A strong gust of wind kicked up, sending free leaves in a flurry around us. One or two damp ones stuck to the stroller’s wheels, but the rest sang in a crisp chorus as they danced against the pavement.
“What makes you say that?”
“The truth,” he answered, stopping in front of the giant. His gaze rested there, and the mammoth size of the statue reflected in his Ray-Bans. “If it were me, you couldn’t stop me. Not unless I gave in. She had nothing. No means to fight him in court—that almost sounds like an inane joke.” He paused for a second. “No one to help her if he decided to order me to the car—again, a joke. Only Marzio had the power to control him. He let her have me.”
“Because he loves her.”
He said nothing, but he didn’t have to. He was right. The truth was plain. Luca loved her, and after the fight she’d put up to keep their son, he decided to leave Brando where he was. Where he belonged. Knowing Luca, even as little as I did, he probably left him as a reminder.I gave you this.
I turned my attention from the giant to the floating swan, wishing I had brought some food to feed her. Her motion hardly seemed real, as though she magically moved across the water, instead of her webbed feet paddling from underneath. She had a finesse about her that I found intriguing.
“All we know is what we know,” I said after a minute or two had passed. “She fought, he gave in, and here we are. I have to say, though, bravo to her. He’s a force. Well, she is too. It’s good to know there’s something that makes him human, besides flesh, blood, and bone.”
Brando had had one of the men run to the car and grab his (my) leather jacket before our walk. The weather had been keeping warm, but since the sun was beginning its descent, the air had turned crisp. Undraping the leather from the stroller’s push bar, he put it around my shoulders, helping me slip it on my arms. It was much bigger than me, so it accommodated the top I had on with ease.
The zipper slipped up easily, and he stood there, staring at me with his hand on the metal. “Do you regret it?”
“Regret what?”
“Me. That he didn’t take me.”
“Brando,” I whispered, putting my hand over his. “Why would I ever regret that?”
He lifted one shoulder, then let it fall. “You’re being distant.”
I couldn’t look at him, so I turned my attention back to the water. The swan glided past, like she was cutting dark glass, a clear rippling motion left in her wake.
“I am,” I said, being completely truthful. “I’m uncomfortable with—the way you listen to him. If he orders you to have an affair to throw the enemy off, to make him think that I don’t matter, or if he orders you to send me away—I don’t want you listening to whathewould do.”
“Brutal honesty—”
He held a defensive hand up when I whirled on him, so cold with uncertainty that I shivered.
“It doesn’t matter what I do now. The enemy is smart enough to know better. You could throw every false scent around us, and he’ll still smell the truth.”
I went to turn around, but he refused to let me turn my back on him.
“Yeah, I listened to him. Still do. He gives me the truth, whether I like it or not. That’s rare for me. Most men won’t. They’d rather keep me mellow with a lie than piss me off with the truth.”
“He does things for his own benefit,” I said.
“Yeah, there are times he does. But it’s different now.”
“Is it?”
“Just because he gives doesn’t mean I have to take. Just because it’s offered doesn’t mean that I’ll eat it, or that you’ll let me consume what’s not healthy for us. You must be out of your mind if you think that I’d ever touch another woman—even for a fucking ruse. I’d send you away if I knew it would keep my heart safe, but even then, I couldn’t live. You and Mia need to be where I can see you both. At all times.”
A few moments passed between us before he spoke again. “That’s why you were so fucking prickly over lunch.”
“Damn right I was prickly,” I said, resisting the urge to turn my nose up at him, or stomp away. But the feeling settled before I acted on it. “I’mstillprickly.”
“Prickly as a pear.” He grinned, touching my chin. “I should have known, but there were a few things going on during lunch. It was hard to pick one. Out of all of them, that’s the most fucking ridiculous, Ballerina Girl.”
“Ridiculous? The man had children with other women so he could cover his love for your mother.” I held my hands up before he could interrupt me. “Okay, part of that was to keep his line going, but still. You think that’s ridiculous to worry over? Or the fact that he might try to bamboozle you into joining the family business?”
He stared at me for so long that I stuck my chin up at him, ready to fight this out.
“Fuck me,” he said, mimicking the tone his father had used. “He’s right. I married a version of Maggie Beautiful. The fucking beast tamer.” He shivered.
