Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“I guess they made up then, huh?”
“Yeah, seems so.”
“Well, I’m not so easily won over.”
I leaned back in the chair and rested my arms on the armrests as I gave a slow nod.
“Vincenzo was my best friend. I’ve known him forever. He did so much for those kids. Raised them and provided for them entirely on his own, and that’s what he got. I don’t think Leo deserves to be here. And I don’t think he deserves to live either.”
I knew some resentments were permanent. Francesca may be able to find her way around the painful past, but that didn’t mean others would feel the same way. I knew Elio’s rage would never dim, no matter how much time passed. The betrayal had drawn a permanent line in the sand.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t think anything. Francesca is the boss. Whatever she says goes.”
“I meant what do you think of him personally?”
I gave a shrug. “He’s her brother, so he’s my brother too.” I was loyal to my wife. If she wanted Leo to be in our lives, I would embrace him without a grudge. If she wanted him dead, I’d cut off his head and bring it to her. “But I think you have every right to feel the way you do, Elio.”
He started to turn away from the desk. “Damn right I do.”
I finished up early for the day, so I stopped by the hospital since Francesca was still there. For the last two weeks, I hadn’t paid a visit because I’d been too busy handling everything at the vineyard. Francesca said they would play cards together, she would bring him lunch from outside the hospital, and they would watch stuff she’d downloaded for him on her device.
They’d spent more time together in the last few weeks than they had for the last few years.
I walked down the hallway of the third floor of the hospital then turned the corner into his room. He was propped up in bed watching something on his device, and Francesca wasn’t in the room. I gently knocked on the open door to announce my presence.
He paused whatever he was watching before he turned to me. A quick look of surprise passed over his face, as if he hadn’t expected me to ever visit him. “Hey.”
“What are you watching?” I asked as I came around the bed.
“The Godfather.”
“You’ve never seen it?”
“Oh, I’ve seen it a million times,” he said. “I just like to rewatch it.” He closed the flap to the device and set it aside.
“Gotten cabin fever yet?”
“Just the last few days,” he said. “I’m not in pain anymore, and I’ve been doing my therapy. The doctor said I can go home tomorrow.”
“That’s good news.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m excited to get the hell out of here.”
“At least you’ll just be a mile away if you need anything.”
“Nah, I think I can manage on my own now,” he said. “I’ve taken enough of my sister’s time.”
“She’s not the kind of person to keep receipts, Leo.”
“But still. Only a couple people have come to visit me, but she’s been here the whole time. If my dad were alive, he’d have been here too.” His eyes shifted away as his thoughts moved elsewhere.
I let the pain of his words stew before they started to dissipate.
“How’s the vineyard?” he asked.
“We got a faulty shipment from the Americans. Hector is pissed he got less than what he paid for, and now I have to fix this mess.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I called and told them if they didn’t have a plan to make it right within the next twelve hours, I’d be on a flight to New York.”
“Will you actually do that?”
“I don’t bluff, Leo,” I said. “So, where’s my wife?”
“The cafeteria. She wanted a coffee.”
I nodded and relaxed in the chair. “We’ve decided to have a wedding reception.”
His eyes perked up at that statement. “Yeah?”
“Don Russo’s idea.”
“When?”
“We were waiting to see your progress before we committed to a date.”
“My progress?” he asked quietly. “So—so I’m invited?”
I smirked. “Yes, Leo. You’re invited.”
He didn’t smile or visually show his joy, but there was a relief in his eyes that was impossible not to see. “Where?”
“Villa Igiea in Palermo.”
“Yeah, that’s a nice hotel.”
“We are going to do it in their gardens because it’s right on the cliff over the sea.”
“I bet that will be beautiful at sunset.”
“You think you can manage that in less than two weeks?”
“I can manage it now,” he said. “Nothing is gonna stop me from being there.”
“But you should be able to dance at your sister’s wedding.”
“Like I said, nothing is gonna stop me.”
At that moment, Francesca rounded the corner with a disposable cup in her hand. Her eyes immediately went to me, and they brightened like every other time she looked at me. “Oh, hey. I didn’t know you were coming.”