Chapter 14 #2
“I need you not to make promises you can’t keep,” she said at last. “And I need you not to go all…mafia avenger if Adam so much as breathes in my direction.”
I considered that.
“The second one seems restrictive.”
She gave me a flat look.
I let out a breath through my nose. “Fine. I will not commit any crimes in your hometown unless directly requested.”
“Then yes,” she said, and something in her voice softened. “I would very much like you to come.”
The rush of satisfaction that went through me was almost embarrassingly strong. Not because she wanted my company—though I wasn't enough of a liar to pretend that wasn't part of it — but because she was choosing to let me into something difficult. That mattered more than I had words for.
I leaned in and kissed her hard before I could say anything reckless. “I’ll be there,” I murmured against her mouth. “Just give me ten minutes to shower. I want to drive you home like a gentleman.”
She huffed a laugh. “It’s fifteen minutes away.”
I brushed my thumb over her lower lip. “Humor me, sweetheart.”
She sighed, but there was no real resistance in it. “As cheesy as it sounds, I like when you call me that.”
My mouth curved. “Good. I have no intention of stopping.”
I was in the shower a few minutes later, halfway through rinsing the shampoo from my hair, when the bathroom door opened and Emily stepped in holding my phone at arm’s length like it might explode.
“Your mother is calling,” she said.
I blinked water out of my eyes and glanced toward the screen through the steam. Even blurred, I recognized my mother’s smiling face, the wild red curls in the photo I had used for her contact, and with that one look an idea settled into place almost fully formed.
Emily still had fears about my life. Of course she did. She had accepted the truth, but acceptance was not the same thing as understanding, and I suddenly knew exactly what I wanted to do about that.
“Answer it,” I said.
“Me?” she squeaked.
I laughed under my breath and scrubbed a hand over my face. “Yes, you.”
“And say what?”
“That you’re Emily,” I said lightly. “The girl she’s heard far too much about already. Maybe thank her for raising me properly and ensuring your pleasure was my main priority last night.”
She let out a horrified little noise that was far too adorable for my peace of mind. “I would never. You are an insane person.”
“That’s hurtful.”
“Good.”
She set the phone down on the counter with theatrical care, as though distancing herself from the entire situation. “I’m letting it ring. You can call her back when you’re decent.”
“Coward.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Pervert.”
Then she turned and left the bathroom before I could continue enjoying myself at her expense.
By the time I came back into the main room dressed, towel-drying the last dampness from my hair, she was by the window with her coffee in hand, looking thoughtful enough that I knew if I hesitated, I would talk myself out of it.
So I didn’t.
“Come home with me,” I said.
She turned. “What?”
I set the towel aside. “Before we go to your sister’s surgery. Come to Chicago with me first. Just for a day or two.”
I saw her hesitation immediately. Of course I did.
So I gave her the truth.
“You’re wary of this life,” I said quietly. “I understand that. I would be too, if I were you. But I don’t want you building your understanding of it out of headlines, fear, and whatever your imagination does when left unsupervised.”
That got the faintest shift from her.
“I want you to see what it actually is,” I went on. “Not the fa?ade. Not the version I could package for you. The real thing. My family. My home. The people at the center of it.”
She looked down at her cup, then back at me. “That’s a lot to ask.”
“I know.”
“What exactly would I be doing there?”
“Meeting the people who made me who I am,” I said. “Seeing the part of my life I’ve spent too long explaining badly.”
Her mouth tightened, not in anger but uncertainty. “And if I hate it?”
“Then you hate it.” I held her gaze. “And I bring you right back here, or straight to your sister, or wherever you want to go. No pressure. I’m not asking you to promise me anything by getting on that plane.”
She was quiet for long enough that I felt the possibility of losing the moment.
“Emily,” I said more gently, “if you’re going to decide whether there’s a place for you in my life, then you deserve to see the truth of it for yourself.”
Something in her expression softened at that, though the doubt remained.
“What if they don’t like me?”
I almost smiled. That, at least, was a fear I knew how to answer.
“They will.”
She gave me a look. “You’re very confident.”
“I’m an excellent judge of character.”
“And deeply unbiased, I’m sure.”
“Entirely.”
The corner of her mouth twitched, but she still hesitated.
I crossed the room slowly, giving her time to step back if she wanted to. She didn’t. I took the coffee from her hand and set it aside, then lifted my fingers to her jaw, pressing just enough to make sure she looked at me.
“My mother is going to love you,” I said.
“My sister will attempt to adopt you within the hour. My father will pretend to be terrifying for five minutes before my mother glares him into behaving. And if any of them fail to see what I do, then I’ll be forced to reevaluate the intelligence of my entire bloodline. ”
That got a real laugh out of her.
Better.
“Pietro…”
“Come with me,” I said again, quieter. “Let me show you.”
She searched my face for a long moment, and I let her. There was no point rushing her now. If she said yes, I wanted it to be because she meant it.
Finally she let out a slow breath.
“One day,” she said. “Maybe two. Then we go to my sister.”
Relief crashed through me so hard and fast I had to work not to show too much of it.
“Done.”
“And if you ask me to answer your phone again, I’m leaving.”
This time I did smile. “That seems extreme.”
“It seems wise.”
“Fair enough.”
She shook her head, but she was smiling now too, and when I pulled her into me a second later, the yes in her body felt just as real as the one she had spoken.
Chicago, I thought, pressing my mouth to her hair.
This should be interesting.