he was practically hiding his face against her shoulder.
I couldn't help smiling. There was something about watching her with him that made my chest feel strangely warm.
Eventually, she let him go, and the moment Dario turned towards me, that smile disappeared.
His eyes narrowed, and I raised an eyebrow.
He stared at me, and I stared back. For a four-year-old, the kid had an impressive amount of attitude.
Apparently satisfied with whatever conclusion he'd reached, he turned around and marched back towards the house without saying a word. I watched him disappear through the front door and couldn't help the smile that tugged at my mouth.
Right. Apparently, I had competition.
Sabrina finally started walking towards me, and with every step, I found myself noticing more.
When she stopped in front of me, I realised she'd added just a little makeup around her eyes.
Up close, it made the grey of her irises stand out even more, catching the fading light in a way that made them impossible to look away from.
I stared a second too long, and judging by the knowing look she gave me, she noticed.
“Are you planning on staring at me all evening, or are we actually going to get away from my house at some point?”
A smile pulled at my mouth. I was definitely planning on staring at her all evening.
“Sorry,” I said. “I was distracted.”
She gave me a knowing look. “I noticed.”
I held out my hand. “Come on.”
She slipped her hand into mine, and I opened the passenger door for her. As she turned away, something caught my eye. A bright yellow sticky note was stuck to the back of her sweater.
I frowned and carefully peeled it away before she noticed. Four words were written across it in large capital letters.
I'M WATCHING.
I glanced towards the house, but the front door was already closed.
Little man was serious.
I slipped the note into my pocket, closed Sabrina's door and walked around to the driver's side.
Once I was behind the wheel, I glanced over at her. “Ready?”
She turned towards me. “Yes.”
I started the car, and for the first few minutes, neither of us said much. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was easy, natural, the kind that didn't need to be filled simply because two people were sitting beside each other.
I glanced across at her. “You look beautiful.”
Her eyes moved towards me, and a small smile appeared on her lips.
“You don't look too bad yourself.”
I laughed. “Not too bad?”
“Don't let it go to your head.”
“Too late.”
She rolled her eyes, but I caught the smile she tried to hide.
I drove away from the estate, following the winding roads deeper into the Romero territory. The familiar streets gradually gave way to quieter roads until we reached a secluded stretch of land overlooking the rest of the island.
I'd spent days putting this together, with Bianca and Matteo supplying the information I needed to make the evening feel like Sabrina rather than some expensive, over-planned date.
The view was worth every second of the drive.
The ocean stretched endlessly beyond the cliffs, while the buildings of the island scattered beneath us. The late-afternoon sun cast everything in a warm golden glow.
Sabrina stepped out of the car and looked around before turning towards me.
“You brought me here?”
“I did.”
Her eyes moved towards the blanket I'd laid out on the grass, then to the food arranged across it before returning to me.
“You did all this?”
I shrugged, suddenly feeling strangely nervous.
“I thought a fancy restaurant might be a little too much.”
“You thought correctly.”
I smiled. That was exactly what I'd been hoping she'd say.
She lowered herself onto the blanket, and I sat beside her before reaching for one of the containers.
“I hope you like it.”
She looked over everything again, her expression softening as she took in the food I'd chosen.
“How did you know what I like?”
A smile tugged at my mouth. “I have my ways.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Your ways?”
“Something like that.”
She shook her head, smiling. “You really went to all this trouble?”
“I wanted tonight to be about you.”
Something softened in her expression before she smiled.
“Well, I suppose I'll have to admit you're doing a pretty good job.”
“I'll take that.”
We ate slowly, with no reason to rush. The conversation moved easily between whatever came to mind, and for a while, there was no Bratva, no family business and no expectation waiting for either of us. It was simply dinner, the two of us sitting together with the island stretched out beneath us.
“How are you finding it?” I asked.
She glanced at me. “Finding what?”
“All of this.” I gestured vaguely around us. “Your family. Having everyone around you now.”
A quiet laugh escaped her. “Chaotic.”
“That bad?”
“Worse.” She smiled, shaking her head. “I don't think I've ever seen so many people capable of arguing about absolutely nothing.”
I laughed. “They're your brothers. What did you expect?”
“I don't know. I didn't exactly get a handbook.”
The smile remained on her lips, but something quieter settled behind her eyes.
“I think they're still trying to figure out how to be brothers to me,” she admitted. “And I'm still trying to figure out how to let them.”
I understood what she meant. She hadn't grown up with them, and she couldn't suddenly manufacture years of shared memories simply because they'd finally found one another. Whatever relationship they built would have to begin now, with all the years they had missed sitting between them.
“Does it feel strange?” I asked.
“Very.”
She looked towards the water, her fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of her glass.
“Sometimes I'll look at them and think about how much of their lives I missed. Birthdays, Christmases, stupid arguments... all the things siblings are supposed to complain about.” Her smile faded as she looked down at her hands.
“I don't have any memories of growing up with them.
I can't suddenly create those memories just because I know who they are now.”
I reached across the blanket, letting my fingers brush against hers.
“But you can make new ones.”
She looked at me for a moment before a small smile returned.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I know.”
“And judging by what I've seen, they're going to make sure you get plenty of them.”
She laughed softly. “Unfortunately, you're probably right.”
“They're just trying to make up for lost time.”
“Probably.”
She looked down at her hands before adding, “It's strange having people who are supposed to know me when I barely know them. Sometimes I still feel like I'm waiting for someone to tell me I'm dreaming.”
There was no self-pity in her voice, only honesty, and somehow that made it harder to hear.
“You don't have to figure it all out at once,” I said.
