He cracks a smile as he rises, and my heart does another weird little flip. Despite my resolve not to, I watch him walk away—at least until Abella appears beside me.
“Where are they going?” I ask once the door’s closed behind them.
She chews on her lip, like she’s not sure she should tell me, which only makes me more curious. Typically, the men in our lives don’t keep us apprised of their business activities. But I think Angelo tells her more than most men in theCosa Nostra, as long as it’s nothing that would endanger her.
“Did you hear about all those missing men on the news?” She lowers her voice, taking a seat beside me.
“No.” I frown. “Should I have?”
I’ve been so busy between school and Eros, I’ve hardly had time to look at the headlines.
“There were some pretty notable names. Local businessmen, Society members. Some of them were on the island last year for that dinner. Do you remember?”
“You mean the one where we caught you giving Angelo a blowie in the garden?”
“Not the point.” Abella rolls her eyes. “But yes, it was that one.”
“I vaguely remember them being there, but I wasn’t paying close attention.”
“Well, they had some kind of dealings with the Vitales. But apparently their yacht sank somewhere, and they’ve been searching for them. Anyway, Angelo has been annoyed about the whole ordeal because it’s thrown a wrench into everything.”
“That makes sense, I guess. But why were you hesitant to tell me?”
“I didn’t want to upset you,” she says. “Because some of them are connected to Imperium.”
That information makes me feel slightly nauseous. “Do you think they were intentionally disappeared?”
“I’m not sure,” Abella admits, but I can tell the thought has crossed her mind.
“Did Romeo ever get back to you about what he might have found?”
“He and Angelo said they were handling it.” She offers me an apologetic shrug. “I know you wanted to use Aegis to deal with it if we could, but honestly, I think this might be for the best. The guys will figure out how to take care of the situation since there are so many people involved.”
I nod, but I’m wondering if they already have. It could be a coincidence that those men went missing, but in our world, things are rarely coincidental. In any case, I don’t want to think about it or feel guilty for what happened. If they were involved in some way, that’s on them.
“We’re going to eat in a few minutes,” Abella says. “But there’s one more thing I want to show you first.”
“Okay.” I give her a questioning glance as she gestures for me to get up.
I follow her down the hall and into my workspace, stopping short once we enter the room.
“Oh my God—” The words die on my lips as I glance around, trying to process what I’m seeing.
Yesterday, I was worrying about how I would complete my senior collection with the tools I have. And somehow, in that short period of time, the space has been completely transformed, with everything I could possibly need.
A brand new drafting table and chair, a cutting table, fabric racks, Pantone color guides, a Wacom tablet, an LED lightbox, and every design and construction tool that’s probably ever existed. Each discovery is more exciting than the last, but the thing that tips me over the edge is the Bernina 790 Pro Sewing Machine.
“I can’t believe you guys did all of this.” I sob, embarrassed when tears start to leak from my eyes.
“We didn’t,” Abella confesses.
I blink at her in confusion, and she offers me a watery smile as she tries to hold back her own emotions.
“I came in here earlier to grab one of your markers, and that’s when I saw it. Honestly, I wouldn’t even know what half this stuff was.”
As I glance around the room again, I realize these are all the things I put on my Pinterest board—as a far-fetched dream. If my friends didn’t do this, there’s only one other explanation.
“Eros,” I whisper.
