He nodded.“I do, and I admit they shaped who I am.I fight with myself every day to keep from losing sight of the pratfalls.But what about you?You’re probably the healthiest, most emotionally stable person I’ve met in a long time.Yet, you grew up without a father, raised by a single mother.”
Dom grinned.“Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of times I wished I had a father, but Papa filled in.”
“What happened with your father?”
“He died of a brain aneurysm when I was a toddler, but I always knew who he was.I always knew he loved me.There were tons of pictures of him with me, with us as a family, and my mother and grandparents never let me forget I was the apple of his eye.”
“And your mother?Toula, right?I saw the pictures of her on Stavros’s nightstand.You’re as beautiful as she was.”
Dom fought the rush of heat to her cheeks.“Breast cancer,” she said quietly.
The fight for her life had been a long, grueling one—one they’d lost—but the memory of her smiling, laughing, joyful mother had left an indelible imprint on her heart.
He caressed her cheek with his thumb.“I’m sorry, Dom.That’s rough.”
But she smiled.“No.I mean, yes, it was rough, but don’t be sorry.I’m not.I had a life full of all the things—all the good things.Family, friends, my life was amazing, and a lot of it was in part to how amazing my grandparents were.Especially my papa.”
Harvey leaned into her, making her breath catch in her throat.“I think I could learn a lot about family from you,” he murmured, right before he pressed his lips to hers.
“Shish kabob?”she heard, just as she’d settled her mouth against Harvey’s.
Putting a hand on his chest, she blinked.“Papa?”He hadn’t called her shish kabob in a very long time.Hopping up, she set MC on the couch and went to kneel in front of Stavros’s chair.“Did you just call me shish kabob, Papa?”
He chucked her under the chin with a gnarled hand.“That’s who you are, isn’t it?”he said, his Greek accent faint but still recognizable.
Tears rushed to her eyes as she bracketed his aging face with her hands, smiling at his twinkling eyes.“That’s who I am, for sure.”
She pressed a kiss to his cheek, inhaling the familiar scent of him before she wrapped her arms around him and hugged his fragile body, afraid not to say all the words she wanted him to hear before he forgot who she was again.So he knew how grateful she was for him and the life he’d given her.
“I love you, Papa.I love you so much.Thank you for being so good to me, for loving me.You’re the best.”
Briefly closing her eyes, she thanked the universe for this moment of clarity, the recognition she saw in his eyes when he looked at her.
Harvey had come to stand behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder in support.She sniffled, but she managed to get more words out.“This is Harvey, Papa.I have so much to tell you about what’s happening right now, and why he’s here.”
Stavros stuck his hand out to Harvey, clearly not interested in why he was there.“You like my girl?”he asked, with a wicked grin.
Harvey chuckled.“I do, sir.Very much.It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Then Stavros redirected his gaze at Dom.“Do you like him, too, Dommie?”
Swallowing hard, she fought more tears.The gift of his clarity was almost more than she could bear.“I do, Papa.Yes.”
He grinned, brushing his knuckles along her cheek.“That’s nice, my sweet girl.I want you to have something nice when I’m gone.It looks like you’ll be in good hands with him,” Stavros teased.
Just as she was about to protest him goinganywhere, as she went to wrap her arms around him again—Stavros disappeared, leaving her to fall forward on the chair in an ungraceful face plant.
When she sat up, all that remained was his blanket and some crumbs from his baklava.
And she knew exactly what that meant.
It meant somebody had to die.
ChapterFifteen
“Calm the fuck down, baby warrior.”Nina gripped her arm.“This isn’t the way to handle shit.You go off half-cocked and who knows where the fuck you’ll end up.Now, stop.Breathe.Let’s figure this out.”
Dom clung to MC’s handle, infuriated, ready to take out anything and anyone in her path.“I’ll kill the motherfuckers, Nina!Do you hear me?I’ll kill them!”she hollered, as she paced her grandfather’s room.