Her eyes lifted to mine.
“I know.”
“And you don't have to pretend those missing years don't matter just because you've finally found them.”
Her expression softened.
“Thank you.”
I smiled. “Anytime.”
She shook her head, the corners of her mouth lifting again.
“You know, for someone who spends his life surrounded by criminals, you're surprisingly sentimental.”
“Don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain.”
She laughed, and the heaviness that had settled between us disappeared.
For a while, we returned to lighter conversation until I caught myself staring at her again.
She noticed.
“You know you can blink, right?”
“I'm aware.”
“You haven't been doing much of it.”
“You're distracting.”
She shook her head. “You're impossible.”
“And you're beautiful.”
She smiled. “You already said that.”
“I meant it both times.”
She looked away, but I caught the faint colour that rose in her cheeks.
When we'd finished eating, Sabrina leaned back on her hands and looked towards the horizon. Neither of us made any move to pack anything away.
After a moment, she spoke.
“I don't want to go home yet.”
I turned towards her, placing a hand dramatically against my chest.
“You think this is all I had planned for the date? Eat some food and immediately take you home?”
Her eyebrow lifted. “I don't know. Is it?”
“Absolutely not.”
That was mostly a lie. I hadn't exactly planned anything after dinner, but there was no way I was admitting that.
“I want to watch the sunset with you,” I said instead. “This part of the island has the best view.”
Her expression softened as she looked back towards the horizon.
“Okay.”
We moved closer together as the sun began to sink. The sky slowly changed, the light fading from gold into deeper shades as the sun slipped lower over the water.
For once, neither of us felt the need to speak. I looked at her as she watched the horizon, completely still, and somehow, in that moment, she looked more peaceful than I'd ever seen her.
A breeze swept across the cliffside, and Sabrina shivered. Without thinking, I shrugged off my jacket and held it towards her.
“Here.”
“I'm fine.”
“You just shivered.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
She rolled her eyes. “You're annoying.”
“And you're cold.”
She finally took the jacket.
“Thank you.”
She slipped it over her shoulders, and I smiled.
“Better?”
“Much.”
We sat quietly for another few minutes, watching the last light disappear across the water. My gaze eventually drifted back towards her, taking in the way she looked wrapped in my jacket and the softness that had settled over her features.
Watching her with Dario earlier came back to me then – the ease with which she'd made him laugh, the way he'd clung to her as though she were the safest place in the world – and before I could overthink it, I spoke.
“You know, you're really good with him.”
She glanced at me. “Dario?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
A small smile touched her lips. “I've had a lot of practice.”
“I can tell.”
She looked at me curiously, and I hesitated, suddenly wondering if I was about to say something I had no business saying.
“You'd be a really good mum.”
The words were out before I could take them back.
Sabrina stared at me, and then one corner of her mouth lifted.
“Are you imagining me having kids?”
Heat rushed straight to my face.
“What? No.” I cleared my throat. “It was just an observation.”
Her laughter broke through the quiet.
“You were blushing.”
“I was not.”
“You were.”
“You're imagining things.”
She laughed again before finally shaking her head.
“I'm joking.”
I gave her a look, but her expression softened.
“Although...” She paused. “Were you being honest?”
I looked at her. “About you being a good mum?”
She nodded.
“Yeah.”
This time, I didn't hesitate.
“The way Dario looks at you...” I paused, searching for the right words. “You're his safe place.”
Her expression changed, and she looked down at her hands as I continued.
“He trusts you completely. When he's scared, he looks for you. When he's happy, he wants you there. You make him feel like nothing bad can happen when you're around.”
I watched her for a moment before adding quietly, “I think you'd be the best mum.”
A quiet smile touched my lips, but another thought followed it, one I had no intention of sharing with her. One day, I wanted to see her with a child of her own, and selfishly, I hoped I'd be the one standing beside her when that day came.
I turned my attention back towards the sunset before she could read anything in my expression.
After a moment, she spoke.
“I spent most of Dario's life being his parent more than his sister.” Her voice had grown quieter. “I don't really know how to stop.”
“You don't have to.”
She looked at me, uncertainty flickering across her expression.
“I don't?”
I shook my head. “No. That instinct has been part of you for years. You can't just switch it off because he's finally home.”
She remained quiet, watching the ocean.
“And honestly, I don't think you should. He needs you. Maybe not in exactly the same way he did before, but he still needs you. Everything in his life has changed – his family, his home, everything he thought he knew.”
I reached over and gently took her hand.
“You're allowed to be his overprotective big sister.”
A tiny smile appeared.
“And I'm pretty sure he's going to be your overprotective little brother.”
She laughed softly. “You're not wrong.”
“I've already experienced it.”
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the yellow sticky note. Her eyes widened before she burst out laughing.
“You've got to be kidding me.”
I held it up between us.
I'M WATCHING.
“I found this on your back.”
She shook her head, still laughing.
“I knew it.”
“You knew?”
“I felt him put something on me.”
“And you let him?”
She shrugged, looking far too innocent. “Of course.”
I stared at her.
“You knowingly walked out of that house with a four-year-old's death threat on your back?”
“It's not a death threat.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You saw the look he gave me.”
She laughed again. “He's protective.”
“So I've noticed.”
She reached over and took the note from my hand, looking down at it with an amused smile.
“He's just making sure you're aware of who you're dealing with.”
I laughed softly. “Believe me, Sabrina. I know exactly who I'm dealing with.”
She looked at me, and for a moment neither of us said anything before a smile slowly touched her lips.
“And?”
I looked at her, the last traces of sunlight catching in her grey eyes.
“She’s worth it.”