“Who would’ve thought our Stella would bemadeone day?” Jude says behind me, reaching to ruffle my hair like I’m ten.
“I did!” I slap his hand away and laugh. “Me! I always knew I’d bemade.” I wink.
“I still can’t believe you beat me and Enzo to the punch,” Lucky pouts, like he’s not used to eating my dust.
“Don’t listen to him, Stella. Lucky isn’t in any rush to take theomertà. He’s too in love for that,” Enzo smirks, draping his arm over Alejandro.
“Excuse me for making my upcoming college experience with my girlfriend priority number one. Mom always said that to getmadeyou needed a diploma, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“Not all of us have degrees and we’re stillmade,” Marcello taunts, throwing me a wink, knowing it will just piss Lucky off even more.
As expected, the moment our parents’ backs are turned, Lucky flips Marcello off.
“Touchy, our kid brother, isn’t he?” Jude laughs as Lucky struts over to Frankie and Darius, immediately hugging Frankie from behind and kissing her neck.
“He’s always been a bit of a drama queen,” Enzo shrugs with a lopsided grin.
“And you’re not?” I counter with a laugh.
“No. I’m the epitome of calm and tranquility.” He wiggles his brows. “Why else would I have nabbed such a gorgeous boyfriend, if I wasn’t?”
“Because he has the patience of a priest?” Annamaria whispers, then giggles, her cheeks blushing bright red when she realizes we all heard her.
“Annamaria! Did you just make a joke?” Jude asks, beaming like a proud parent.
“Why, you little devil,” Enzo shouts playfully, pretending he’s going to chase her through the living room. “Today you’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”
There are still a few guests lingering, but now that theomertàceremony has taken place, it’s mostly stragglers trying to squeeze every last drop out of our food and booze.
I throw a glance over my shoulder again, but still…no sign of Kirill.
Where the hell is he?
“Stella, do you think we can talk real quick?” Marcello whispers in my ear, raising my hackles.
Shit.
If he’s about to give me grief about Kirill showing up uninvited, we’re about to have some words.
Marcello tugs me into a quiet corner, his eyes fixed across the room on our father for some reason.
“First of all,” he starts and then pulls me into a hug. It takes me a minute to relax in his embrace. I was expecting a scolding for having Kirill here, not…this.
“What’s the hug for? Not that I’m complaining,” I smile as he loosens his grip on me.
“I’m just really proud of you. Really fucking proud,” he confesses, his whole face lighting up.
It’s been years since I’ve seen my melancholic brother smile like this—years since I’ve seen him this relaxed around family. And I know that has a lot to do with the therapy he’s been doing at UChicago with Izzie’s professor friend. Not to mention finally gaining the courage to sit all of us down and tell us the torment he’s been living with since he was a kid.
I cried like a baby when he told us, and a part of me will never forgive myself for the role I played in the deteriorationof his mental state. Maybe if I hadn’t called him a coward way back when, he would have never felt the need to protect me and Annamaria from that psycho of a nanny. Not that I’ll ever be shedding any tears for her death.
We all knew that something lived inside my brother, that wasn’t all him. But we never truly understood the extent of his mental condition, only the toll it took on him. My brother used to look so lost, always fighting the voices in his head, but now…now it almost seems like he’s vanquished them all.
I’m not naïve enough to think his mental condition will ever be an easy fix. Hell, he’ll probably have to live with it for the rest of his life. But now…he’s actually living, not merely surviving like before. I might have been pissed at Izzie for lying to us about being an FBI agent, but she’s brought so much happiness to my brother, so much happiness to this family, that I’ve wholeheartedly forgiven her for every lie she told.
And now here he is before me, looking happy and healthy.
“This day,” I croak, suddenly feeling emotional, “couldn’t have happened without you.”
