“I’m not so sure,” she mumbled, her eyes wary as we made our way arm in arm closer to the villa.
As expected, my grandfather was waiting with Magpie to greet us. Even though he was dressed to the nines, his stance was casual. He wanted to make her comfortable. He smiled at Stella, and her breath caught. Magpie beamed up at him, pulling himcloser, as if to say,Isn’t this exciting!I greeted my grandfather and then kissed my grandmother on her cheeks, even though I’d seen her only a little while ago. Then I presented Stella, like a princess in waiting, to the current king.
“Estella,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Somewhere in the vast sky, a star has been named after you.”
“Most people call me Stella,” she said, almost like she couldn’t come up with anything else to say.
He nodded, but he hadn’t let her hand go. “Do I have permission to call you Estella? I am not most people.”
“Anything you want,” she breathed.
Magpie exploded with laughter and took my arm. “Walk me inside, my handsome grandson. Your grandfather can take it from here.”
I’d walked the line with my family for years, but suddenly, I didn’t want to leave Stella alone. I knew my grandfather would take care of her. He’d treat her like a granddaughter of the heart. He’d kill for her. Die for her. But being separated from her wasn’t an option anymore, and the distance my grandfather would put between us might just kill me. I grabbed for the spot over my heart and ignored the look on my father’s and uncle’s faces.
My brothers all had shit-eating grins on their faces too.Look how fucking drammatico! Another one down!
“Fuck me,” I muttered to myself after Magpie went in search of Mia’s sons, and I went in search of a strong drink.
Chapter 18
Stella
“Most people call me Stella.”
Out of all the fucking responses, that was the one I’d chosen to say to the king of the Fausti family?! I’d tried to prepare for this day for over a month. I’d thought over everything I’d say. I’d decided curtseying wasn’t called for, but in my mind, our first interaction went a lot smoother than it had in reality. And if I had any doubts about my social skills, that response confirmed it—I sucked at them.
Matteo had told me to go easy on myself. I had a lot of catching up to do. And I know I did, but this man…there was something so overwhelming about him, and like the rest of Matteo’s family, I really wanted to make a great first impression.
I had to give it to…Nonno. He took my response in stride and didn’t respond with something smart-alecky or snippy. What he said to me after made me melt a little more into my heels.
He was a bit confusing, though. He was so damn…handsome. Gorgeous? Beautiful? Man, it was hard to stick these men with an adjective that truly fit how fine they were. And Nonno, along with Brando, and of course Matteo, were all so beautiful, I teetered back and forth between wanting to stare at them, and my eyes hurting from staring at them for so long.
Then again, Nonno had such a warm presence about him. Like a grandfather should.
Then again, the woman who had done my hair, Lourdes, respected him, but I could tell she did in a way that was maybe born out of fear. My eyes had met hers in the mirror when she’d said, “And Matteo, he’s his father’s son and his grandfather’s grandson. He’ll lead the Fausti family someday, and that’s no easy feat.” She squeezed my shoulders and then changed the subject.
I guess that meant Matteo would one day be walking his grandson’s significant other through this same path, having walked in Nonno’s shoes.
What did that even mean, exactly? I had a clue, but I hadn’t learned nearly enough. Maybe Matteo was right. I had to walk my own path to really experience his life and form my own conclusions.
This much was true, though. Luca Fausti’s genes were strong. Punch-other-genes-in-the-face-and-knock-’em-out strong. Brando Fausti looked just like Luca Fausti, and Matteo Fausti looked just like Brando Fausti. I couldn’t wait to see the rest of them—his brothers and uncles!
“Tell me, are you always this quiet, Estella.”
The way he said my name…whew.
“Yes. No. I mean, I haven’t been with Matteo, but before that…”
His eyes hardened on the sky, and when he looked at me, they softened. “We do not need to discuss what happened to you for me to know.” He patted my hand. “I know, and they will pay.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, not sure what else to say.
“Come,” he said, directing me down another path. “I will show you the land that I spent time on in my youth. This place is special to me. It warmed my heart when my son and mydaughter of the heart bought it. This was the villa my mamma grew up in.”
“Grazia Angeli.”
“Bene,” he said, taking my hand and kissing it. “My grandson is teaching you our history well.”
