“Time to celebrate,” Matteo says, cracking open a bottle of champagne on the outdoor table. “Surely, Kira, your sister can have one glass?”
I glance at her. “Just one. She's still in high school.”
“No, it's okay—” But she accepts it and takes a sip anyway. Her nose wrinkles, and her eyes brighten. “Bubbly.”
Everyone laughs, even the priest.
After that, the paperwork happens in earnest. The priest takes it all with him when it’s over. Saverino takes care of the prenup, and I get the sense he’s the Corsetti lawyer. “All boilerplate stuff, no worries. In the event of something happening, you’ll be taken care of,” he assures me.
“Is that in the document?”
“Well, not officially, but?—”
“Add it.” Stellan’s hand brushes my elbow. I swear, ever since we got married, he hasn’t stopped touching me.
“Are you sure?” Saverino looks uncomfortable. “This language is very standard, I assure you.”
“Add it in,” Stellan insists. “I want to make sure no matter what, Kira and Gem are covered. If I pass, they get assets. If we divorce, she’s entitled to a small percentage.” Saverino looks like he wants to argue, but the weight of Stellan’s glare makes him keep his mouth shut. “Make it happen.”
There’s no dancing. There’s no castle-shaped cake. Matteo and Saverino leave after an hour. Gem doesn’t finish her single glass of champagne. I throw that back for her, plus another, and another. Stellan drinks his whiskey like he’s brooding on his own demise, and maybe he is, who knows.
By dinner, we’re alone.
“Let me ask you something.” We’re sitting together on the porch, watching the sun sink. I’m tired and hungry. The ring on myfinger feels unreal. The ring on his finger is even worse. “Why did my father do it?”
He looks over. “I don’t know.”
“But you all talked to him, right? After he got caught?”
“Nobody told me a damn thing.”
“Didn’t you want to know?”
He takes a long drink and finally shakes his head. “No. I didn’t.”
“Why not?” An angry desperation floods me. “If it’d been me, I would’ve wanted to know.”
“I was young and pissed off. I felt personally betrayed—like he’d done it just to hurt me. I wrote him off. I acted like I didn’t care. And by the time I realized I really did, he was long dead. Can’t ask a corpse a damn thing.”
I sigh, leaning my head back. “You two really were close.”
“I grew up with two fathers. One I loved and called Bryan. The other I hated and called Dad.”
“Lucky you. I grew up with a dad too, until you murdered him.”
“He murdered himself.”
I tighten my grip on my glass. “No. He didn’t. He had a reason, and I bet it was a good one. You could’ve let him go.”
“That’s not how it works in this life, and you know it. Imagine the message that would’ve sent. Steal from us and we forgive you. Every two-bit thief in the damn city would make a beeline for our drug houses. It’d be chaos.”
“Doesn’t really make me feel better.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s the truth, though. Your father knew what he was doing when he took that book. Now it’s up to us to get it back.”
“You mean, it’s up to you. None of this is my problem.”
Stellan doesn’t reply. He drinks his drink and glares at the sky like he thinks the weight of his stare is going to call down an archangel to help sort out his problems. Unfortunately for him, there’s no holy host or godly trumpets. Just some clouds from the east.
